Gaylord Baseball Legion Club
During the summertime, many Northern Michigan high school baseball players play in travel leagues, one of them is legion baseball. The Northern area has a handful of baseball teams including the Gaylord Baseball Club A Team. The legionnaires just won the district tournament, now they have their sights set on the state championship.
The Gaylord Legion Baseball team has been around for a decade. The High Schools in the area join together to form one team, and they go around the state facing other legion teams. In years past, the Gaylord Legionnaires have won many tournaments, and their play led to success for the high school teams during the spring season.
Colin Basinski
Gaylord Legion Baseball Catcher
"It's awesome to be able to play against some high level competition. It challenges me and strives to make me better, so I can keep up with everybody. It's always fun to face a good challenge."
Dillon Croff
Gaylord Legion Baseball/3rd Baseman/Pitcher
"I love playing with the guys, it's really fun, going to different places and traveling with everyone is great."
Tim Wiltse
Gaylord Legion Baseball Manager
"For me, it's just being with these guys and giving them opportunities, showing them what high level baseball looks like by taking them to tournaments for some really good baseball."
This season, the Gaylord Boys are 9-11-1, but they played a lot of games against bigger teams in the state. They just won the Zone 4 championship beating Gladwin Single A 9-6. They are now going for the state title, and they are noticing their games are improving as the season is progressing.
Dillon Croff
Gaylord Legion Baseball/3rd Baseman/Pitcher
"I think my game has definitely improved with these guys. I'm younger so playing with the older guys it's different I have excelled definitely."
Colin Basinski
Gaylord Legion Baseball Catcher
"When I first started on the team, I had caught two games my entire career. This gave me much more experience and more opportunity to improve my game behind the plate. I have seen leaps and bounds of improvement in high school and here."
Wiltse says this avenue is very important for the local players to keep them sharp, after all they can only really play during half the year, compared to players in other parts of the country.
Tim Wiltse
Gaylord Legion Baseball Manager
"Up here, it's a disadvantage, because of the weather, when we can get on the field in the Summer. It starts to even the field out as far as experience for the teams."
The Michigan Legion Baseball Tournament begins on Wednesday.