BUCKTOWN – NorChester is changing the baseball landscape, or changing the look of the game in both Chester and Berks counties.
One of the area’s most successful American Legion baseball programs with four league and four state regional championships in the last six seasons, NorChester will be moving from the Chester County League to the Berks County League when it lines up this summer.
The official announcement was made late Tuesday by both Ross Smith, president of the Berks County League, and Corbin Stoltzfus, president of the NorChester American Legion Baseball Committee.
The move ends NorChester’s 50-plus years of play in the Chester County League, which has lost a team two straight years now – Pottsgrove folded prior to last season – and drops its North Division membership to six. Seven teams remain in the South Division. It also boosts the Berks County League membership up to eight, just half of what it was before the mass exodus of seven teams – Fleetwood, Hamburg, Kutztown, Muhlenberg, Oley, Schuylkill Valley and Topton – that moved into the Schuylkill Valley League two years ago and the folding of the Gregg Post or Reading organization eight games into last season.
“NorChester makes us a stronger league, a more competitive league,” said Smith, in his third year as president of the Berks County League. “I think NorChester also makes us one of the best leagues in the state despite only having eight teams.”
“(The move) makes sense for a lot of reasons,” added Stoltzfus, who managed the Bulldogs for 15 seasons before taking over as the organization’s president three years ago. “There’s less travel time for us, we’ll be playing at better facilities against better quality baseball teams … and Berks County has great leadership from the top to bottom. We also see it as a better opportunity for our fan base, too.”
It’s no secret some of Chester County’s North Division managers and even players have expressed their concerns about traveling to South Division rivals like Avon Grove, Kennett and Oxford, often for games that usually begin at 6 p.m. during the week. A few managers and players, even fans, have voiced their displeasure with the condition of some of the playing facilities throughout the league as well.
As far as competition, well, NorChester – along with neighboring Spring City – has been one of Chester County’s perennial powers. The Bulldogs qualified for the CCL playoffs nine years in a row and 13 of the last 14 thanks to seven regular-season or divisional titles. They won four league championships, advanced into the state Region Three Tournament the last six years – winning four in a row (2006-09) – and finished second twice and third twice in the Pennsylvania American Legion State Tournament during that period. Those two runner-up efforts earned them berths in the national Great Lakes Regional.
Nonetheless, moving out of the Chester County League was an issue Stoltzfus, manager Rick Harrison and his coaching staff had briefly discussed in the past.
“But we kind of left it at (just talk),” Stoltzfus admitted.
Until right after the New Year.
“We had heard Berks County was actively looking for more teams,” Stoltzfus explained.
“We had heard rumblings before, but nothing official,” Smith added. “But when we heard that NorChester may have an interest, (Stoltzfus) and I talked. From there, everything pretty much came together very quickly.”
According to Smith and Stoltzfus, NorChester first got the approval from Chester County League to leave. On Sunday, Feb. 12, Berks County officials unanimously approved accepting NorChester into its league. Then Stoltzfus approached his own NorChester board, which reportedly voted 5-3 to make the move beginning this summer.
“Honestly, we don’t have any reservations about this,” Stoltzfus said. “We had quite a bit of success in the Chester County League, so you may be hesitant to leave that. But we also felt the opportunity to play in a more competitive league, to be tested more frequently, and to play at what we feel are much better facilities, will be a better all-around situation for our kids, our fans and our program.”
Not everyone in the NorChester organization is happy about the move, though. But even calls as well as pleas to Region Three director Don Lambert and state director Ford “Skip” Carnes couldn’t stop it.
“League matters are dictated by the leagues (involved), not the state or even national,” explained Smith, who was chairman of the Boyertown American Legion Baseball Committee for five years before stepping down at the conclusion of last season.
That still didn’t sit well with Jack Kochu, who has been involved with the NorChester organization for 10 years and has served as president of the CCL the past seven.
“In all honesty, I did everything I could think of as president of the league and as a supporter of NorChester to stop this move,” Kochu, whose two sons played for the Bulldogs, wrote in an email. “Only when all avenues were blocked and all alternatives were exhausted did I give up my fight. I am not happy. I am extremely disappointed that the crown jewel of Chester County baseball, and the team I have given years to, does not exhibit loyalty to the league that has showered it with so much respect and success.
“Chester County and Region Three baseball will never be the same, and that saddens me deeply. I am disappointed how this matter was handled and, as president of one of the affected leagues, disappointed in not being informed of NorChester’s plans from the beginning.”
There is no official word as yet if Chester County will realign its 13-member, two-division lineup. Berks County, on the other hand, is still hoping to add more teams.
“We’re not looking to disrupt other leagues, but we would like to find another quality team or two to make our league even better,” Smith said. “First of all, we’re hoping Reading will come back, though we know they won’t be back this (summer). We’re interested in having 10-12 teams so we can get back into the rotation of having two representatives in the state regional (Region Two) playoffs.”
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Several changes to American Legion baseball were made during the organization’s national meeting this past fall. Beginning this summer, there will be no re-entry, no courtesy runners and no extra hitters (as some leagues actually use), and a designated-hitter may only be used for the pitcher. The only two issues that remain at the discretion of leagues and/or states is whether games are seven or nine innings and defining the mercy-run rules. … Also, as previously announced, beginning in 2013 all American Legion games will be played with wooden bats.
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