What’s going on with the Legion Baseball patch

ST. PAUL — In the 2023 season, many team uniforms began sporting the new American Legion Baseball brand mark instead of the American Legion Baseball crossed-bats emblem. The 2023 National Rulebook allowed it.

However, in the off-season, the National Americanism Commission basically said, “Hold on. You marketing people jumped the gun here.”

The commission voted to keep the crossed-bats emblem as the patch on baseball uniforms, and now the 2024 rulebook disallows it.

National staff says the brand-mark patches are fine for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, but after that, they  can’t be on uniforms any longer.

As a result, the Minnesota American Legion Baseball Rulebook, under Rule 9.A.5, states:

“Any player, coach or manager who does not have an American Legion Baseball emblem on either the left sleeve or left chest of his uniform shirt, wind shirt or jacket will be removed from the game. Explanation: The American Legion Americanism Committee is encouraging all teams to switch back to the crossed-bats American Legion emblem. If a team has uniforms with the new brand mark, it is allowed in 2024 and 2025 but discouraged going forward. The brand mark is allowed for promotional purposes — such as signs, ads, souvenirs or fan clothing.”