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ADVENTURES OF THE 'MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY GANG'

The Junior Revenge Tour

The My Way Gang first brought you 'The All Star Massacre'

Now the My Way or the Highway Gang brings you 'Its Revenge Against the D1 Juniors'

As you may know Mark Scott and the Bloomington folks have gone above and beyond to support Minnesota Legion Baseball. With no one willing to host the D1 Junior state tournament, Mark Scott and his small band of Bloomington volunteers rescued the State Legion by hosting the tournament nearly every year since its inception. It has not been an easy road. Legion officials demanded Bloomington pay hotel costs for players; they demanded that Bloomington provide free meals to players; they further demanded facility upgrades including new batting cages, relocation of practice mounds on a field that is City owned. Plenty of criticism was sent the Bloomington way.

Host costs rose as housing costs (hotels) nearly doubled. Each year the state insited that hotels must be provided to several teams and free meals be provided to all participants. The tournament was only marginally profitable. which did not seem to concern 'The Board". We learned that one cointract between the parties specified a payment to Bloomington of $1,200 to offset some of the required meal costs. That written commitment, to our understanding, remains unfulfilled.. The State seemingly reneged on a contract. Annual presentations by Bloomington at Board meetings reportedly got testy. Yep. You can guess. Personal frictions which translate into bias, grudges, and other personal agendas.

Nonehteless. uUnwilling to leave the Junior Division without a tournament site, Bloomington said they would host 2025 but would not pay hotel costs. The state would not back down. Hotel rooms is almost a religious priorioty to this board . Stalemate.

Junior D1 Chairman Jack Strong was told by his board superiors to fix the problem. Strong brought issues and alternatives before the D1 Junior coaches and team managers Voting followed discussion. The entire division came up with simple, clear, and effective solutions that would have positive effects for 2025 and years beyond. There as 100% agreement:

Teams would pay their own expenses;
The 8-Team Double Elim format would be retained. The coaches did not want to cheapen their tournament.

THE STATE SOUGHT REVENGE

The challenge of Mark Scott, Bloomington, the challenge of Chairman Jack Strong, plus the challenge posed by the entire Junior Division 1 must have rocked some board members to the very core. How dare they! No one criticizes or questions 'The Board"! There is no compromise in the Minnesota system. It is about a test of wills and the exertion of power that comes with position. We say secret because discussions, votes, and meetings are held behind closed doors, or in this case, likely done by phone. There are no public statements. And now we have the Board, its officers, and the Director himself further removed preferring to have Randy's "Chief of Staff" handle much of the communications burden thus layering The Board behind another wall.

Here is what came down:

The State Board will pay for hotel rooms in 2025. Can't breach policy!
Bloomington was cut off from the host site grant of $2,500. They are singled out to get $0 to host a state tournament.
The tournament must be cheapened by changing brackets- which is 180 degrees opposite the clear intent and vote of 100% of the Juniuor coaches.

It sure looks like anger, personal agendas, and grudges drove this mess of a solution. No one tells "The Board" what to do. No one tells them what they want. It appears to be a test of position, a show of strength, and a display of power flexing. Oh this is not the first time we have seen and expeineced this methodology. It is textbook Closed System stuff. Closed minds- closed system. Long-term solutions rarely develop in this fashion. Certainly collaboration, negotiuation, and compromise have no place with "This Board".

Hey Board. Hey Officers. Who created this solution? Who is the author? Who backed it? Was it you Randy? How about you, Tim? Where do you stand, Slick? Is this right up your alley Brandon? RHow about you, Jim, Bruce, Gail, Vern?

Explain yourselves. Hah. Like that has ever happened. "The Board" exists without any accouyntability beyond their closed meeting doors. This administration led by Randy and Slick and Brandon may be the most secretiove of anjy we have encountered in 30 plus years.

Taking Revenge: 'The Board" MUST Have Its Hotels

Why can't teams pay their own way? They do everywhere else in the country. They do for high school baseball. What gives the policy of buying rooms for kids (possibly a violation of the Legion Amateur rule) a policy that has a religious standing? Because "that is what we have done in the past". Why? Wow.

