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American Legion Baseball Rule changes for 2018

Linkman

Well-Known Member
Jun 14, 2009
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On August 12 the National Executive Committee of the American Legion approved the following rule changes:
- National tournament play will be 7 innings. That includes the state, regional, and world series play. Departments have the option to play 9 innings during the regular season.

- Pitch count changes:
Pitchers will have a daily maximum of 105 pitches per day, down from 120.
Required rest will be as follows:
1-30 pitches: 0 days

31-45 pitches: 1 day

46-60 pitches: 2 days

61-80 pitches: 3 days

81+ pitches: 4 days

Pitchers may only make two appearances in any three consecutive days. Players will be charged with two appearances if they leave the pitching position and return as a pitcher in the same game.

- Courtesy runner and re-entry
In regular season play only, departments may have the option to allow for courtesy runners and re-entry. Courtesy runners may be permitted for pitchers or catchers.

Departments that allow for re-entry may permit players to be substituted and return to the game once, provided the player returns to the same slot in the batting order.

- Graduate rule
Language has been removed from the rule book that required 19-year-olds to be former Legion players.

Any interested 19-year-old can now play for their previous Legion team (if applicable) or the team closest to their domicile (not matter if they played freshman college ball or not.)
 
Dislike :(:mad: I know I am not the only one.

9 inning Senior American Legion Baseball games were the purest form of amateur baseball we had left. Now - nothing. I am very disappointed. And is it just me or do these rules just "come down" without any feedback from the people who are keeping ALB alive - the coaches, players, ADs, and communities? Tragic.
 
Deuce_24 from what I heard they do but that is the problem!!!!!!!

Where is American Legion baseball strong and have the most teams..... in the north and midwest! I have read articles recently published by those parts of the area and all those coaches are happy.

Down here in the South most legion teams are comprised of 3 or more high schools. Up there....not so much. Most of those teams have 1 high school or 2. This helps those teams compete with the teams that use all of their 5,000 enrollment. Down here you can't compete with 1 team. You bring one of our teams up there and we would bash almost every team 20-0
 
it is hard to play 4, 9 inning tournament game on the same day. wouldn't have that problem if you play the same team until one team wins 3 of 5 games . wonder if NC can play 9 innings in 3 out of 5 series,? if so, NC might want to play 3 out of 5 series and not have a state tournament.
 
I believe you are required to have a state tournament! You can change it up to where there are only 4 teams at your state tournament!
 
Legion just turned into the same thing as every other summer program.....it will be hated by most high school coaches. The level of play will get better, but the level of dedication will go down. The teams that struggle with dedication will only suffer more problems with kids leaving for the beach, the lake, and quitting. Since the showcase teams have seniors and college freshmen paying to play, it might not change the on field product as much as I think. Either way, I believe it is an absolute shame.
 
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post 36-You have high school graduating players playing showcase still? How are college freshman on showcase teams still?
 
I’m 44 years old and believe I can probably find a team to play on if I can write the check. Mostly joking, but some “college woodbat” leagues has gone the way of showcase as a money maker, instead of providing a quality environment for developing players. The ones in the Charlotte area that just popped up a couple years ago has spread across the state and almost every team is ran by a showcase company. Think some of those teams are playing Legion teams now and if so, I would be willing to bet that they don’t fare well against good Legion programs. The ones I’m aware, play twice a week & do not practice as a team. Hardwork & dedication is still the formula for success, but fewer people seem to grasp the concept.
 
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I know 3 years ago the SCBL was letting high school seniors play because they couldn't fill all the roster spots! I have not seen a high school player on there in the past two years.

I know there were a couple of kid's that were really young for graduating seniors last year that played 18u for Team Charlotte.

Just my opinion unless you have alot of money to blow invest it in your kid some how and have him play legion!
 
Back on the soapbox about the rule changes. Legion apparently wants to be Big Little League. Unfortunately, they will get what they want. I agreed with pool play for tournaments and suggested in 2011 to do exactly that with a day off so the kids could enjoy the environment of being in the World Series. Makes the schedule work for TV and fans with only 3 games per day early in the tournament. Grounds crews can breathe, no 9:00 am games that are horrible. It helps travel which was a nightmare in Regionals & World Series so that they could be handled better. When Jim Quinlan left as National Baseball Chairman, it's been downhill since. He is a baseball guy and there were some other baseball guys left, but apparently they don't push hard enough for the things that made Legion special. Playing two 9 inning games in one day is brutal in summer heat. That is the only justifiable reason I can see for the change. I love positive changes and I hate like heck to see things deteriorate, especially with the blind driving the bus. Just to be clear, I really don't know most of the NC leadership anymore, and my frustration is directed further up stream.
 
hopefully they will play 9 innings when the playoffs starts, a lot of one run games may have had a different outcome if they had played 9 innings. because of the brutal summer heat all games should start at 700 pm to do that tournament need to be changed to a 3 out of 5 series,.
Not going to happen, 7 inning games all the way to World Series Championship
 
Dislike :(:mad: I know I am not the only one.

9 inning Senior American Legion Baseball games were the purest form of amateur baseball we had left. Now - nothing. I am very disappointed. And is it just me or do these rules just "come down" without any feedback from the people who are keeping ALB alive - the coaches, players, ADs, and communities? Tragic.
most of ours players would like to play 9 innings. one game went 9 innings in June because of a tie, one parent said. at least we are getting see 9 innings.
 
I'm 100% fully in favor of Legion being 9 innings; however, why would you ever condition your team to structure that will not be used in the playoffs when the results matter more? The regular season for the folks that understand the structure is for the team to be tested and prepared for the playoffs. It would be like a tennis player practicing only on hard courts to play a tournament on clay. The team structure for 7 inning games is different than 9 inning games for sure. I never felt comfortable with less than 11 pitchers on a team. If things work perfect in a double elimination tournament you can't get by ethically or with the new pitch count rules with less than 9 pitchers playing 9 inning games. You need all 11 without run rule shortened games. Guys have done it with less, but also overthrowing pitchers on short or no rest. Hopefully NC will play 9 innings because Nation goes back to it, but don't hold your breath. This is my opinion, but I'm willing to bet that ESPN believes 7 inning games in the World Series are more marketable which is likely the reason for the change. Lastly and most important for me, what do you tell a kid you use as a setup guy in the regular season because of 9 inning games that earns a vital role under that structure, and then rarely plays a part of the post season because we revert back to 7 innings? Policy affects people, and our methods need to promote positive results for those who matter most, which is our players. If we only get this part right, the organization as a whole will rise back to prominence over time. Without adapting to the current environment, we struggle or cease to exist!
 
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