American Legion: 15 local teams competing

James Yodice

Tuesday, June 3, 1997 | 11:32 a.m.

Whatever else American Legion baseball is, it is perhaps first and foremost the high school equivalent of a farm system.

In the dog days of summer, players go through rigorous and sometimes demanding, schedules. Sixty, 70, even 80 games in two months.

Why? American Legion has always proven a fertile proving ground for soon-to-be high school graduates, in particular those who want to play collegiately but haven't yet had any offers.

"They'll get seen by a lot of different people," said Chaparral High baseball coach Rich Ebarb. "The (colleges are) starting to see what they can get."

The Legion season began two weeks ago, leading up to the state tournament Aug. 4-9. The state champion advances to the Western Regional at Yountville, Calif., and the regional winner gets a berth in the World Series, which this year is being played in Rapid City, S.D.

Las Vegas will be the site of the 1998 American Legion World Series.

A total of 18 teams are competing this summer, although three -- Kingman, Ariz., Cedar City, Utah, and St. George, Utah -- are not part of the league. The games they play against the 15 programs from Clark County will count toward qualification for Utah's state tournament.

Games played against Kingman, Cedar City and St. George do not count in the league standings.

In either event, Legion baseball can prove beneficial to those who have fallen through the cracks during the high school season, late bloomers or players who might have been injured and gone unseen by scouts.

"A lot of guys are 'tweeners,'" said Cimarron-Memorial High coach Calvin Valvo. "So (the colleges) get a chance to come down and look at them, those who haven't gotten an opportunity to show that they can play."

"We have always approached it as a last opportunity for the seniors," said Silverado High coach Brian Whitaker, who serves only as the third-base coach for the summer. "And also, it's a chance to build our program."

Only a small handful of the high school head coaches carry over that job title into American Legion. Whitaker is an assistant to Art Besser, also the president of the league, and Cimarron is being coached by the father of one of Valvo's high school players. Ebarb reduces his role to spectator.

Others, like Tim Chambers at Bishop Gorman, Willy Rivera at Rancho and Kort Miner at Bonanza, keep right on going. Rancho is a new entry into the program.

Whitaker said junior colleges, as opposed to the Division I programs, are really the most active participants during summers.

"Most of them," Whitaker said, "make their moves in summer, anyway. It's highly scouted."

The Legion season also features an all-star game. It is scheduled Wednesday, July 23, at 8:15 p.m. at UNLV's Wilson Stadium.