By Lori Lyons
Perhaps the Destrehan baseball team should change its name to The Globetrotters.
OK. They haven’t really circled the globe just yet, but the Wildcats sure are doing some serious travelling this summer, with trips to Monroe, Ruston, Lake Charles and even Mississippi. Last year’s itinerary included a trip to Florida.
It’s all part of Destrehan coach Chris Mire’s move to take the Wildcats from the traditional American Legion Baseball schedule to what he calls, “more of a travel ball schedule.”
The team, which played as St. Charles Post 366/195, left the New Orleans area American Legion league last summer. Divided into two teams – the 18-under ES&H Wildcats and the 16-under Bunge Wildcats – Mire’s present and future players travelled well beyond the New Orleans area.
They still play some American Legion teams during the week, then travel to tournaments on some weekends. Last weekend the Wildcats went to a tourney at Southern Miss, next weekend they will travel to McNeese State University in Lake Charles. Later this month they will play in a tournament in Hammond and, next month, there is one in north Louisiana.
Mire said everyone is happier.
“Last summer was probably the best summer I’ve ever had coaching baseball,” Mire said. “More and more high school players are wanting to get exposure and play in front of college coaches and scouts. We’ve been losing players every summer to travel ball because of that. So, we decided to try to keep our players, get them the exposure and play a tougher schedule.”
For nearly 100 years, boys across America have spent their summers sweating and dodging raindrops to play American Legion Baseball, competing for district, state and national honors. Jesuit-based teams have won two titles, Rummel’s has won one. Hahnville’s made the state tournament in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Destrehan’s former Legion team advanced to the State Tournament in 2003 and 2012. Hahnville-based Otto Candies finished second to Jesuit in the 2012 state tournament, but advanced to the Mid-South Regional. Neither has won a Legion state championship.
Besides that, baseball coaches have counted on the summer schedule to help them get ready for next year’s prep season. But in recent years, many states have seen a decline in the number of Legion teams competing for local, state and national honors. Louisiana is no exception, dropping from 34 teams in 2014 to a record low of 20 this summer. While the Hahnville-based Otto Candies continues to be in that number, the Destrehan-based team that played as American Legion Post 366/195 is not. Some have put the blame squarely on travel ball, which charges players fees to play so they can travel to various tournaments.
Seeing the trend, Mire gave up the Post last year in favor of a travel ball-like schedule and continued it this summer. Upcoming senior left fielder Miles Patureau said he, for one, loves it.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Patureau said. “During Legion you play the high school teams in your area. We’re playing teams with high school players combined with college players. It’s like playing travel ball.”
“I do like it,” added upcoming senior first baseman Brandon Robichaux. “I like that we get to play on different college fields and in front of different college coaches.”
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