One joke making the rounds at the 75th Maine American Legion Baseball Tournament held this week in Bangor was that if Portland-based participants Andrews Post and Nova Seafood wound up in the finals the games would be moved south.

The joke was a caustic reference to the Maine Principals’ Association’s move of the Eastern Maine Class A and state Class A baseball and softball finals from Bangor and Brewer to Augusta earlier this year after the surviving teams all were based from Oakland south.

Of course, that wasn’t going to happen with the Legion tournament as this year marked Zone 1’s turn to host the event and Mansfield Stadium has proven over the years to be one of the state’s premier baseball venues.

But had Legion officials opted for the fluid approach to locating their final games, they probably could have decided on a move south well in advance.

Andrews and Nova Seafood, Nova Seafood and Andrews. They are the only teams to have won a state American Legion championship in the last eight years. Andrews won in 1998, 2000, and 2005, and Nova won in 1999 and four straight crowns from 2001 to 2004 – a run capped off by the 2004 national championship.

Both teams were challenged.

Bangor knocked off Nova Seafood 7-5 on Tuesday night to join the two Portland teams on Wednesday’s final day of the tournament, marking the first time three teams still had state championship hopes on the final day since 2001 – ironically the last time the tourney was held in Bangor.

Then the Comrades led Andrews Post 9-5 midway through Wednesday afternoon’s penultimate game, only to have Andrews rally for a 12-9 victory.

And Brewer pushed Andrews Post to the brink on the second day of the tourney before a 2-1 lead vanished in the wake of a six-run rally in the bottom of the eighth by the eventual state champions.

In the end, the same teams prevailed. Andrews and Nova Seafood, Nova Seafood and Andrews.

Not since Brewer ran off back-to-back titles in 1996 and 1997 has anyone else held up the championship trophy.

Why? A few reasons come to mind – first and foremost that the players are good.

For another, with the larger population base of southern Maine, Andrews Post and Nova Seafood each draw from a single school – Andrews Post from Portland High, Nova Seafood from Deering. There’s a familiarity among the players for everything from turning the double play to where to set up in the outfield.

The Legion coaches, Mike Rutherford of Andrews and Mike D’Andrea of Nova Seafood, also guide the high school teams in the spring, providing the ultimate air of continuity. The same players play for the same coach for upward of 60 games each year from late April to early August.

So what do the other Legion teams around the state do to break up the Zone 4 monopoly?

Bangor Legion coach Dr. John Winkin boils the points of separation down to a pair of not-so-surprising factors, pitching and execution.

Both Bangor and Brewer, for example, had considerable pitching depth to challenge the Zone 4 powers, but Andrews and Nova Seafood ultimately were able to capitalize on any mistake an opponent made during the state tournament, leaving each other as the final test of their championship mettle.

And so they are the standard by which the rest of the state measures itself. Wait ’til next year.

Ernie Clark may be reached at 990-8045, 1-800-310-8600 or at eclark@bangordailynews.net.