Ideas for a Better Minnesota

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Look. We are devoted to Legion Baseball in Minnesota. We have the years in service and enough experiences to prove it. We are thankful for what we have. And we are mindful that Legion Baseball can be even more than it is today.  We are also keenly aware of challenges faced by families and programs posed by competing programs and a vastly changed baseball landscape. We are also keenly aware that Legion Baseball in Minnesota has been unwilling to even engage in lopen discussion let alone programs to diversify its "one size fits all" approach that simply repeats the past with na sprinkling of incremental adjustment. 

We do not have all the solutions or ideas. Maybe discussion gets triggered by thoughts we share. Maybe not. 

Doing things well and continuing a strong tradition of community based baseball is what Legion baseball is all about. Doing things better should also be our purpose. Legion baseball has 5,500 players and over 1,200 coaches. Add in 11,000 parents plus other supports and that number gets pretty big.

Since 1926, Legion ball has meant one a one community (high school) team competing against another in league play with playoffs and a state tournament to follow. Playoffs are of course about eliminating teams and ending player's baseball season. Everyone used to play Legion and even more aspired a Legion uniform. No innovation was required. No one had to compete for players. Legion baseball was the 'summer varsity". And the quality of play at times was amazing.

A Legion program could simply "hit rinse and repeat" the same format year after year after year. So when some influential baseball people wanted control and power, well why not? There wasn't much to decide and no one sought changed. What was there to adapt to?

Time and baseball and available options have indeed changed. They have been changing for over 20 years. Competition for players has stiffened in the metro and in outstate regions. Where have the elite baseball players gone? They used to play Legion. Where did the better and best players go? How many better and best players have elected to find other competitive options to supplement or to replace Legion baseball?

Most of us only know what is within our local borders and few know what is in our state borders. It is when you look at other states you really learn and expand your horizons. You see the good and you see the bad. We hate to pick on Wisconsin (right?). But here is a state of similar size to Minnesota that offers some good and some bad to learn from.

1) Good. This state is open and very democratic. Coaches are the voting constituents (as with most every other Legion program). Meetings are open. Issues are aired. Policies adopted or changed with agreement of the voters. The State Legion houses the program and the program enlists a variety of volunteer area directors and divisional commissioners. Wisconsin runs baseball like it runs the Wisconsin American Legion. An open democracy that invites people in.

2) The Bad. Wisconsin Legion Baseball has just never adapted to the competition and to its changing market. While over 100 private baseball clubs were getting established, the Legion Mantra remained - play for your single community/high school and Legion is cheaper than club.

That mantra has not been enough. Senior division baseball in Wisconsin has barely 100 teams. Metro areas and mid sized cities have been over run by clubs as better players sought better competition then drawing even average players away. 

When they say if its not broke then why fix it, reality is that when it is broke you have nothing that you can fix. But maybe Minnesota is different? We hope so. 

It is easy and sometimes fun to point the finger at individuals. We think the major issue is systemic - the system. Sorry Board members, but you really have a closed loop group.  The 5,500 players, 1,200 coaches, and 11,000 parents only have your, your vision, and your energy to rely on. They do not know you and they have no access to you. That is not your fault. The Constitution was designed to concentrate sole authority in a handful of insiders that have no accountability to anyone outside your Board. Any and all power is vested in The Handful. It is best called an Autocracy not Democracy. It is in all practical senses a form of dictatorship. The power grab by some influential baseball people was some 35 years ago. Times are different. The State Legion lacked todays strength on numbers in financially. 

You American Legionnaires. We do not preach autocratic rule in our Americanism pillar. We would never take voting away from members. We are to instill American values and demonstrate American principles and institutions as part of our mission and commitment to youth. It is the baseball structure that violates our American Legion promise and values. People in charge just fall in with the systemic trap.

Legion Baseball touches over 15,000 people every year. The American Legion needs to accept responsibility. The baseball program is bigger than a handful of part-time volunteers no matter how fine and well intentioned they may be.

