Franchuk leaves Capitals
The future of professional baseball in Edmonton will suffer a heavy setback later this week when Orv Franchuk walks into Telus Field.
Franchuk will stop by the Edmonton Capitals clubhouse to gather the remainder of his belongings and then head south for a new chapter in his life as part of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The likable Franchuk, who led the Capitals to a North American Baseball League championship in 2011, has accepted a role as hitting coach with the Chattanooga Lookouts, the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate in the Southern League.
“It’s an exciting opportunity,” Franchuk said Wednesday, between visiting family and friends in the Edmonton area. “The Dodgers could very well win a World Series and it could be very exciting.”
On the other hand, it was difficult for Franchuk to leave the Capitals. During his one season in Edmonton, he often said how much he enjoyed being able to manage a team rather than reporting to a manager half his age.
At age 68, the Edmonton job brought him home after a lengthy career in professional baseball, including a 2004 World Series ring when Franchuk was the minor league hitting co-ordinator with the Boston Red Sox.
His departure from the Capitals, and its timing, could be a telltale sign about the future of pro baseball in Edmonton in 2013 — or lack of it.
The Capitals suspended play for the 2012 season after the NABL lost several teams. They would have been the only Canadian team in a four-team division. Financially, it was a no-brainer.
When the Capitals made the announcement in February 2012 that they were suspending play for a season, they said they would be back a year later. Unless I am looking at a deformed calendar, 2013 starts next Tuesday. Major League Baseball spring training is just over six weeks away.
We still haven’t heard what the Capitals are doing for the summer. In fact, the last post on the team’s website was April 30 about a summer baseball camp for kids.
Franchuk’s decision to move elsewhere could strongly signal that Telus Field will once again be without a professional tenant. Discussions surfaced last summer that the Capitals were negotiating with the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. It has 13 teams in three divisions, including the Winnipeg Goldeyes.
But despite all the i’s being dotted and t’s being crossed, something must have gone wrong. Franchuk’s departure says so.
We can only wonder what happened.
Do the Capitals, who are owned by the Edmonton Oilers, have an issue with, perhaps, a lease agreement with the city for Telus Field? Is the team on the selling block?
We may have answers in the new year. But when someone of the stature and character of Orv Franchuk leaves baseball in Edmonton, it’s a sad day.