Photo by Rick Thorp Hundreds of umpires from across the eastern part of the United States will converge on the Ohio Valley for the Beast of the East.

WHEELING — Bo McConnaughy and B.A. Crawford weren’t out to change the world when they created the Edgar Martin Beast of the East Classic 21 years ago. They just wanted to put on a baseball tournament. But not just any baseball tournament, a better baseball tournament. Veterans of the area youth baseball scene, McConnaughy, the veteran West Liberty University baseball coach, and Crawford, a retired Wheeling businessman, had participated in many youth tournaments only to be left wondering “Can we do it better?’’ They felt the answer was “Yes.’’ ‘‘We knew we could run a tournament,’’ Crawford said, ‘‘but we never anticipated this.’’ What started with 24 teams has blossomed into a 120-team, four-day extravaganza. As they said in the movie Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.’’ Registrations go out the November prior to the tournament. And by the end of December, the event is filled, with a waiting list of about 70 teams to spare. And this season, that waiting list came in handy. ‘‘The economy hit hard this year,’’ Crawford said. ‘‘Typically, we may have 10 teams drop out for one reason or another. But this year we lost 36.’’ The final replacement was made just a few days ago. The number of teams that want to get in on the Beast is reflective of the reputation the event has across the country. Both Crawford and McConnaughy have seen evidence of this throughout their travels.