Legion Baseball Reflects on Historic Summer

Riding excellent pitching, superb defense, timely hitting, and a winning mentality, the American Legion Canton Post 24 baseball team advanced further in the 2013 postseason than any prior summer.

After a strong regular season, countering pre-season prognostications, Canton dispatched rival Foxboro in the District 6 playoffs. Four days later, Post 24 fell into the loser’s side of the South Sectional Bracket Tournaments with a lackluster defeat to Brockton.

With its back to the wall, Canton rebounded with a 16-6 thumping of Easton, before falling again to Brockton in a nail-biter the next evening, July 30, to conclude the season with a 15-13 record.

“The kids had a truly unbelievable and historic year for Canton Legion Baseball,” said Head Coach Greg Lyons. “It was amazing to watch the progression of a team that no one picked to even make it to district playoffs - turning into a force to be reckoned with and making it all the way to sectional semi-finals.”

Four players from the Sharon High team played on the Legion team this summer, which was mostly comprised of Canton players and captained by Pedersen and Jake Fishman (of Sharon) and Cantonians Drew Blake and Steve Mullaney.

The Sharon members were 2013 SHS baseball senior captains first baseman/pitcher Pedersen and pitcher/outfielder Fishman, rising senior captain Frank Sullivan ’14, and rising junior Matt Shaffer ’15. (Yours truly, SHS ’13, was the Post 24 asst. manager.)

Sullivan, a first-year Legion player, noted how well the players from the two teams became one cohesive unit as the summer wore on. “I got a sense of how to be a better teammate, because most of my new teammates were kids from another town who I had never met,” he said.

Fishman, who, like Pedersen, suited up for Post 24 for the past three summers, said, “I think the biggest difference of this year versus the prior years was that we had more team chemistry. This team was full of returning players, and all of the new players fit right in.”

During the regular season, which commenced following the high school baseball season, the team posted stretches of outstanding baseball and endured multi-game skids. Lyons says that persistence and perseverance were two words describing the season.

“No matter how much we may have been struggling or how great we may have been playing, the guys stayed even keel and just played their game,” said Lyons, who credited the instilling of that mentality to what he called “a core group of leaders.”

Pedersen said, “We did everything we could do to get us where we were in the playoffs - some heartbreaks, but it was worth it.”

Lyons also noted that he was regularly complimented by opposing coaches and parents on not only his team’s play, but on the players’ conduct.

On the field, pitching and defense were Post 24’s most consistent areas. Fishman, who Lyons called the team’s most valuable player, was arguably the best pitcher in all of District 6.

The lefthander dominated opponents to the tune of a 6-1 record, a miniscule 0.89 ERA, and 55 strikeouts against just seven walks in 47 innings. Fishman was the winning pitcher in both of Post 24’s playoff victories, including a shutout of Foxboro on July 24.

By season’s end, Pedersen, a righthander, had earned the role of the #2-pitcher (behind Fishman), with Lyons handing him ball to open the South Sectional Bracket Tournaments.

Five other pitchers contributed with victories for Post 24, including Sullivan, who tossed a complete game in Canton’s playoff-clinching victory in Holbrook on July 17.

The righthander Sullivan may step into the role of Sharon High’s #2-pitcher, behind lefty Will Ginsberg, next spring. “I got a chance to work on my pitching skills and stay in good baseball shape during the summer,” Sullivan said.

Lyons said, “Our pitching got stronger and deeper as the demanding regular season charged on, which was huge. Without that, we wouldn’t have been able to win those big games while playing five, six, seven days in a row.”

Canton’s hurlers could usually count on their defensive mates to lift them. “Most of the time, we were almost flawless in the field, which went a long way towards our pitching staff being as strong as it was this summer,” Lyons said. 

Offensively, the lefty Blake led the charge. A Canton resident who will play for Fairfield University starting in the fall of 2014, Blake displayed the most prodigious power sustained over a full season that Lyons had seen by a high school/Legion player, bombing six homers.