• No Baseball Director should be afraid of being elected by coaches. Heck. You will have to communicate with them and earn their trust and votes. You will learn to represent your constituents as well as advance your personal agenda.  There is no reason to doubt that current board members and officers would get elected and or re-elected. Accountability would shift from a group of insiders to the voting constituents.
• Elections need to be periodic - every three or four years. That is plenty of time for the sake of continuity. No doubt there are directors who work their tails off that will get re-elected many times over. Personal agendas and outsized influence will be minimized as representative governance will not likely reward selfish interest.
• Elections with today's technology can be cheap and efficient.
• Every coach or program director that is covered by a team registration must be given a vote and a voice. Americanism at work: No taxation without representation.
• Minnesota Legion baseball must come out of the closed room and do its work in the open. That means open meetings with published notices and agendas. In today's world, anyone can attend virtually. Is Legion Baseball the personal property of a few? Open the doors. 
• The State Legion should well consider the Nebraska model with a professional activities director placed at the helm of all Legion activities including baseball. Central dependable administrative help is required. Finally,  the Baseball Board is hiring a part timer.  Increasing fees to Posts and team fees can easily support such a commitment. Legion Baseball is an American Legion responsibility. You gave it away. We can't find any other state that did so.
• Establish a Development Committee and a Coaches Advisory Committee. Maybe an Events committee whereby volunteers would help create more exciting features or sponsors for Legion events. Bring people in for a change. Maybe its easier right now to tell hosts what to do or a tournament. But even the creation of state tournament websites would help hosts as well as elevate the experience beyond going to the current website and looking at a spreadsheet. Bring talent and energy IN. The system and the people today keep people OUT.

The reality is that the glass is half full. And half empty.

• Sure there are 360 teams which is more than the 330 twenty years ago. (half full) Over 130 new teams have been added since 2005. However, the math means 100 teams disappeared. Has anyone analyzed thhe loss? (half empty).
• Yes community based teams are the bread and butter of Legion baseball (half full). But the lack of additional options has depleted so many teams of the areas top players that forming a competitive team is an option available to fewer and fewer communities. (half empty)
• A small group of 14 insiders with voting control residing in 8 can cover just so much ground. They have kept the ship afloat by repeating last year as if its Ground Hogs Day. Their work cannot be dismissed and it has been critical for everyone in Legion baseball. (half full). But meeting twice a year and excluding outsiders with additional ideas, programs, and energy as if they were enemies prevents making Minnesota the innovative leader it can be. Part time volunteers seem unable to manage the existing program let alone keep pace even with our neighboring states. Perpetuating just the past was dangerous to Wisconsin. The same forces are at work in Minnesota. You can certainly can ignore it. You c an wish it wasn't so., You can talk of the old days when your community mattered everyone everywhere. Yearning for yesterday leaves Legion baseball exposed. Its your own fault. Deterioration is on us for real. Now. (half empty)

Change is needed. It is not hard. If it could have happened with the current structure and people you would have seen it already. The experience we have had with Legion All Stars simply reinforced the most negative of views. Legion Baseball is, by its own constitutional design, a non-democratic closed system that is owned by a handful of people that have zero accountability beyond their conference room. Its not their fault. It is by Constitutional design. 

The Minnesota American Legion should not be supporting and authorizing an antiquated, authoritarian baseball structure. The principles of Americanism are right. They are American Legion. Put those principles to work in Legion Baseball. Every neighboring state has democratic rule. Minnesota is out of step.

 Do you believe that choices have intended consequences and maybe some unintended choices as well? Like what? Did you know D1 is on its third format in five years? Were you consulted? Did you vote on it? Were you in on the discussion?  Of course not. In any satte around us, coaches would have been involved and would be voting. State tournaments are big things to kids. Most want to think they have a chance. Tournament structunres can favor certain teams and programs. Who benefits?

Let's look at the D1 state tournament over the last 25 years. Two teams, the state champ and runner up, advance from Minnesota to a national regional tournament. How have we done? How important is that regional nod? Is it to give kids experiences? Or is it to pursue the next Minnesota National Champion?

In Pursuit of Regional Wins - The Past 20 Years and Past 10 Years

• Our state champ went to the World Series 4 times, all Eden Prairie. None in the past 10 years.
• Our state runner up won the regional 2 times (2005 and 2013).  None in the last 10 years.
• In the past 20 years, only the outstate Rochester Patriots won a state title back in 2009.
• In the past 20 years, outstate teams made runner up just 2 times.
• Outstate teams have garnered just 7.5% of the regional spots in 20 years.
• Minnesota teams have won a regional at a 15% rate but 0% in the last 10 years.

Has anyone noticed? When Minnesota adopted large scale D1 state tournaments, metro teams consistently won the top two spots while outstate was headed home in the car.

