World Series features star pitchers with Legion Baseball experience

American Legion Baseball will be well represented at the 115th World Series featuring the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals.

Ace starting pitcher Justin Verlander returns to the Fall Classic with the Astros, who won a league-high 107 games during the regular season. Verlander played American Legion Baseball at Post 201 in Powhatan, Va. Astros manager A.J. Hinch played Legion Baseball for Midwest City Post 170 in Oklahoma. That Oklahoma Outlaw program won the 2010 American Legion World Series.

The Nationals also feature a star pitcher with American Legion Baseball pedigree. Max Scherzer, the expected starter for the first game of the series, played for Post 397 in Creve Coeur, Missouri.

Other Nationals with ALB experience include second baseman Brian Dozier, who was named the 2017 American Legion Baseball Graduate of the Year. Dozier played for the Tupelo 49ers in Tupelo, Mississippi, for Post 49.

Nats relief pitcher Sean Doolittle played for Post 526 in Tabernacle, N.J.

The World Series begins Tuesday night in Houston. The American Legion World Series champions from Post 56 in Idaho Falls, Idaho, will be in attendance for Game 4 Saturday in Washington, D.C.

In August, the Bandits won the first ALWS championship for the state of Idaho.