The American Legion baseball program remains open to the possibility of an abbreviated baseball experience for the 2020 Summer Season. Whereas the State of Maryland has entered Phase I on re-opening during the pandemic and has begun lifting some restrictions as of May 15th, Montgomery and PG counties remain under the shelter in place restrictions until certain critical benchmarks are met including a two week period of declining COVID19 cases. In addition, Montgomery County has closed athletic fields until June 30th. If fields become available in the beginning of July, the possibility remains that we could have a truncated baseball season. 

Therefore, we are making contingency plans if and when athletic fields are re-opened. To aid us in planning, we request that players who are interested in participating please contact your Legion Coach by June 10th of your intent to participate or not. American Legion coaches are as follows: Senior Legion (19U) - Coach Kevin Hernandez (kevin.hernandez@yahoo.com); Junior Legion I (17U) - Coach Dave Retherford (dave.retherford@precisionformedicine.com); and Junior Legion II (16U) - Coach Kevin Molesworth (kevinmolesworth@gmail.com). 

We will continue to monitor the situation and will provide another update on or about June 15th.

 April 15, 2020  

Dear Post 171 Players and Families, 

We hope this email finds you and your loved ones safe and well!  We hope you are all faring well in these difficult times and maintaining as much normalcy as possible with your families.

The recent decision to cancel the 2020 American Legion, State and National level baseball tournaments was announced on April 7, 2020.  This very tough decision was made due to the national and global Covid-19 pandemic, and to assure the safety of players, coaches and families.

While this decision was a logical choice on a national level, it does not mean that we can’t continue to hope for a local season of baseball.  We are continuing to monitor and follow all CDC, local and state restrictions.  Should restrictions be lifted that allow groups and sport activities to resume, Post 171 leadership and coaches will decide if it is safe to play baseball.  This decision will be made carefully, and ONLY the safety of our players, coaches and families will determine this decision.

As of now, all teams have a schedule of games from late May through mid-July and we are maintaining contact with the other Legion Teams and baseball leagues for coordination.  If we need to cancel games in May or June we’ll try to reschedule for late July and maybe even August.  So please know that we are going to do all we can to give our players hope that they’ll be able to play this summer.  We feel this is especially important as these players are possibly losing their high school seasons, and we hope nothing more will be lost for our players and families.

Post 171 leadership and coaches are communicating at least weekly, and even daily, to work on the upcoming season, so please continue to plan on playing at some point. We will continue to update you as the situation progresses.  Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thanks, and please stay safe!

Damascus American Legion Baseball Committee and Coaches

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak and the guidance from public health and government officials, the Post 171 Coaches, Parents, and Players meeting scheduled for March 29th has been postponed to a date TBA. As we all navigate through this turbulent and unprecedented time, we ask that you please take the necessary precautions to protect yourself and those around you. We will continue to update everyone with information regarding the 2020 Summer Baseball Season as soon as we are made aware of those new developments. Thank you and stay well.

American Legion Baseball by the Numbers:

• 60,000+ Baseball Participants 
• 71 Former American Legion Baseball players in the Hall of Fame, including all three 2017 honorees: Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Ivan Rodriguez
• 9 AL World Series games to be broadcast live on national television on ESPNU from August 10-15.

Follow us on Twitter

You can now follow Post 171 on Twitter for updates throughout the season. Information about Practices, Games and Cancellations will all be posted on Twitter.

Follow us @Post171Baseball