Organizers plan to tweak 2018 senior men’s baseball nationals
As soon as the 2017 national baseball championship ended Sunday night at Royal Athletic Park, local organizers began focusing on 2018, and the back end of a two-year hosting deal with Baseball Canada.
The B.C. representative Burnaby Bulldogs beat New Brunswick 5-3 in the championship final before a sparse crowd, but the latter didn’t seem to faze the organizers.
“Senior baseball is not superwell attended outside maybe a few pockets in New Brunswick,” said Jim Swanson, head of the organizing committee.
“Maybe next year it’s a matter of educating fans about what this level of ball entails — former college players and former minor pros who were drafted. What you are watching is experience and man strength [as opposed to collegiate-level ball].”
For instance, the host Victoria Mavericks finished 2-2 in the national tournament and featured players such as former Los Angeles Dodgers prospect Kyle Orr and Toronto Blue Jays draft pick Bobby Scott. The Mavericks were beaten in one tournament game by Tecumseh, Ont., Thunder starting pitcher Joel Pierce, who was a seventh-round draft pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2010.
Swanson said next year it’s a matter of starting the “education process” about the national tournament earlier in the summer. He said the publicity campaign for this year’s nationals was truncated because of the Victoria HarbourCats’ run to the deciding game of the West Coast League playoffs.
“HarbourCats fans have been spoiled by watching a league [summer-collegiate WCL] that produced 82 MLB drafted players this year.”
The goal is next year to show that the Canadian nationals feature several players who have been there and done that. And that they are now bigger and stronger, noted Swanson, who has been a player or manager of two Canadian championship teams — Prince George Axemen and Langley Blaze.
Swanson added the 2017 tournament was affected by the Victoria Shamrocks playing a playoff game last Friday at The Q Centre and the hyped Mayweather-McGregor fight on Saturday.
“A lot of people were focused on those things this past weekend,” said Swanson, adding that’s a good thing for sports fans.
“And overall, Victoria has a lot to offer.”
Swanson is hoping more ball fans consider the 2018 nationals as one of those offerings next summer.
DIAMOND DUST: Baltimore Orioles draft-pick Jason Willow of the Victoria Mariners was named Monday to the 20-player roster for the host Canadian team at the U-18 Baseball World Cup beginning Friday in Thunder Bay, Ont. The Canadian team features six players, including infielder Willow, who were selected in the 2017 MLB draft.