The Airing of Grievances, July 29

The sad state of American Legion baseball

A few weeks back Greenville Post 3 had to drop out of the American Legion playoffs in mid-series, with one of the reasons being it was unable to field enough players to continue the series.

Apparently, some of the Post 3 players were also committed to playing in the Big League playoffs and left Post 3 in mid-playoffs.

In looking at the HeraldOnline Web site in Rock Hill for news on the Winthrop coaching search, I noticed a wrapup of the Rock Hill legion team's season after it was eliminated from the state tournament.

The story mentioned in passing that the Hilton Head team, which had qualified for the state tournament in Columbia, couldn't field enough players for a tournament game. I don't know if there were extenuating circumstances like injuries or suspensions in the Hilton Head situation, but this was a team that made the state tournament!

It makes me sad that American Legion baseball appears to have reached such a sad state. I'm sure the Big League playoffs likely are playing a role in this, because there didn't seem to be a competing program for the same age group as legion programs in this area until recently.

I don't blame the Big League program, either. I'm sure it's good baseball and the World Series in Easley has attracted regional interest.

But, I grew up going to American Legion baseball games in the 1960s, mostly Greer Post 115 because that's where players from Travelers Rest High were assigned in those days.

I remember team batboy Tommy "Housecat" Hawkins and his good-luck laps around Stevens Field before games.

I remember getting to watch players like Fred Coan and Rockie Pitman -- guys I got to know later when they were high school coaches and I was a sportswriter. Rockie and his family later joined my church and we were in the same Sunday School class for a few years.

I sometimes got to travel to road games with H.N. Forrest, father of one of my brother's best friends. I can remember late-night trips home from Lancaster and Greenwood after playoff games.

The caliber of baseball might not have been as good as it seemed through the eyes of a mid-teen, but it was a good way to spend summer nights.

I hope the situations with the Greenville and Hilton Head teams not being able to field teams after having made the playoffs are anomalies. I prefer to remember American Legion baseball for the way it used to be, not for the way it seems to have become.

The Winthrop search goes on

There doesn't appear to be much information coming out of Rock Hill on the Winthrop coaching search.

USC assistant Chad Holbrook and UNC assistant Scott Forbes appear to have been targets who have rebuffed the Eagles' overtures.

Former Minnesota Twins pitcher Frank Viola has expressed interest in the job, but he has no college coaching experience.

The merits of Francis Marion's Art Inabinet, USC Aiken's Kenny Thomas and Spartanburg Methodist's Tim Wallace have been discussed on one Winthrop message board, but there's nothing to indicate any of the three is on the short list of candidates.

There's also been speculation about Randy Hood, an assistant at UNC Wilmington.

With the start of the fall semester not all that far away, I wonder if Winthrop might go with current assistant Mike McGuire, at least on an interim bases for 2011 so he can have a chance to make a case to get the job on a permanent basis, or to give the school a chance for a more thorough search.