Going, going, going ... splash!
Home-run derby at Ogden Point opens baseball nationals
Baseballs float.
Anyone who has witnessed a home run over the right-field wall of AT&T Park in San Francisco, and into McCovey Cove, knows that.
“Golf balls don’t float. Baseballs float, at least long enough to recover them from the water,” said Jim Swanson.
That theory will be tested today at 6 p.m., when the homerun derby of the Canadian baseball championships will be held between the cruise-ship piers at Ogden Point.
As in McCovey Cove, kayakers will be assembled to chase after the balls for retrieval. But instead of scooping up precious San Francisco Giants souvenirs and collectibles, these home-run derby balls will be returned for future practice use. (Well, maybe one or two will be kept as a souvenir. And why not?)
Wednesday is the only night of the week during cruise-ship season in which ships are not docked at Ogden Point. With the Canadian championships beginning Thursday at Royal Athletic Park and Lambrick Park, the decision to hold the home-run derby at Ogden Point was nicely timed and worked out perfectly.
“We contacted all the proper harbour authorities for permission, and they loved the idea and thought it was cool,” said Swanson, the tournament organizer.
Spectators are encouraged to attend. Buoys and booming will be set up on the water to indicate the distance hit.
All 10 teams from across the country have their best long-ball hitter entered in tonight’s derby. So watch out, Port Angeles. These are aimed at you.
As host, the Victoria Mavericks will get two representatives. The Mavericks hitters tonight will be former Los Angeles Dodgers prospect Kyle Orr and former college infielder Sean Murphy, both who can pound the ball.
Swanson, also co-owner and managing partner of the Victoria HarbourCats of the West Coast League, is not claiming this is an original idea. He freely admits he was inspired by the home-run derby at the 2016 Northwoods League all-star game in which balls were smacked into Lake Michigan off the dock in downtown Kenosha, Wisconsin.
As for the games, they start Thursday.
Each province has the option of sending a provincial all-star team or their provincial club champion to the national tournament — or a combination thereof. Most of these players have played at least college or university level, and several have been in the minor-pro leagues after being drafted.
The national championships open Thursday morning at 9 a.m. with Newfoundland and Labrador playing Nova Scotia at Royal Athletic Park and Alberta 1 facing Ontario 2 at Lambrick Park. Other openingday games at the two parks go at noon and 3 p.m.
The opening ceremonies are at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, followed by the featured game between the host Mavericks and New Brunswick at 7 p.m.
The tournament round-robin continues Friday at both venues from 9 a.m. through to the Mavericks versus Alberta 2 game at 7 p.m. at RAP. The Saturday action begins at 8 a.m. through to the quarter-finals at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. at RAP. All the action Sunday is at RAP with the semifinals at 9 a.m. and noon, bronze-medal game at 4 p.m. and gold-medal game at 7 p.m.