THE FRONT ROW with Jason Elliott May, 29, 2013

It's quite possible that this summer of American Legion baseball will be like nothing fans have ever seen before.

Whether that's a good or bad thing remains to be seen.

WHEN THE Coeur d'Alene High baseball team finished second in the state 5A tournament on May 18, it was the first time since Lake City lost to Boise in the title game in 2008 that the title game didn't feature an all-southern showdown.

The previous season, Lake City beat Lewiston - which won it in 2006 - 7-1 for the program's first state title.

Since 2009, Coeur d'Alene has played for the consolation championship three times and had a third-place game rained/snowed out.

The biggest difference between the programs is that with Legion baseball, players from Coeur d'Alene and Lake City high schools team up to play for the Coeur d'Alene team, and players from Post Falls, Lakeland and Timberlake high schools team up to play for Prairie.

Meanwhile, their counterparts from Boise play on the same team from March until the end of the season in August, giving them more of a chance to develop as a group.

Just imagine what it might be like if those players had a chance to play together for more than three months at a time.

FANS HAVE been treated to watching games a certain way for the last few years in Coeur d'Alene, with games played at McEuen Field near Lake Coeur d'Alene since 1968.

This year, Coeur d'Alene moves its home games to Ramsey Park near the Kroc Center, where instead of folks walking over from the beach, you might see a few just finishing a workout walking over to watch a game.

Weather permitting, Coeur d'Alene is scheduled to play its first home game at Ramsey Park today, vs. Prairie at 5 p.m.

Some of the names have also changed for both Coeur d'Alene and Prairie, with both teams losing players from last year's team, either with some joining travel club teams, having to work during the summer or just opting to take the summer off.

During my time in Shoshone County, often times you'd have a group of players that might play in the first game, then see some of the older kids who had summer jobs come running into the dugout and get put in the game just as soon as they had their uniform on.

Things have changed when it comes to playing baseball during the summer.

Some players, in order to get more recognition by colleges and professional teams, have opted to play on select teams, which you can't blame them for.

Tougher competition, but if the reward is a scholarship to continue their playing career in college, then the risk is worth it.

Watching Prairie and Coeur d'Alene play throughout the summer, the names and surroundings might not be as familiar as those of previous years.

But go to a game enough, and it might grow on you.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected].