The return of Worland Legion Baseball

For the first time since 2008, the Worland American Legion program is back and out on the diamond.

The last time Worland had a team was the 2008 season when they combined with Lander.

The Worland Post 44 Chiefs played their first games of the season in a doubleheader against Thermopolis on May 30 at Newell Sargent Park.

The Chiefs dropped both games to Thermopolis, 14-2 and 8-2.  

The nerves were there in Worland's first game back, 12 of the 14 runs Thermopolis scored in Game 1 came in the first inning.

However, once the Worland players settled down, they battled with Thermopolis.

"They were so nervous and afraid to make mistakes, and when you play like that, you're bound to make some," said Worland Post 44 head coach Corey Davis. "Then, of course, Thermopolis capitalized on every mistake. In the second game, we had our inexperienced players, and they put up a heck of a fight until Thermop got us in the final inning."

After the doubleheader against Thermopolis, Worland played games against Greybull and Otto.

Worland fell in the first leg of the doubleheader against Greybull 11-6 but bounced back to win 2-1 in Game 2. They then went on to down Otto 9-1.

"After that Thermopolis game, I took over, and I told the kids that we were making x amount of mistakes each game, which happens. That's baseball. So let's focus on making fewer mistakes each game. We went to Greybull, and they made fewer mistakes and were learning from the mistakes. I mixed up the teams, too, with our experienced and inexperienced players. We started throwing strikes, we hit the ball, and we were catching the ball," said Davis. "It was awesome."

The little improvements from Game 1 to Game 5 are what Davis is looking for this season. As the new program, Worland will take their lumps over these next few seasons. But making those incremental gains is what will help the program the most.

"I talk a lot to Ron Overcast, and one of his big things is getting 1% better each day. I've bought into that because 1% isn't much on its own, but if you add it up over a season, that's a lot. I use it with my traveling soccer and basketball teams. We're just looking for them to buy in, work at it and limit the mistakes. We'll run into a buzzsaw from time to time, but that will be something for us to learn from.

"The first at-bats, they shouldn't have taken a bat up there because they were not going to swing it," joked Davis. "They started to swing the bat as we played more games. They were more aggressive on the infield. I'm seeing them get that 1% better. They're listening and starting to buy in. My strategy is to keep it simple as we build up that foundation."

Playing on the Worland Legion teams that won state championships from 1997-'99, Davis grew up in the Legion program.

Getting Worland to play competitive baseball will take many reps. That's why this first season, Davis is devoting it to getting those basics of the sport down so that they become second nature.

"We're going to work on getting in a lot of reps. We'll hit 1,000 groundballs, and they'll learn how to get their leather on it and charge a ball. We're going to make 1,000 throws. We'll hit 1,000 flyballs, so they get their tracking down. Then we're going to take a thousand swings," said Davis. "A ton of repetition, and in the 10 days I've been involved, you can see the improvement."

The Chiefs have two games this week. Friday, they host the Riverton Raiders at Newell Sargent Park at 4 and 6 p.m. Saturday, they go to Buffalo for a doubleheader at 2 and 4 p.m.

With summer in full swing, Worland will be shorthanded this weekend, but both games give Worland a chance to get 1% better, win or lose.

"Summer is tough because the kids have football camps, basketball camps, 4-H, vacations and other things. So we'll be missing a lot of our pitchers right now, but it all goes back to that 1% thing. Win or lose, let's get better.

"I'm just looking for the small victories. Baseball is a humbling sport. If you focus on the seven times you struck out and not the three times you got on base, you're going to be a miserable human being. We just want to keep building on the good things we're doing. You can't build a program overnight. We just need to build the program up gradually," said Davis.

RESTARTING THE PROGRAM

Helping revive the Worland Post 44 American Legion program was Chance Bond.  

Restarting the Legion program has been about two years in the making for Bond. He grew up playing Legion baseball, and with Worland's Legion history, it was the perfect fit.

"You start talking to the people about baseball in Worland, and there's a rich tradition and a history here that they're very proud of. That's where the inspiration started," said Bond.

Starting out, Bond thought he would have to coach the team but was able to bring Davis on board just before the season.

Bond coached the program's first game back against Thermopolis, with Davis stepping in afterward.

"We've got a pretty good coaching staff now. Corey Davis has come on, and he's the head coach now. I feel a lot better about that because he's a coach at heart. He has a lot of experience, having played on those teams that have won state championships," said Bond.

Among the better network and resources, playing Legion baseball gives the Chiefs more game opportunities. Most baseball teams in Wyoming are Legion, with 51 teams active between all the divisions.  

"Every town here that plays competitive baseball plays Legion. It's the equivalent of high school baseball. It just kind of offers more solid resources, a better structure and just a brand," said Bond.

The divisions are broken down between AA, A, B and C. Worland is technically a B division team but competing at the C division level because they got an exemption to play down. Because they're playing down, the Chiefs won't be postseason-eligible.

"You can play up, but you can't play down. An 18-year-old can't play at C level. It's 13 to 15, 16 to 17. And 18 is the ceiling, and that's the A level. There are two different A divisions, too, A and AA. The bigger the population, towns like Cheyenne play in AA. We have some 16-year-olds; we originally thought we were going to be a C. Because of that, that put us into an upper bracket," said Bond, "We have to play under an exemption. We're playing C teams but are B club and can't qualify for any tournaments."

The Worland Post 44 American Legion program is off and running with the season underway. Funds were tight to start, but the program was able to fundraise above Bond's expectations and allow it to turn its focus to growing on and off the field.

"For me, and all the work it took to get here, it was a feeling of accomplishment to watch the team play," said Bond when asked about seeing the program play its first games. "We've fundraised quite a bit of money. We've got a good first-year start. Everything we have is bought and paid for, and it's given us a pretty good foundation. So by this time next year, we can start growing as opposed to just maintaining."

Reviving the Worland Legion program is just one step in the process for Bond and the program. There are several goals for the program to achieve, which include upgrading facilities, boosting participation numbers and being a competitive team.

"We've got great facilities here. I mean, really nice facilities. I'd like to see some upgrading of those. I'd like to see 300 kids playing baseball, the Legion team have a B and A team. They compete, and there are 50 kids playing American Legion baseball. We've got a bus, and baseball is something that kids look forward to playing in the summertime. Our seasons are extended, and we go to tournaments in Rapid City, Denver, Salt Lake City or Billings and win and hold up trophies," said Bond.

The journey will be long, but Davis shares the same goals and looks forward to establishing the program's foundation.

"Baseball was such a big deal in my life and my family's life. I still talk to most of my Legion teammates. I just want to get us built up, get us competitive and give kids another avenue to stay busy," said Davis.