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Sports

SLABA: Local Youth Baseball Organization Thriving

The St. Louis Amateur Baseball Association was established in 1987 and provides area high school players with chances to play against elite competition.

There was once a time around St. Louis when American Legion baseball was the standard for summer action on the diamond.

With the rise of traveling “select” teams over the past decade, Legion baseball has lost some of its luster. Despite these select teams drawing more and more players, often for a hefty fee, one organization that remains as strong as ever is the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Association

“Some people say that it has been watered down, but I still think it is still a very good league,” said Steve Braun, the head coach of both the 17- and 18-and-under Johnny Mac Thunder teams.

“You’re playing some of the best competition in St. Louis. You don’t need to travel to Mizzou, Illinois or Kansas every week to play some good teams. I definitely think there is quite a bit of talent still in SLABA.”

The Thunder play home games at Mehlville High and Affton Athletic Association. The team’s base schools are Mehlville and Oakville, but Johnny Mac uses players that attend private schools and kids from schools in Affton, Bayless, Hancock and Lindbergh.

SLABA was established in 1987 to provide St. Louis-area high school players and younger teams with maximum exposure to the toughest competition. This was accomplished by affiliating with nationally recognized and sanctioned youth baseball programs.

SLABA currently has national affiliations with PONY Baseball, Inc., the American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC), and the National Amateur Baseball Federation (NABF). The league sends teams from each of its age groups to various postseason tournaments hosted by these affiliations throughout the country. The PONY and NABF affiliations give teams an opportunity to play in national playoff tournaments.

Membership is limited to organizations which are assigned specific boundaries based on two public high schools in their area. SLABA organizations draw players from two base school districts, private school players and players ages 13-to-18 from “open” school districts.

The league has 10 teams: Jefferson County Barnstormers and Blazers, South-West Stars, American National Eagles, Eagles West, Lincoln County Raiders, Stallions, Johnny Mac Thunder, St. Louis Tigers and Meramec Valley Travelers.

SLABA Baseball Serves as Path to Major Leagues

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Former SLABA players include St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle McClellan, who is a native of Florissant, attended Hazelwood West and currently resides in Maryland Heights, and Cardinals third baseman David Freese, who is a graduate of Lafayette High School.

Perhaps the most prominent local player who played SLABA baseball is another Lafayette graduate, Philadelphia Phillies all-star first baseman Ryan Howard.

The 18-and-under postseason awards are named after several SLABA alumni, including the Kyle McClellan Pitcher of the Year, the Ryan Howard SLABA MVP and the coach of the year award named for Jim Medlock, a former insurance agent who founded the American National Eagles in 1975.

Howard played three seasons for the Ellisville Redbirds from 1996-1998 before moving onto Southwest Missouri State. The Phillies drafted Howard in the fifth round of the 2001 draft.

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Jefferson County Blazers coach Dustin Bain also mentioned Northwest High School graduate Andrew Johnston, who pitched at Jefferson College before moving onto the University of Missouri. He currently plays for the Colorado Spring Sky Sox, the AAA affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.

“There was a lull three or four years ago when some of these independent teams became more popular,” said Bain, who is in his eighth year with SLABA. “But now, I think parents are seeing through paying all that money to support somebody during the summer.” 

Zach Outman is a Lindbergh graduate and former Meramec Valley Travelers SLABA player who played at St. Louis University before being selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2009 MLB draft.

Braun, a 2005 Mehlville High School graduate, played for Johnny Mac and is in his first season as the head coach. It’s been a struggle with the 18-and-under team sporting a 2-20 mark while the 17s are 4-5. The younger players split time between both squads.

The Thunder played in the 30-team Tournament of Champions over the Fourth of July weekend. Braun said it “was good to see teams we normally don’t get to play.”

While the select teams offer players the opportunity to travel across the country and play in front of college and pro scouts, Braun said it isn’t necessary for parents to pay the thousands of dollars those teams require.

“If you’re good enough to play somewhere, they’ll find you,” Braun said. “SLABA definitely presents numerous opportunities. SLABA has built a reputation with college coaches, not just in the St. Louis area, but across the country. I know that SLABA is not second-tier to those travel teams.”

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