Schuylkill-Berks baseball league no longer will be affiliated with American Legion Baseball
Feb. 22—The Schuylkill-Berks baseball league no longer will be affiliated with American Legion Baseball, the league announced Wednesday in a statement.
For now, the league will focus on being independent, the statement said.
"We've come to this conclusion after lengthy, careful consideration," the statement read. "With the PIAA expanding their playoffs and Legion mandating earlier conclusions to our seasons, too many of our programs were forced to play short, and in some cases, incomplete seasons that didn't offer the kind of quality baseball season our league has always strived to provide."
Six teams from Berks are in the league: Kutztown, Hamburg, Muhlenberg, Post 217 (Brandywine Heights and Oley Valley), Post 625 (Fleetwood and Schuylkill Valley) and Wyomissing.
There are five teams from Schuylkill County: Pine Grove, Schuylkill Valley (based in Pottsville), Southern Area, Tamaqua and Valley View.
The regular season is scheduled to start June 3 and run through July 15. Each team has 20 games against league opponents on its schedule.
According to league president Ed Lloyd, there have been situations in the past where some teams — because of conflicts and postponements caused in part by the aforementioned high school state playoffs and the need to have the Legion schedule completed in time for that postseason — have been forced to play 14 games in eight days.
"It was chaos," he said.
Being independent should alleviate that problem.
"We tried very hard to work with Legion leadership at both the regional and state level to come to a compromise, but we were left with the ultimatum of suspension if we did not comply with their demands." the statement continued.
The league is considering other changes, according to the statement, such as metal bats, bigger rosters and college opportunities for players.
In 2010, seven teams from Berks — Fleetwood, Hamburg, Muhlenberg, Oley Valley, Schuylkill Valley, Topton and Wyomissing — left the Berks Legion League to join eight Schuylkill County teams to form the Schuylkill-Berks League.
The league has undergone some changes since then, but becoming independent is certainly the biggest.
"While there are many aspects of this that are direct results of poor leadership and foresight by American Legion Baseball, we've come to this conclusion for one reason only: The players," the statement read. "Our players deserve to play a full baseball season and get the chance to play with their friends and teammates one last time together. Ultimately, we do not need to be affiliated with American Legion Baseball to accomplish those goals."
