Who needs a calendar? If it’s the Class B, C, and D basketball tournament, then it’s February vacation. Saturday afternoons in November trying to write with gloves on can only mean the high school football playoffs, and if it’s mid-July and I can’t hear myself think, it must be the True Value 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway.

And the first week in August is always the state American Legion baseball tournament.

This year marked my fourth tournament (I know, that’s no time at all, especially in Maine), and I have encountered the same friendly faces year after year.

Three of those tournaments have been held at the CARA (Capitol Area Recreation Association) facilities in Augusta and one at the Mansfield Complex in Bangor. This year, following the logic of the past three years, should have been a Bangor year. I’m not complaining, though, as it saved all of us covering the games the trip up and down I-95.

It turns out that it isn’t an alternating type of thing at all. There are four “zones” in Legion ball in Maine, and the “hosting” of the tournament rotates between them. In theory.

Teams from Bangor north are grouped together, as are just about all teams in Cumberland and York counties. There are two more groups for those in between.

The last time the tournament was held elsewhere was 1999. Zone 3 was the host, and Auburn was the site.

While every zone has the right to host the tournament every four years, the number of places in the state that have the facilities to pull it off are limited. And this is where Augusta would be a perfect fit as the permanent home for the annual event.

The CARA fields, located off Route 9 across from the old AMHI buildings in our capital city, are a wonderful example of what can happen when adults get together to build something for the benefit of the children in an area. It is maintained completely by volunteers.

Not only are the facilities just what the doctor ordered, but the CARA and Babe Ruth people behind it see hosting the tournament as a way to make their program and facilities even better. They want to do it.

Having said that, I have to admit there is an excellent ball field in Bangor at the Mansfield Complex. That’s where the tourney is played when Zone 1 hosts the tournament. Mansfield, through the generosity of author Stephen King, is a top-notch diamond, and no expense was spared to make it so.

But there is only one field, and that means one game at a time.

Aside from the scheduling hassles this creates, all it takes is on extra-inning game and the timetable goes out the window.

In Augusta, Morton and McGuire Fields sit right next to each other, creating a wonderful baseball atmosphere. With twice the amount of space, games can be scheduled in a way that doesn’t get out of whack if it rains a little or two teams decide to play a marathon.

There are no lights as yet, but they are in the future plans for the facility. Some of the other fields in the complex have them already. Giving the tournament a permanent home just might hasten the process of getting them installed.

The CARA fields also are relatively centrally located, although Calais might argue with that. It’s hard to find a truly middle-ground kind of place in Maine when you consider the way the state is laid out and where people live.

Augusta’s youth, showcased this week when they fell one game short of a Little League World Series berth, would benefit from making the CARA fields the permanent home of the tournament. The Cony baseball program and everyone they play would benefit, also, and lets not forget the Legion program itself. There are no losers.

Bangor has a great facility, but playing the Legion tournament in Augusta every year would be twice as nice.

Peter Mullen is a staff writer. He can be reached by e-mail at pmullen@sunjournal.com.

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