I have, at various points during my stay in Wyoming, made a habit of throwing some criticism at the state American Legion baseball powers that be for their postseason tournament format.

It has been deserved. Trying to hand out two state championship awards in a tournament format where not every team is interested in winning every trophy was neither logical nor feasible.

But I believe in giving credit where credit is due. As such, this week’s announcement that the state Legion baseball tournament format will, once again, undergo a change needs to be applauded.

After some trial and error, we finally have a format that makes sense.

There will be other changes as a result of the decision. Most notably for fans of the Pioneers, the reserve or junior varsity teams from the state’s AA programs in Cheyenne, Casper and Gillette will now be eligible to compete for the Class A title. In other words, the playing field just got a little more crowded.

The number of state tournament berths has also shrunk. Previously, it wasn’t unheard of to see five, maybe even six, A teams in the state bracket. No longer. With the four AA teams getting a free pass to the state bracket, there’s only four state tournament slots remaining to spread between the expanded Class A pool.

In other words, District tournament play just got a whole lot more interesting.

We’re still a few months and countless snowstorms away from the first pitch of the 2012 season. Nevertheless, baseball fans throughout Wyoming should be applauding the news coming out of the winter coaches’ meeting.

Wyoming baseball finally has a postseason tournament that makes sense when it comes to the needs of Wyoming Legion baseball teams. Hopefully that’s enough to appease the folks at the regional and national levels.