To make sure the policy is followed, 'The Board' will foot the bill in 2025 for Junior hotel rooms. What a waste of state resources, resources that come from team registration feees. Yes, that means 356 teanms will be paying for D1 Junior rooms, Rooms that the D1 teams were giong tom pay for themselves. What is the long-term plan? No junior site is going to foot the bill ever again. Who will pay in 2026? What an odd decision. It looks more emotional than rational

Hey, What a message to send to all the other host sites. Maybe some will ask for equivalent treatment. Board - you have invited more discussion with this half-baked solution for 2025.

The entire Junior Division solved the hotel problem in munutes.'The Board': No way. No one sets policy or challenges this group. No one has a say. Whomade the decision to waste team registration money to pay D1 Junior room costs? To pay for teams that wanted to pay it themselves?

Taking Revenge: "The Board" Nails Bloomington

After stiffing them despite a contract, after holding Bloomington's feet to the fire to meet all the State demands and mandates, after years of service to Legion baseball, THEY PULLED THE $2,500 HOST GRANT. That seems completely spiteful.

But Wait a Minute.!

Burnsville got and will continue to receive a $2,500 grant to host a Tier 1A tournament. Burnsville reported a $25,000 profit while paying $0 for hotels and $0 for meals. They got $2,500 from the state and surely expect the grant again in 2025. Now we certainly like the Burnsville group a lot. The discrepancy is brutally glaring. Bloomington appears singled out.
Your Junior and Senior D2 tournaments are hugely profitable according to host reports. St. Charles netted some $35,000 on $55,000 in revenue for a D2 JUNIOR tournament. They got the grant. For what? Just getting a D2 bid is a ticket to financial reward. D2 should be looking at expoanding their state tournaments to the National Legion's 8-tem double elim model. How can you justify anything less? Or is opportunity for Legion players a punchline for a winter update?

Any argument that jerking the host grant from Bloomington was cost justified is simply bogus. This clearly is a slap back at Mark Scott and Bloomington for simply standing firm. They had to satnd firm. These are Board Bully tractics at best. Mark Scott and Bloomington are not the jerks here. Not at all. They have bailed out that State Board for years with no thanks. This is just plain revenge. You Board members should be ashamed of yourselves. Whoever you are that is.

Taking Revenge: "The Board" Nails the Junior Coaches

The state tournament bracket structure was front-and-center important to 100% of the Junior Division. They did not then and do not want now to lessen the tournament. The willingness to pay their own expenses demonstrated their serious commitment. Did 'The Board' care? Nope. The hell with the Junior coaches. The state commanded a shortened tournament using the winner/loser brackets. This cuts a day (or in this case a night) off the tourney schedule, something no Junior coach wanted. They want the full tournament experience for their tournamnet. Well, they thought it was their tournament. Who's is it? Randy's? Slick's? Brandon's? Jim's? Who is calling the shots?

Now this has to be developed and blessed at the highest board level - the Officers.

State Director Randy Schaub - Danube MN - Contact Randy
Vice Director Jeff "Slick" Miller - Ottertail MN - Contact Slick
Vice Director Brandon Raymo - Montevideo MN - Contact Brandon

Jeff 'Slick" Miller and Brandon Raymo run the D2 programs where many believe the Double Elim model should be used to exppand opportunity for D2 communities and players. That would be change. Instead, the D2 powers appear to force D1 to mirror D2. Many see this as a "shove it down the throats of the D1 Junior. coaches" thing. The D1 coaches are 100% opposed to cheapening their tournament and they dared to vote on it. No one tells this Board or some of its members what to do. So like a petulant teenager, they chose the opposite of what was desired. Great way to work together Randy! Slick! Brandon! Great example of collaborative leadership.

Any reasonable Board would negotiate to find agreeable solutions. Not Minnesota

If the short tournamnet is choisen - the Ste pays 100%.
If the Double Elim . the State is willing to go up to paying the first two nights but the Junior Division or the teanms cover the third night.
Or find some agreeable compromise.

Nope. Not these guys. Cram down. Daddy knows best? This is pure bully tactdic. It is shameful.

The Director's "Winter Update" Blown Up

Director Randy told abut the "critical role" and the importance of coaches in Legion baseball. He defined that role as "getting your paperwork in".
Director Randy told of his commitment to opportunity, a view he said was "not shared with everyone on the board".
Director Randy asked coaches to communicate with him, to share opinions or ideas.

