Mintz brought back the River Rats team nickname
By Ken Chaisson
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter
The year 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of American Legion baseball. But it is struggling to stay alive.
American Legion Baseball was organized “to teach practical lessons in sportsmanship and citizenship by emphasizing such qualities as loyalty, respect for the rules, fair play, courage and physical fitness.”
Rob Mintz has been the Medfield Legion coach for 24 years. He started when his son played Legion and Mintz never left. Mintz walked on at Rutgers University in the 1970s, becoming their captain and spent considerable time with former major leaguer Jeff Torborg.
Mintz is retiring from his role as Legion manager at the end of this season. His six grandchildren await more of his attention.
Legion baseball is struggling. Milton, Dedham, Westwood and Walpole have elected not to field teams this summer. That is a national trend as the number of Legion baseball teams have dropped by more than severely over the past ten years. For example, in 2008, there were 336 Legion teams in New Jersey. In 2024, there were 23. Many other states have also seen precipitous drops, including Massachusetts.
The Medfield Legion squad, along with 13 other teams, play in District 6. This year there is no East and West Divisional makeup. Some districts in Massachusetts have folded completely. Some have been cut in half.
The driving factors are that teenagers have too many competing commitments including playing in other leagues, strict Legion geographical rules and the COVID-19 pandemic impact.
There are 18 players on the Medfield roster: six live in Medfield, others from Millis, Sherborn and even Wrentham. Foxboro walked off Medfield on Monday June 16 in a competitive baseball contest. The minimum nine players showed up for Medfield for the game with Foxboro.
Mintz is currently searching for his successor. He loves baseball and recalls events like beating favored Milton in the playoffs in 2007, winning the district championship in 2016 and creating the MIBL during COVID so kids would have someplace to play ball that summer. But what he remembers the most are the players. When he sees one around town, they express the pure joy they had that summer with Mintz.
Mintz recalls a current player on his team that was cut from his high school varsity team as a junior. But he loved baseball and wanted to play. Mintz took him on the Medfield team, worked on his swing and soon the player was hitting rockets all over and out of the field. That player made his varsity team as a senior and went deep into the state playoffs. That is the beauty of American Legion baseball.
In 1994, Walpole won the Legion state title. The sign still hangs at Eldracher Field. It is a source of pride for the town and for all of the players and coaches who were involved. Two years ago, Walpole was in the final 8 of the state playoffs. They had many players who couldn’t make the playoff games. Even underclassmen can’t give a full commitment to Legion ball.
People such as Mintz and Lee Delaney, the Walpole Legion coach, or Dick Paster, the Westwood coach, love baseball. Their talents are hard to find and then keep in key roles for the long term. Entrusting your young man to them for a few weeks in the summer will be a positive experience.
If you want a memorable summer as a baseball player, play local with your friends. Play Legion ball.
