Ron Kantowski on why there are Legions flocking to Cedar Rapids

By Ron Kantowski (contact)

Friday, Aug. 18, 2006 | 9:10 a.m.

Cedar Rapids is the second-largest city in Iowa, which is good to know in the event Des Moines is closed. Which is always possible.

The top tourist attraction in Cedar Rapids is the National Czech and Slovak Museum. The second-biggest attraction is the Amana Colonies, which may or may not be a place to go refrigerator shopping.

On second thought, it's a good thing that Des Moines isn't closed this week. And that the Bishop Gorman American Legion team has even more baseball to play.

The Gaels earlier this week became the second local team to qualify for the Legion World Series in as many years by running their postseason winning streak to 10 games. Gorman celebrated its victory in the regional in Albuquerque by spending two more nights there. The National Czech and Slovak Museum apparently will have to wait.

Bishop Gorman will play a team from Midlothian, Va., around noon today following the Series opener pitting Sumter, S.C., against Lincoln, Neb. Metairie, La., will face Terre Haute, Ind., and Lawrence, Kan., will meet Milton, Mass., in tonight's doubleheader.

There are a lot more rolled-up sidewalks than neon in that group. But one of the endearing things about our national pastime is that between the lines, it doesn't matter how many bright lights your hometown has. A team from Las Vegas has never won the American Legion World Series. Last year, a team from Enid, Okla., (pop. 46,616) did.

The idea, says Gorman coach Chris Sheff, is to play as much good, old-fashioned country hardball as you can over the next five days and see where you wind up on Tuesday.

Nothing against the National Czech and Slovak Museum. But Sheff said if the Gaels don't extend their season into next week and don't leave Iowa with a trophy, the season will have been a bigger disappointment than Cedar Rapids' nightlife.

"I don't think our kids will think it has been a great year unless we win it," he said.

At least his kids know what that's like. The nucleus of the Gorman summer team is the nucleus of the Gorman spring team that captured the Nevada 4A state championship and has played so much baseball during the past year that the players can recite the infield fly rule in their sleep.

Today's game will be the 166th that Gorman has played during the current calendar year. That's an entire major league season plus a round of playoffs, a lot of baseball even for franchises with 40-man rosters. Sheff said Gorman will take 16 players to Iowa.

Fortunately, he said, most are underclassmen. That means they don't need a lot of time off for working summer jobs, which has ruined more good American Legion teams than a hanging curveball with the bases loaded. And many of the Gaels are pitchers, or at least have shown some aptitude for throwing a baseball between the knees and letters.

Seniors-to-be Paul Sewald, Brandon Garcia and Donn Roach have been throwing heat to match the thermometer, and Taylor Cole, Gorman's shortstop and best player, is coming off an outing in Albuquerque in which he struck out 11.

Still, Sheff has played enough baseball - he was a member of Pepperdine's 1992 national championship team and made it to Triple-A as an outfielder in the Oakland organization - to know that double-elimination tournaments like this one are often decided by a second baseman who can come in during the late innings and throw strikes.

Teams with a guy like that win championships.

Teams without a guy like that usually wind up at the Czech and Slovak Museum.