This past weekend was normally the time dedicated to picking the Greenfield Post 81 baseball teams. That wasn’t the case this year, as the COVID-19 pandemic had delayed the start to the Massachusetts American Legion season. While players and coaches throughout Franklin County were optimistic there would be some semblance of a summer on the diamond, the American Legion Department of Massachusetts announced on Monday that won’t be the case.
A month after American Legion Baseball announced its World Series would be canceled, individual states followed suit on Monday. Massachusetts was among the states that canceled their Legion baseball seasons due to concerns over the COVID-19, according to a release.
“It is with deep regret that I inform you that the National Organization has decided to cancel the 2020 season effective immediately due to the continuing events resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic,” the release said.
Post 81 was the defending District I champions at the Senior Division level, as the club put together an impressive postseason run in 2019 to earn a spot in the state tournament. Expectations were only going to go up this summer, as Greenfield’s roster would have been loaded with talented and experienced Legion players.
“This was the team we’ve been planning on for the past six years,” Post 81 Senior Division manager Kyle Phelps said. “These kids in their last year, this could potentially be one of the best teams we’ve ever had talent-wise.”
Teams had held out hope that there would be summer Legion games, despite the announcement last month that the World Series had been canceled.
While teams may have a chance to play games in an exhibition fashion this summer, Monday’s release specifically made mention that doing so would be without American Legion backing.
“This shutdown of all sponsorship and all involvement in baseball for the 2020 season means that those baseball teams that wish to continue playing 2020 season baseball shall be participating in a sporting event not sponsored, nor endorsed in any manner by The American Legion National Organization and/or The Department of Massachusetts, but sponsored and endorsed solely by the group the team is named,” the release stated.
The release said that teams planning to conduct a program will need to “determine their rules, guidelines, schedules, insurance coverage, etc., for their own teams as neither The American Legion National nor Department of Massachusetts Organizations will provide this assistance.”
Athletic Committee Chairman Dick Paster of Quincy, which was scheduled to host the state tournament this year, said this summer’s cancellation marks just the second time since 1926 that there will be no Legion program.
“This is a sad day indeed for American Legion Baseball in Massachusetts,” Paster said. “Let’s hope life returns to normal in time for the 2021 season.”
Phelps said this summer would mark the first time without baseball since Greenfield re-established its Legion program under his father, Bill Phelps, in 1984.
“I’ve been associated pretty much my whole life with American Legion baseball,” Kyle Phelps said. “So it’s a sad day and it’s tough for everyone. I’m mostly disappointed for the players and the kids. That’s the worst part, especially for the kids who were about to have their last year of eligibility.”
Kyle Phelps’ son, Owen, was one of those in his final year of Legion eligibility. Greenfield’s roster was veteran-laden, with a sizable contingent of core members aging out after this summer.