Fishman led the squad in batting average (.367) and crossed the plate a team-high 22 times. The left-handed hitter also crushed 12 extra-base hits, including four in an incredible batting display in the playoff victory over Easton.

“You cannot have as good of a season as we had without a few guys putting up some great numbers,” Lyons said.

Production throughout the lineup was crucial to Canton’s success. Although the team collectively struggled in the early going, batting .200 one-third of the way through the schedule, Post 24 rebounded to hit .280 for the season.

Lyons said that the turnaround was due in large part to the players’ commitment to improving as hitters. “It is a tribute to the kids grinding it out, coming for extra batting practice on those 95-degree days, an hour-and-a-half before games.

“Most 15-, 16-, 17-, 18-year old kids would have rather stayed inside in their air-conditioned house, playing Playstation 3. That extra time and hard work really showed towards the end of the season,” Lyons added.

Numerous players noted that the Easton playoff victory will serve as the lasting memory of the season. Fishman said, “I thought our team came together and played as hard as we could in the playoffs. I think our team certainly achieved to its potential.”

Lyons says that the team dedicated this season to Canton Legion Baseball’s founder and longtime manager, Bob Brown (“Brownie”).

Lyons added, “Our success couldn't have happened without the help from the players’ parents; my assistant coaches: Al Jackson, Walter Mann, and Yoni Monat; as well as Canton Post 24 Legion. Thanks to everyone for their help and support.” 

Players gained much more from playing Legion Baseball than improved baseball skills, Lyons said. “It really teaches the kids about doing the right thing both on and off the field, and respecting not only the game of baseball, but all of the veterans out there who helped make this Country what it is today and make things like Legion Baseball possible.”

Fishman and Pedersen will each play baseball and pitch collegiately (Fishman at Union College in Schenectady, NY and Pedersen at Keene State College in Keene, NH).

Both said that playing Legion baseball allowed them to face more talented opponents than in high school baseball, preparing them for the next level of competition come next spring.

Shaffer, who figures to start every day in the outfield for next year’s Sharon High varsity team, says that his experience this summer batting against a higher caliber of pitching will be a benefit for the Eagles next spring.

“Playing with this team exposed me to some great and talented players, which boosted my ability and gave me valuable experiences that have over prepared me for my upcoming Sharon season,” Shaffer said.

Looking ahead to the 2014 Legion season, Canton loses just one player to age eligibility restrictions, Pedersen. Lyons said, “Although my coaching career has just started (4th year coaching), Nate will always be one of my favorite players to have coached.

“He is a really good ballplayer and an even better kid. It is never an issue with Nate; team always came first, no questions asked, and he was a great leader on and off the field. Kids like Nate make it easy on me as a coach. Glad he got to leave his mark on the program before he finished with us,” Lyons said.

The coach added that Pedersen is one of the finalists for the Bob Brown Award, an annual honor given by Post 24 the Canton Legion player who works the hardest, always does what is asked, and never complains, all while submitting a strong performance on the field. The recipient will be announced at Tuesday’s team banquet.

Pedersen says that the Post 24 baseball program has grown during his time on the squad. “I think the program has changed a lot over three years. There has been a lot of more interest shown in younger players lately, which will be great for the Legion program down the line,” he said.

As for next year’s Canton Legion program, Lyons says that ballplayers residing in both Canton and Sharon who are coming up through the Junior Legion (Post 24’s first year of organizing that team) and Babe Ruth programs will add to the Senior Legion team.

“Our mentality for next summer is that the sky is the limit for us,” Lyons said. “That's what your mentality has to be every summer; you really just never know, as this summer has shown us. A little hard work, determination and teamwork go a long way.”

Sullivan said, “Next year, I believe we will have the skill and coaching, and the mentality that we need to do as well [as 2013], if not better.” Shaffer added, “I believe we’ll have the experience to advance even further in the playoffs and make greater history then we did this year.”