High school baseball is on hold. If you were to check with your Magic 8 Ball, it would tell you “outlook not so good.” 

Yet, for some local baseball players there was a silver lining. While there may not be a high school season, there was still a chance to step on the field over the summer with American Legion baseball. 

That too now looks to be in jeopardy. The American Legion Americanism Commission announced Tuesday that it has taken the precautionary steps of canceling the national World Series Tournament and eight Regional tournaments scheduled around the country in August. 

“These times are unparalleled and while it is distressing to think of all those youth across the nation who are disappointed to learn of the cancellation of American Legion programs this year, it would be a much, much greater tragedy if even just one of those youth were to fall ill during a program,” said Americanism Commissioner Richard Anderson in the release. “The Americanism Commission feels this is the right thing to do.”

The health and safety of players, fans, coaches and event staff was cited in the release as a prime reason for canceling the tournaments. The Americanism Commission was also concerned about teams being able to complete prerequisite league play scheduled between May and July due to the closure of schools and playing facilities across the nation.

The announcement does leave open the possibility of holding a regular season at the state level. This could be an issue for some states that were gearing up to begin play in May, but in Oregon the regular season typically gets underway in June. 

The Roseburg Dr. Stewart’s were scheduled to begin their season on June 12 and host the American Legion AAA state tournament at the end of July. 

The canceling of the national tournaments may actually improve the chances of individual states holding a regular season. There will be no national deadlines for completing the state tournaments, allowing more flexibility to when teams begin playing. 

Docs head coach Jeremiah Robbins was unaware of how the Oregon commission plans to proceed after the cancelations, when asked Tuesday afternoon. This story will be updated when more details are available.