Seaboard seeks its third Ban Johnson baseball title since 2011

For the past three seasons, Seaboard has been a force in the Ban Johnson Baseball League.

Seaboard won the amateur baseball league’s title in 2011, placed second in 2012, then won the crown again with a 4-3 victory against Natural Baseball Academy last July at Mid-America Sports Complex.

“It’s our league. You have to have a lot of strengths, but it boils down to the fact that we had enough guys play their role really well and step up at the right time,” Seaboard manager Will Meier said. “Everybody did their part.”

Although its title defense has gotten off to a slow start with eight of the first 11 games postponed because of rain, Seaboard features a handful of returnees from last year’s championship squad.

The Ban Johnson League, which started in 1927 and is in its 87th season, has 13 teams this summer, 12 of which competed last season. The league is directed at college-aged players with a maximum age of 23.

“It’s good competition, so they can keep their reps and skills up in the summer, and it still provides that competitiveness,” Meier said. “It is also a fun atmosphere for them to be teenagers, since they are mostly 18- to 22-year-old college students and still growing without the rigors of a 24-7 college athletic atmosphere.”

Ban Johnson League games are played at various sites around the Kansas City area: Mid-America Sports Complex, The 3&2 Baseball Club of Kansas City, Macken Park, Liberty High School, Liberty North High School, Spring Hill High School and William Jewell College.

This season’s all-star game, a league highlight, is scheduled for 9 a.m. on July 27 at Kauffman Stadium.

This story was originally published June 18, 2014 at 12:31 AM with the headline "Seaboard seeks its third Ban Johnson baseball title since 2011."