• 16 Team Double Elimination format required a winners bracket team to play 5 games and a loser bracket team had to play 6.  These were 9 inning games.
• In 2021, the pool play format required 6 games although you could lose one or two in the pool and still become a champion.
• These large scale formats appear to have advantaged big program teams while outstate teams probably lacked the roster and pitching depth to survive

Big tournaments are clearly skewed to big program teams and that has overwhelming meant Metro teams while outstate has gotten shut out. But that has certainly not meant great success at Regionals in the last ten years as no Minnesota team has advanced to Nationals. Most teams play two or three games and occasionally more. The closest Minnesota team of the past ten years was Excelsior who dropped a pair of games on the final day.  Most Minnesota teams play 2 to 4 games at regionals. You don't have to have big program depth to compete.

We ask the question - why can't Minnesota send a metro and an outstate team every year? You know, spread the opportunity. Yes chasing the next national title remains a valid dream. Is that nostalgia or today's reality?

Nebraska faced such an issue and addressed it creatively. The east side of the state was almost always getting both regional nods. Of course. Those Omaha teams are always tough. Nebraska created an East State Tournament and a West State Tournament with each winner advancing to the regional. The two champions play off for the overall title with the winner getting the higher seed at regions. This approach has had great success and will be introduced this year in Division 2 (Nebraska has 4 divisions). The East West system gives opportunity to the entire state.  It has had the side effect of causing several small lower division teams in the west to form a Division 1 regional team that won its state and performed well at the regional (ask the Minnesotans that saw it).

The New Minnesota D1 State Tournament format and brackets may very well offer the opportunity to get creative and generate new interest in the tourney and in Greater Minnesota. The brackets as we saw them basically run side by side 8 team tournaments a part of one overall tourney. On the last day, two finalists from each side play each other which creates a bracket champion. That bracket champion gets a regional slot. The two bracket champions then play a final game for what is essentially bragging rights to crown a the overall state champion. Now that's a whole lot of describing when you dont see the bracket.

Bottom line - name one Bracket the American Division and the other the National Division (or something else that creates identity). Outstate teams go in one bracket with metro teams in the other. A Metro state champ and an Outstate state champ  are crowned who play for the overall state championship.

Why not spread the wealth and recognize Greater Minnesota and its teams? What are you giving up? They  appear almost shut out by tournaments skewed to fewer and fewer big teams. You may discover some rivalry and enthusiasm not seen before. Give it a couple of years. If it doesn't work then change back to reward the likely two big metro team.

Virtually every sports program divides its teams into divisions. Almost every program seeks to afford maximum access to competitive balance. These are programs after all that are geared to the players whom the administrators seek to serve.

• High school baseball has four divisions AAAA, AAA. AA, A. Small schools are not matched against big schools. 
• How many A's are in high school football? Are there 6 divisions? How could a small town compete with the big schools? They can't of course.
• Every baseball program around us has multiple divisions. Competitve fairness is baked into their systems. Wisconsin only has 100 senior teams so they have 3 divisions. The state director correctly points out that the perfect number of teams for a division is 56 - meaning 8 teams for 7 sectional tournaments. North Dakota is adding a 5th level. It already has 4 divisions for 85 teams. They think right sizing competition makes for a better baseball experience. Nebraska has 4 main divisions with a 5th coming. They divide their teams into equal sized divisions rather than set enrollment limits. 
• Minnesota stands alone virtually refusing anything beyond the half step taken forward  in 2024.

Not Minnesota Legion baseball. Until 2024, Minnesota boasted two huge divisions called D1 and D2. 

