Bill Althaus: Post 21 manager a likable throwback

No American Legion manager has enjoyed collecting birth certificates more than Independence Post 21’s Tom Bush.

He sat on a bucket of baseballs Tuesday night at Truman High School where his players handed him their birth certificates before heading down to take a few swings in the outdoor batting cages.

“This is a lot of work, making sure you have all the stuff for state,” said Bush, whose Post 21 team will meet Creve Coeur at 8 p.m. today at Liberty Park Stadium in Sedalia, Mo., for the opening round of the American Legion State Tournament, “but I don’t mind a bit.

“I still haven’t come down from cloud nine.”

Bush first experienced the state baseball experience back in 1996, when his son Ben’s Kiwanis League team won state and played in Arlington, Texas.

The elder Bush was then part of three state-bound teams when he coached for Mike Rooney’s Blue Springs Rod’s Sports A’s, a team that won state in 2003 and advanced to the American Legion World Series.

“There’s nothing quite like watching your son win state,” said Bush, who has been the Post 21 manager the past seven seasons, “and I enjoyed going to state with the A’s.

“But to be the manager of a team that makes it to state is special. And what makes this year so special is our players – they’re the type of kids you want to be around. From the three 19-year-olds – Tyler Bodenstab, Josh Felz and Tommy Harris – to the young kids like Nick Adrales, you look forward to seeing them every day.”
And Bush looks forward to seeing something else.

“The one thing that really distinguishes this team is the confidence the kids have,” the veteran manager said. “I’ve seen it grow all season, but it really began to grow at the end of the (regular) season when we came back from an 8-0 deficit and beat the A’s 14-10.

“Now, you watch the kids or listen to them in the dugout and feel like they can come back from any deficit. They are so confident – not overconfident, by any means – but they are so confident they really do feel like they can go out and win any game.”

Post 21 overcame a 5-1 deficit to edge Blue Springs Post 499/Fike 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth inning at the Zone 2 Tournament and followed that win with a 9-5 championship victory over host Sedalia Post 642, who led 3-0 early in the game.

“We’re confident right now,” Bodenstab said, “but I think we’re confident because we’re playing so well. When you win, you gain confidence and we’ve won a lot of games this year and are winning them when they count.”
This Post 21 team is a reflection of its manager.

Tom Bush is a winner, and you’ll never find a nicer guy. He disproves the old adage that “nice guys finish last,” because he’s the type of manger I would want coaching my son.

He knows the game – he should, as he played catcher for coaching legend Clyde Kubli at Truman High School – he loves and respects the game, just like his Truman mentor.

“I do this because of Clyde,” Bush said, “I would love to have the impact on my players that he had on me.”
Mission accomplished.

“Tom’s the best,” Felz said. “I’m happy to be going to state my last year with Post 21, but I’m even happier for Tom. When we won (the Zone 2 Tournament championship game), he was the happiest guy on the field.”

Bush is a low-key throwback to the old days when a manager climbed out of his truck in the parking lot, walked to the dugout, made all the right decisions and quietly left after the game for the drive home.
No chest thumping, no flash, no flair.

When you respect the game like Tom Bush, you don’t need any of that stuff.