Randy, your words appear hollow when compared to your actions.

You asked for ideas and input. The coaches and the entire Divsion wanted something clean and simple. You went the opposite direction.
The Board delivered the Revenge Tour of 2025.
Share ideas? Hah! Laughable. 60 guys did! And got it shoved down their thoats.
Critical role of coaches? They just got told they have no place other than the field. The tiny group of Insiders are the Organ Griner - the rest of us are the monkey..

First there was the ALL STAR MASSACRE

It is now followed by the BOARDS JUNIOR REVENGE TOUR

This is what you get with the Closed System that is a tiny group of appointed insiders that meeting behind closed doors and serve for their lifetimes.

Some board members very well intentioned and some work many hours diligently for the good of baseball and the good of the boys.

But the good guys don't run the show in the regime.

#2 The State Board Rejected the entire D1 Junior Division

The Board Slammed the Door on the D1 Junior Coaches

The D1 Junior Coaches know something about their programs and their teams. They know something about state tournaments, too. The entire Junior Division stepped in to address issues that the State Board of 14 refused to solve or more correctly, was unable to resolve.

The Results Are In

The entire Junior D1 Division voted to keep a full tournament schedule that aligns with the National American Legion baseball template.

The Board: No. You must use an abbreviated winner/consolation bracket that has 3 to 4 fewer games. Junior D1 is oredered to cheapen their state tournament to be just like what the same people require for D2 Senior and Junior tournaments - NOT the Legion protocol.
This move would potentially save the State Board some dollars. Better to sacrifiuce the players experience, the coaches, and the parents to save The Ruling Board a few bucks because of their otrher decision listed below.

The entire Junior D1 Division voted to eliminate hotel cost isssues once and for all with each team paying their own travel costs.

The Board: No Way. Someone has to pay hotel costs for teams. It is the Minnesota Way. So the Board apparently will pay for hotel rooms themselves with dollars from team registrations fees. 357 teams will cover hotel costs for 3 or 4 teams. But get this - the Board is unwilling to risk a couple of grand if outstate teams advance in the tournament (thus needing hotel rooms). They want to cheapen the tournament by cutting games.
"We support opportunity" said Director Randy in his "Winter Update". No, Randy, you don't. This is yet another expample of reducing opportunitites for Legion players under your leadership.

The Hotel Policy

'The Board or certain members of the Board, have been married to their policy of having state tournament hosts pay for kids hotel rooms (coaches rooms also). The hotel room policy must make some on the Board feel Minnesota Special since no Legion program in the United States makes that demand of hosts. Action of the Board this time around makes the policy appear so precious that it has achieved near Religion status. This self-imposed hotel commitment superceded Junior Division coaches votes.

The D1 Junior Coaches voted unanimously to:

Keep a full 8-team double elimination bracket for the Junior D1 state tournament. They uniformly did not want to reduce, minimize, or cheapen the state tournament experience. Clear choice. Good choice. Unanimous.
Eliminate any controversy over hotel costs with every team agreeing to pay their own way. Finding host sites for Junior D1 has been near impossible. The main reason has been state mandated payouts for meal money and hotel costs. End the controversy with pay-if-you-go. Clear choice. Good choice. Unanimous,

THE STATE BOARD SEEMS UNWILLING TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE JUNIOR D1 COACHES POSITIONs. INSTEAD, THEY DID THE OPPOSITE.

State Mandate: The Powers Have Spoken - We Decide- Not you!

The State (some prefer now to call it Deep State) seems to be unwilling to address the coaches directly instead preferring to work directly with the state tournament site hosts. From what we understand:

Bloomington will not have to pay hotel rooms for anyone.
Bloomington will not receive the $2,500 state tournament subsidy check. That is a Bloomington net gain of nearly $5,000 from 2024.
The State Board will contract with the hotel(s) and directly pay all hotel costs. Yes, the State Board is picking up the hotel tab at the 2025 D1 Junior State Tournament. We believe its going on their credit card. Expect charges of $5,000 or more.
The 8-Team Double Elimination format is OUT. Forget it Coaches. Your views, wishes, and votes don't count.
A "winner/consolation" bracket tournament has been imposed.
Why? Because it would have 3 or 4 fewer games so that State can save money on their hotel bill. As if that was the only option available. The entire Divsion wants a double elim. It is doable. Unless what we see iscsomeone flexing their powerto cram their view dfown the coaches throats.
The decision appears to have been passed down from the Board or some subset of the Board (who knows for sure since the Baseball Board's door is closed and the drapes are drawn in the Back Room). There are no public documents. Information provided to us is believed reliable.