• Big schools for the Division 1 run from school enrollment of 401 to 3,600. Before last year about 130 teams were D1, including Legion 2 teams ( a "B" team or a JV team of a big program). Who puts JV teams up against Varsity teams for playoffs? What real chance did a team from a school of 600 have in playoffs against the big teams with 1,500 and 2,000  and even 3,000 students? Oh they might win a game but not the tournament. 
• There is the view that "when I was playing the game (in a small community) we would just strap up our boots and go to battle" against the big team. Romantic memories indeed. In baseball terms we refer to these Legion teams used to fill substate playioff spots as "canon fodder". But why the obvious mismatches?
• The main culprit has been the D1 playoff design, of course. D1 has 16 teams. So they created 15 substates plus a host team to equal the required 16 teams. 15 times 8 equals 120. Perfect! The big 3,000 enrollment team needed the St. Anthony or Delano teams to fill out their substates. Both of these teams have good players to be sure. But they would have little hope of succeeding with such an enormous spread. Fairly easy road for the big boys while the little guy battled to their season end. Every year, some teams just drop out of playoffs. What's the use say the kids.
• Another reason for so many substates is to limit travel requirement. Well, one can make that argument. Why isn't travel distance an issue in Nebraska or Wisconsin or with the high school program?  Isn't travel a part of every regular season league game or weekend tournament? Does that argument merit condemning players and teams to playoff canon fodder status?
• In 2024 the Tier 1A was developed housing about 35 teams to absorb some of the mismatched metro teams. We will discuss T1A in a bit. It was very controversial to some while just plain obvious to others. Was it successful? Absolutely. Smaller teams competed against similar teams with a final state tournament that was rockingly successful. Players coaches and parents loved it.
• The D1 playoffs dropped to 12 sites which needed 96 teams to fill each site with 8 squads. In reality, you can use 8 substates and 64 teams to fill the D1 - 16 team tourney. Just take the top two. You don't need the smaller programs as substate bracket fillers. With 12 substates, the competitive mismtaches were assign just to outstate programs. They apparently do not need equivalent opportunities for playoff success. That is reserved for some metro teams.
• Will we ever see a full blown Second Division, a statewide Tier 1A? There is much resistance on the Baseball Board from what we have heard. According to one state Legion official, there doesn't seem much demand from outstate copaches as he has not heard from too manmy irate coaches complaining to him.  Perhaps that's one metric. 
• What is so difficult? And what could be more obvious? From high schools to other Legion progarms all around us, Minnesota stands alone. Are we right and they are wrong? Does the Board not have enough personnel or time to plan, set up, and manage multiple divisions?
• Who gets to discuss or vote on such matters? You got it. The Board of 14 who has sole authority and sole discretion. Somebody is blocking right sizing divisions. Who and why?

Mismatched playoffs have long been a feature in  Minnesota Legin baseball. No one has had a real say in that beyond the Baseball Board. It hasn;t mattered what the high school did with its divisions. It hasn;t mattered what all other states are doing. Populating all those D1 substates with small teams is the design of someone or someones. Who benefits? Who loses out?

In 2022, two Baseball Board members did a painstaking survey of every coach of a team with a school enrollment below 1,100, a mark that seemed to divide the huge Division 1 into two equivalent divisions. You need a state tournament host and 56 teams to populate 7 substate playoff tourneys. Each cpach was asked, if given the choice, where would that team like to play? Would you like to play up to the Big Team Level or play in a new division that would offer more balanced competition. 

• Of the 68 teams surveyed, a eight preferred to play in the upper division. Great. 
• 58 teams preferred the new division with 2 teams uncertain.
• Three programs volunteered to host a state tournament. 
• In three instances, coaches wanted to play in the new division while their District Director said no.  Same town with competely different view points. 

A proposal was made to the Board, presented by a District Director at the fall meeting. With a split vote, the proposal failed. Two ballots against were cast by absentee directors. The question of whether the bylaws of the Baseball Board authorize absentee voting went unanswered. Who knows. With the failure of the initiative, the Board decided that they would develop their own survey to go out to all Division 1 coaches  including teams of every size. A committee was formed to develop the survey questions. Interestingly, the survey committee was populated with three who voted against and one who voted for the divisional proposal. No survey questions were ever developed and the new board survey never materialized. 

However, all was not lost as the State Director purportedly went to work on a compromise. Tier 1 A already existed. One could simply move some '2' teams over and a limited number of small metro teams to create half a division.  The compromise passed at the spring board meeting.  Unfortunately, no state tournament site had weekend availability. No matter, a midweek format was located. The project proved sucessful as did the first Tier 1A state tournament.

The cup is indeed half full. Its a triubute to leadership to be sure. What's the future hold? Tier 1A was renewed for 2025. Outstate teams were again excluded.

At Minnesota Legion Prospects, we believe in giving back to our community. Join us for charity events, volunteer opportunities, and other initiatives that help make our world a better place.

At Minnesota Legion Prospects, we believe in giving back to our community. Join us for charity events, volunteer opportunities, and other initiatives that help make our world a better place.