Not many American Legion baseball leagues have 11 teams.

Butler County's league would have 12 if Karns City was fielding a team this summer. Still, Butler City, Center Township, East Butler, Meridian and Butler Township — all within the Butler School District — have teams in the league.

Add to them Zelienople, West Sunbury, Cranberry, Mars, Prospect and Saxonburg, and you have an 11-team league within Butler County.

While many counties field only two or three Legion teams, the number in Butler County is impressive.

The Butler County American Legion League always has opted to provide opportunity for as many young players to play baseball as possible, as opposed to fielding a couple of powerhouse teams aimed at succeeding in the state tournament.

One would think that any kid in the county who wants to play Legion ball has a team to play for.

But that's not the case.

It's true that every kid who wants to play ball around here has a team to suit up, but playing is a different story.

Some Legion programs are healthier than others when it comes to roster size.

Mars, for example, has plenty of players. And since this isn't Little League, where each kid is required to play so many innings per week, the starters are going to see the bulk of the playing time for any Legion team with a big roster.

Some other teams in the BCALaren't quite as fruitful in roster size. In fact, some are scrambling to field nine players.

Granted, roster sizes for these teams fluctuate from year to year. But if the true objective of the BCALis to get as many players on the field as possible each summer, then they should have some options.

If a youngster lives in Mars, for example, and doesn't believe he's going to crack the starting lineup there, he should be permitted to try out for a neighboring team — Zelienople, perhaps — that might need players.

This is not to advocate total free agency among American Legion baseball players. Eagle County League teams can pick up any player from anywhere, which is OKfor that level of baseball.

It's also one of the reasons why Saxonburg and Mars are so good all the time.

Legion ball can't have players living in Slippery Rock playing for Cranberry Township.

If your community needs players, that's where you play — period.

If your community has more than enough players, however, why should you have to sit on the bench when you can be helping a bordering community field a starting nine?

Legion law should be adjusted to allow a little more player movement.

The high-quality programs will stay that way. The programs struggling for players will get some help.

It looks like a win-win situation to me.

If the BCAL really is about getting players into the game, this is a viable option.