Pitcher fondly recalls his time playing American Legion Baseball

Dalton Roach has fond memories of his time playing American Legion Baseball in Wisconsin.

“I watched Legion baseball and a lot of those Northwoods League games when I was growing up,” said Roach, who played for Eau Claire (Wis.) Post 53 in the summers of 2012 and 2014. “When you play Legion ball, you get to play in a lot of the same stadiums that the Northwoods League uses and that makes it pretty special.”

Now in his seventh year of professional baseball, Roach is in his first season with the Chicago White Sox organization after beginning his career in Independent League baseball and five years in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. He’s spent the 2024 season playing for the Class AAA Charlotte Knights, Class A Kannapolis Cannon Ballers and Class AA Birmingham Barons.

A 2014 graduate of Memorial High School in Eau Claire, Wis., he played Legion Baseball alongside players from Eau Claire North, Eau Claire Regis and other smaller schools in the area.

Roach played in the summers of 2012 and 2014 for the Eau Claire Pizza Hut Post 53 team coached by veteran American Legion Baseball coach Mark Faanes.

“It was really fun because you’re playing with all of your buddies that you played with growing up and you’re able to meet some guys that play at some of your rival schools,” Roach said.

Faanes has coached Eau Claire since 1988 and guided Post 53 to more than 500 career victories, 15 Wisconsin state tournaments, a 2017 state title, runner-up finishes in 1989, 1994 and 2018 and Great Lakes Regional appearances in 2017 and 2018.

“Every year I was there, we played pretty well and competed with the good Legion teams in the area,” Roach said.

In 2012, Roach went 3-4 with a 3.68 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings as Post 53 went 19-19. In 2014, Roach went 4-0 with a 0.75 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 36 innings as Post 53 went 26-11 and finished third in the Wisconsin state tournament held at Plover.

That summer, Roach had several standout efforts on the mound. It included being involved in a no-hit victory for the West All-Stars in the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association (WBCA) at Oshkosh. Roach started and went four innings with four strikeouts and reliever Greg Rooney went three innings with three strikeouts and one walk in the West’s 3-0 win over the East in a game matching high school players against one another.

And his last two outings advanced Eau Claire to the state tournament and into the second round of the state tournament.

Roach fired an eight-hitter with 11 strikeouts to win on the road at LaCrosse, 10-3. in the regional final.

Then in the opening round of the state tournament at Plover, he threw a four-hit shutout with six strikeouts in a 2-0 win over DePere.

Unfortunately, Eau Claire finished third in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament.

Roach would go on to be a college standout at Minnesota State-Mankato for four years.

He was drafted in the 21st round of the 2018 major league draft by the Houston Astros before signing with the independent Frontier League.

“It was a kind of an interesting route throughout that draft process,” Roach said. “It didn’t work out with Houston and then I played independent ball for about a year and was fortunate to play enough to get a chance with the Cardinals.”

Roach signed a free agent contract with the St. Louis Cardinals and pitched for Rookie League, Class A, Class AA and Class AAA teams in that organization’s farm system.

This past offseason, Roach was signed as a free agent by the Chicago White Sox.

“I’ve been fortunate throughout my career,” Roach said. “And I’m fortunate to have an opportunity with this organization.”