Legion baseball expands to include all 19-year-olds

As part of a national rule change, senior American Legion baseball teams around the area will have an expanded pool of players to choose from this year.

An adjustment in the age limitation rules for senior Legion teams will allow all 19-year-olds to participate in the league. In the past, any player who turned 19 before Aug. 1 was excluded.

Jackson senior legion general manager Gerald Adams said the new rule may raise the level of play for senior Legion teams, but likely will have an adverse affect on younger players who try out for those teams.

"You're going to end up having juniors in high school that may be beat out by some 19-year-olds," he said.

Homer Dickman, the director of the American Legion Department of Missouri Inc., said the rule change came from the national Legion office.

"Nobody has ever explained them to us," he said of the national rule changes. "They just tell us this is what the rule is."

Dickman said the rule could change the makeup of some teams.

"Only time will tell," he said. "Team managers are going to have a lot of decisions to make."

One thing the rule change does do is give some local baseball players the chance to enjoy another summer in the sun.

"The opportunity is there," Dickman said. "We want every kid to have the opportunity."

The age limit rule change does not affect junior Legion teams. The Aug. 1 cut-off date for 2A and 1A junior Legion teams will remain the same.

American Legion posts in Jackson and Cape Girardeau each sponsor senior- and junior-level teams that play in the spring and summer after the completion of the high school season.