American Legion Baseball is hurting in Butler County.

Of the eight teams comprising the league this season, four are from Butler. A fifth, Butler Township, folded its tent when longtime manager Gene Zawrotuk retired.

Zelienople and Cranberry Township each have a team, though neither has much, if any, representation from Seneca Valley's powerful high school team.

No team exists in Karns City, West Sunbury or Saxonburg, communities that have been in the league before and certainly should be in the league now.

What is going on here?

There are some simple explanations, of course. With Palomino and wooden bat leagues growing, maybe there aren't enough players to go around. Finding coaches and managers to run and sustain Legion teams in the county has been a problem as well.

Some regular season games have been forfeited, as existing programs sometimes have trouble dancing around vacations and injuries and can't put a team on the field.

Clearly, this league needs a shot in the arm — and it just missed a chance to give itself one.

Pullman Park should have housed the entire Butler County American Legion Baseball League Tournament. It should do so every year.

The first round of four games could have been played on the same day. Starting times of 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. would have sufficed.

Five days could complete the tournament. A set, bracketed schedule could have been released ahead of time so followers of the respective teams would be fully aware of who's playing at what time.

During this year's tournament, Zelienople found out last Saturday night it was playing a loser's bracket game Sunday, when some of its players were scheduled to work.

Pullman Park officials were unsure whether Butler City would be hosting a tournament game Wednesday, so they booked the facility to another organization. That forced Butler City to move its game to Highfield Park on extremely short notice.

Numerous fans eventually showed up at Highfield to watch the game, showing that there's interest in Legion baseball.

Playing the entire tournament at Pullman Park — now one of the best ballparks in the region — would provide a beautiful showcase for the league.

The kids would play in a great facility, fans would watch the games in comfort, concessions would turn a nice profit, the league could charge admission — everybody wins.

This newspaper would certainly embrace a one-site tournament. Coverage would include every game, not just one selected contest each night.

The time has come for Legion baseball in Butler County to promote itself more aggressively. Here are a few ideas:

n Find a way to start an annual league all-star game at Pullman.

• Compile league standings and have them published twice a week.

• Come up with a statistics package of league leaders and get them in the paper.

Yes, that would take a lot of work.

But this game — and this league — are worth it.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle.