Glacier Twins drop to A level
<p>A Billings Royals baserunner slips beneath a tag attempt from Twins third baseman Isaac Venezio Aug. 1 during a game in the Class AA American Legion Baseball Tournament in Whitefish.</p>
Last season’s 6-47 campaign capped a tough stretch of losing seasons for the Glacier Twins AA baseball program. Despite earnest efforts from players on the diamond, the team went winless in the conference and finished on a 30-game losing streak.
The despondent faces in the dugout were the writing on the wall.
With enrollment at Whitefish and Columbia Falls high schools falling behind the standard for American Legion Baseball Association AA teams, it was a challenge for the Twins to keep pace in a league packed with clubs based in the largest cities in Montana and Alberta.
Last month the Twins board of directors voted to move the club to the A level in an effort to be more competitive and hopefully rebuild a program that once ruled the turf at Memorial Field.
“We want the kids to have fun and have success on the field,” board member and former Twins AA coach Lindsay Fansler said. “We’ve been playing above the AA enrollment level for a while. In reality, the move is going to be a good thing.”
The enrollment standard for AA teams is 1,000 total students. With Whitefish and Columbia Falls combined, enrollment is below 900.
“We’ve had concerns about numbers,” Fansler said. “The number of kids coming in right now is slim.”
The new plan for the Twins is to have an A team that will compete against teams like Bitterroot, Mission, Libby, Eureka and Salmon, Idaho.
“We’re still going to see some good baseball,” Fansler said, noting that both Bitterroot and Mission have higher enrollments than the Twins.
Glacier will also field a B team that will play in tournaments and other nonconference games.
“We’ll use the B team as our developmental league,” Fansler said. “With the move to A one of our goals is to not cut anyone.”
Players who want to continue in the AA league can play for Kalispell this year.
The move to A is also for financial reasons. Travel in the AA league is expensive with multiple trips to Canada and overnights in Missoula.
Fansler says the move to A could give the club a chance to re-evaluate its financial position and rebuild a winning tradition needed to keep kids interested in baseball.
“The goal is to move back to AA when we’re ready,” Fansler said.
The Twins will continue to host and play in the annual Sapa Johnsrud Tournament.
Bob Rupp was recently named the new Twins manager. Rupp was the Twins A coach last season and previously coached high school baseball in Washington and Oregon.