One would assume that Chairman Strong would have been informed. As a leader of democratic processes, one would expect a demotion or title change or worse yet, excommunication for openly going against the State Board and its policies. Yes, this Board has gone to great lengths to get rid of opinions and people that don't share their views.
One would expect that the Bloomington folks have been informed regarding financial arrangements and the Board's tournmant bracket decree.

What a Slap in the Face

100% of the D1 Junior Divsion wanted the same state tournament format as has been in place since inception.

More games for more kids and more parents.
More games means more ticket revenue and concessions for the host. Fewer games makes hosting less attactive.
In double elim, no one bad play or bad performance or bad inning can sink a team.
But one bad play in the first game of a winner/consolation system dooms half the teams. They are out of the race Game 1 with n o way to get back in.
Why drive halfway across the state and get less than a full shot?
Cheapening the tournament is the polar opposite of the Junior D1 Coaches unanimous position.
The "high school" winner/consolation bracket is used by D2 Senior and Junior tournaments. This is not popular with many of the D2 programs and D2 coaches. It is what the Czars of D2 want, however. So, the D2 Czars now want to dictate to D1 Juniors? They know what is best?
These decisions do not have names attached. Baseball Board: Who amongh you insisted on these solutions? There are 14 of you. Who demands overriding the entire Junior D1 Division to install your chosen format? Put your hands up and explain yourselves.
What are you Junior Guys going to do? You could keep the Double Elim - raise your dues by $35 a team and pay the "extra" hotel charges that might result for a full tournament schedule. What is the risk- $1,00 or $2,000 among 60 teams? Hey. Why not apply to the All Star program committee for a grant?
Changing the tournament reduces opportunity for D1 Junior kids by a minimum of 20%.
Director Randy in his "Winter Update" says he is 'committed to opportunity for kids in Leigon uniforms'. Then adds - 'but not all on the Board feel the same way'. By these actions, you either got out voted or Director Randy joined the Anti-Opportunity crowd that dominates the Legion board room.
The Director and the Baseball Board are committed to opportunity? We will discuss that another time.

What a Messy Mess on Hotels

100% of the D1 Junior Division solved the host hotel dilemma and agreed to pay their own costs. Eassy. Done. No way says the Bosses.

Minnesota state tournaments just have to include hotel rooms being paid by hosts. Or someone. Egads! So, the State Board will pay Junior D1 hotel costs in 2025.
Why? What does the state need to pay hotel costs for teams that voted to pay their own way?
Oh. There is an important Minnesota Tradition to defend. Says who? Put the policy to some names. There are 14 of you. Who demands hotel rooms be paid at state tournaments?
So you covered Bloomington for 2025. What about 2026? What about beyond? No D1 Jr. site has come forward willing to pay your state mandates. Why would that change? Are you going to pay Junior D1 hotels forever?
How much is involved? For Bloomington - do the math - Give up a $2,500 subsidy but save $7,500 on hotel bills. Bloomington comes out ahead.
With a new precedent, the State Board will pay hotel costs. We bet they will run between $5,00 and $7,500.
Oh Great and Powerful Board - what problem did you actually solve? Other than wasting thousands of dollars collected from team registration fees to pay unnecessary costs.
Was this a factor? Politically the Board just couldn't knuckle under to coaches. Even when an entire Division spoke as one.
Problem abound when the state breaks policy and pays hotels. Why not for me, too? What about the other 2025 sites? Oh. This is just a "one year exception"? Good luck with that.
How about the D1 Senior at St. Michael - They will struggle with hotel costs that may exceed last year's hotel costs at Maple Grove - over $30,000. Why should they go in the hole when the Board has hotel money to toss around? Just give up their $4,000 subsidy check and save $30 grand. Easy choice.
Why should Ely pay hotels for the D2 Senior tourney or Hayfield pay hotels for the D2 junior tournament? What message is the Board giving here? A D1 Junior subsidy ought to at least cause some head scratching.
What about future state tournament host prospects? Why won't smaller programs or programs that don't have the financial muscle to pay hotel rooms request the same D1 Junior subsidy for their site? They want to host but can;t meet your State hotel mandates.

