PROMOTED C'S STICK WITH JAYS
Team to play 132-game schedule
Premier John Horgan came out of the bullpen to help save the Vancouver Canadians' partnership with the Toronto Blue Jays.
C's co-owner Jake Kerr believes a phone call Horgan made to Blue Jays chairman Edward Rogers — to explain what the affiliation agreement between the C's and Blue Jays has meant to this sports market — played a vital role in the partnership being extended.
Major League Baseball unveiled the majority of its revamped minor leagues Wednesday, and Vancouver being named Toronto's advanced single-A (or high-A) farm team was included in that announcement.
Kerr says it's a 10-year deal and Vancouver will have a 132-game schedule under this new format. The C's had been playing a 76-game schedule as Toronto's short-season single-A team since 2011.
It looked like the partnership was in jeopardy this off-season with word that MLB was rejigging the minors, including focusing on affiliations that were more regional in a bid to help cut costs and streamline player development.
There were reports in late October that Vancouver was going to pair up with the Oakland Athletics. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle even had former MLB first baseman Rico Brogna as the next manager for the home side based out of Nat Bailey Stadium.
On Wednesday, the Lansing Lugnuts were announced as Oakland's high-A team. Lansing seemed like a team destined to be in Toronto's system.
The Michigan-based Lugnuts had been the Blue Jays' low-A team since 2005. It feels like a one-forone trade was made. MLB had final say on affiliations, but big-league clubs obviously could lobby for who they wanted to work with, and Kerr believes that Horgan placing that call had an impact in the C's being with Toronto.
“I know Edward Rogers was impressed that he took the time to call him,” said Kerr.
Horgan is a well-known sports fan, with a particular penchant for lacrosse.
An email from his office quoted him as saying: “The pandemic turned lives upside down and I know baseball fans can't wait to spend summer evenings back at The Nat. The relationship between the Canadians and Toronto is a special one, and I'm happy their ties remain strong so people can keep watching future Blue Jays here in Vancouver.”
The premier's office also explained via email that it was Kerr who had reached out initially to see if Horgan would help by calling Rogers and that Horgan made the call on Oct. 5.
That was two weeks before Slusser's report. TSN 1040 radio's Rob Fai, the former C's play-byplay man, followed Slusser's story the next day on Twitter by adding that Anthony Phillips was going to be a part of Brogna's coaching staff and help guide A's prospects.
C's president Andy Dunn maintains that how close Vancouver was to being paired up with Oakland this time around “is probably an answer we'll never know.”
He's right. MLB officials may not have divulged to any of the teams what they were thinking. At the very least, Kerr, Dunn, C's co-owner Jeff Mooney and anyone else involved can play that card if they see fit.
At the time the Oakland stories were rolling out, Dunn did balk, insisting nothing had been finalized.
And there were other reports that didn't match the final outcome. The Orange County Register, for instance, had the Los Angeles Dodgers going with the Spokane Indians last month. On Wednesday, the Indians were named an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies and the Dodgers' high-A team was announced as the Great Lakes Loons.
The five other remaining teams from the C's old Northwest League all ended up with West Coast parent clubs: Spokane (Colorado), Tri-City Dust Devils (Los Angeles Angels), Everett AquaSox (Seattle Mariners), Eugene Emeralds (San Francisco Giants), and the Hillsboro Hops (Arizona Diamondbacks). Spokane had been a Texas Rangers affiliate since 2003.
Dunn wouldn't divulge which big-league teams called him to talk about a possible partnership during this process.
Forty-two farm teams lost their affiliation status Wednesday, including the Boise Hawks and Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, who are both longtime rivals of Vancouver in short-season single-A. Bigleague clubs are now restricted to having just four full-season farm teams — triple-A, double-A, high-A and low-A. The short-season single-A level was abolished.
“I know we were high up on a few teams' wish list,” Dunn said.
The affiliation between the C's and Blue Jays works especially well from a promotions and marketing sense. Vancouver is the last Canadian minor-league club; it's logical the C's are paired with the last Canadian big-league club in Toronto. It also gives Rogers Communications, which owns the Blue Jays, another tie to Western Canada.
As well, Rogers owns Sportsnet and the C's had a six-game TV deal with them in 2019, as well as having their games on Sportsnet 650 radio.
Those arrangements are expected to continue.
“It's one of those very unique partnerships,” Dunn said of the C's and Blue Jays. “It makes too much sense for anyone to walk away from.”