SLABA: Local Youth Baseball Organization Thriving

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.

“SLABA is a really, really good league,” said Grayling Tobias, head coach of the local South-West Stars 18-and-under team. “There have been some really good players go through the SLABA organizations. There is a very good tradition and history in SLABA.”

The Stars draw players from the Parkway school district, Kirkwood and some of the city private schools. Their home games are played at Missouri Baptist University, Principia and Parkway West high schools.

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.

“When I was growing up, it was all about Legion,” said Mike Pohlman, head coach of the St. Louis Tigers. “Now I think it’s all moved to SLABA and the (independent) teams.”

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 Serves as Path to Major Leagues

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. On the SLABA website, Howard said the organization gave him “the chance to improve my skills and get noticed by college coaches.”

The Stars, meanwhile, have been “decimated by injury” this season and are 4-18. One of those victories is a win over the league-leading Stallions.

“We’re not doing very well, but our boys are progressing and improving,” Tobias said.

A native St. Louisan and McCluer graduate, Tobias has also worked with the Stars 15- and 16-and-under teams. He said he began coaching in SLABA because he wanted to give back to an organization that has been so beneficial to his baseball career.

A member of the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame, as well as the University of Missouri-St. Louis and McCluer Halls of Fame, Tobias was part of the 1977 UMSL team that reached the NCAA Division II College World Series. He played basketball and baseball at UMSL before playing in the Detroit Tigers organization. During his SLABA days, he played for Medlock, who is largely considered the founder of the league.

“I enjoy coaching and I enjoy giving back,” said Tobias, a 30-year coaching veteran and member of the Boys Club ring of honor. “That’s why I continue to coach even though my boys are not playing baseball. They’re soccer players.

“I wanted to give back to an organization that’s been so helpful for me. If I didn’t play in SLABA, I don’t think I would have had the success that I had. I feel like I have an obligation to help other players get better through baseball and help them become better citizens and players through baseball.”

Tobias’ 17-and-under team is atop the division with a 5-1 league mark. He said SLABA is comparable to Legion baseball as a neighborhood-based organization. What SLABA has that others don’t have is the fall showcase event, where the top players from each team can display their talents in front of college scouts at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O’Fallon, Mo.