Bad Choice: Cheapening the Tournament - To Save Hotel Costs for the State

Suddenly a fiscal responsibility priority seems to appear from the Board. They must impose a lesser tournament to cut games to send more kids home early. The state gotta save on hotel rooms. Actually, no you don't.

How much might be involved? $1,000? $2,000?
The state $2,500 tournament host subsidy is unnecessary and wasteful. D2 Senior and D2 Junior state sites have reported huge net profits yet each is gifted a $2,500 grant.
Example: St. Charles D2 Junior state host 2024 showed a net profit approximating $35,000 on $55,000 in gross revenue. They paid for hotels or their net would have been significantly higher! No $2,500 state grant was needed. Funds were wasted.
Example: Burnsville showed a net profit of nearly $25,000 to to host a mid-week Tier 1A state. Of cours ethey are happy to take the $2,500 gift, but that is just wasted spending from a state program level.
There is no serious financial need to cheapen the D1 Junior state tournament. Someone is thumbing their nose at you Junior coaches.

These Board actions look like short-term reactions to what was a 100% sensible decision made by the entire D1 Junior Division. These reactions look like a 'stuff it in your face" reaction that took the complete opposite of the democratically developed plan presented by the Junior Coaches.

At best, these actions look like temporary attempts to address a specific issue.

Did The Board shoot itself in the foot? Have precedents been created that may come back to haunt?

It Brings Up The Question: What Is the Proper Place of Coaches and Program Directors in Minnesota Legion Baseball

According to Director Randy Schaub in his Ferbruary 3rd "Winter Update", coaches are very important. Very important indeed. So what is the proper place of a coach in the Mionnesota System?

"I want to emphasize the critical role that managers and coaches play in the success of Minnesota American Legion Baseball. Your dedication and efforts are the backbone of our program, and I encourage you to complete your team’s registration as soon as possible."

Get your paperwork in guys! Coach equals admin support. That was it. The onlty coach role cited.

Director Randy Encourages Communication With Coaches

Encouraging communications with coaches, the Director invited coaches to call him up :

"We value your input and encourage you to share your thoughts and opinions. However, please understand that while your perspectives will be given due consideration, this does not mean every request will be granted."

The Director went on to manage expectations explaining or back tracking that he was only one vote on a Board.

Director Randy! What could be more clear than an entire division of coaches unanimously voting on what should have been a very easy solution for you to accept, and you shoved it back into their noses? Communicate ideas tio you? To your Board? It looks like you are running the Just Say No Society, or no to any outsider. Asking coaches for input in light of what really results is just plain disingenuous.

THE MESSAGE TO COACHES

Watch the actions and pay attention to the words. Coaches are in place to feed paperwork. Or 'give me a call sometime'. Don't bet on your idea going anywhere.

Legion Baseball D2 & You - Why so 2nd Class?

Outstate and D2 Deserve Better

The crack of the bat for summer baseball will ring across the state in every smaller town and city. Certainly, some towns are more like small cities while others are, well, just plain small towns. The pride taken in their fields and in their local teams is what baseball legend was built on. State Director Randy Schaub pointed with pride in his "Winter Update' letter as he praised the innovation of the Minnesota Board in its development efforts for creating the D2 levels for Senior and Junior levels that were created for smaller communities. The development of D2 has been key, he said, to Minnesota leading the nation in team numbers.

Hold on a second. D2 was created in 1987 when enough coaches and program directors made a fuss that they had no chance to compete against the bigger towns and metro teams when everyone was jammed into just one division. That was nearly 40 years ago! What was a small group of teams now numbers more than 130. Therein lies the problem. Size undermines Opportunity. D2 Juniors were createdin 2017 to piggy back the established D1 Junior program. D2 Juniors largely took over VFW programs in most towns.

Director Schaub went further to point out that he favors 'opportunity for Legion players' while simul;taneously muting expectations with his admission that others on the Board do not agree with him. Opportunity? For D2? For Outstate? With all due respect to the Director- you got a long way to go.

Current Playoffs Deny Opportunity for More Than Half the Division