Local teams spend holiday on the road

By BRANDON WRIGHT
Published June 30, 2005

TAMPA - The upcoming Fourth of July weekend means a chance to celebrate with friends and family around the backyard barbecue.

Some area baseball teams hope to put on their own fireworks display at the American Legion Veterans Memorial Tournament.

The 20-team tourney begins today in Bradenton and ends Sunday. Local teams competing include the Ravens Baseball Club (Alonso), West Tampa Post 248 (Jefferson), Terriers Baseball Club (Hillsborough), Newsome and the Boys and Girls Club of Tampa Bay (Gaither).

The tournament format calls for pool play among the clubs in four five-team divisions. The winners of each division and two wild cards advance to single-elimination play.

Last year, Samford proved too tough for area clubs. The Boys and Girls Club and the Ravens each lost to the eventual tournament champion before West Tampa fell 5-3 in the final.

LONG DROUGHT: Despite the abundance of baseball talent in the area, it has been 17 years since a team has won the American Legion "A" state title.

"It's a little hard to believe," West Tampa coach Pop Cuesta said.

Many area coaches have elected to only use returning high school players in hopes of building team chemistry for the upcoming prep season. Only a handful of teams, such as West Tampa and the Boys and Girls Club, do not follow this strategy.

"There is a definite trend toward coaches only using the players they'll have returning to play for them during high school," Cuesta said. "We try to put the best possible team on the field."

Cuesta's 1987 squad was the last area team to win a state title. That team featured future major-leaguer Sam Militelo , Paul Russo and Steve Mauldin , and finished third at the American Legion World Series.

"And we probably should have won the whole thing," Cuesta said. "Mauldin was our big guy that year and he separated his shoulder in regionals when he slipped rounding a base."

This year's state tournament is in Clearwater Aug.3-7.

Academic commitments and tight athletic schedules prevent teams from traveling much during the school year, so Jesuit coach John Crumbley has taken his legion teams on road trips the past three summers. Last year the Tigers went to Gainesville for the Florida Team camp.

"Traveling gives the kids a chance to play ball in other places which is fun for them and brings them closer as teammates," Crumbley said.

But it isn't just the players who get a vacation. Crumbley said 18 of the 20 players who went brought a parent along.

[Last modified June 30, 2005, 00:59:15]