Province won’t have a team at nationals this year, but is still going after 2014 event
The fact this province won’t be sending a team to the Canadian senior men’s baseball championship in British Columbia this year won’t affect our chances of getting to host the nationals in 2014, says St. John’s Amateur Baseball Association (SJABA) president Mark Healy.
Healy was in discussion with Baseball Canada in April , when the national association was told Newfoundland and Labrador would not be sending a team to the 2012 championships. A second team from Ontario has been added since then.
While Healy didn’t want to name names, because some of the players had personal reasons for not going, he said at a half-dozen “core” players, including two pitchers, on the St. John’s Winmar Capitals would have been unavailable to participate in the nation- als this year so it wouldn’t be worth the cost to go without some key players.
Healy said Baseball Canada “fully understands” our situation this year.
He said the national body knew this province was looking at hosting the tournament in 2014 and gave every indication the decision to opt out of this year’s event would not have any negative impact on that bid.
“It’s a tall order to spend $35,000 to go across Canada without your A lineup,” he said. “It was a tough and disappointing decision to have to make. When we made a commitment to go in November, we had a full roster, but since that time, we’ve lost several players due to work and family commitments and one player (Karl DeHart) is out with an arm injury.”
Healy indicated the SJABA executive, in conjunction with Destination St. John’s and Baseball Newfoundland and Labrador, has submitted a letter of interest to Baseball Canada to play host to the 2014 senior men’s nationals.
The St. John’s baseball president is optimistic the capital city will have a real shot at winning the 2014 bid.
“I’m confident we’re in the running to get it,” said Healy. “We have to make sure all our ducks are in a row before we decide to go any further.”
He said the fact the tournament hasn’t been in Newfoundland since 1997 helps. He also said the Atlantic provinces have a good reputation for playing host to the event, noting Dartmouth, N.S,. hosted the nationals in 2009 and 2010, while Chatham, N.B., was site of the event last summer. The 2013 tournament is slated for Windsor, Ont.
The Capitals have travelled to the nationals every year since 2001, with the exception of 2006 when the event was moved at a very late date from Quebec to Manitoba.
Healy said if St. John’s wins the 2014 bid, the organizers will use both the St. Pat’s Ball Park in St. John’s and Smallwood diamond in Mount Pearl for the tournament.
Healey noted there have been upgrades done on the St. Pat’s facility in recent years, including a new mound and batting cage.
“We’re looking to do some renovations to the clubhouse and maybe getting in some new dugouts,” he said.
“We’re already on the City of St. John’s list to have the bleachers replaced by next year.”
Meanwhile, the first annual Molson senior club team baseball tournament is set for this weekend at Jubilee Field in Corner Brook.
The tournament will feature five teams from the senior leagues in St. John’s and Corner Brook. Participating are the Metro Property Management Knights of Mount Pearl and Holy Cross Trinity Pub of St. John’s, along with West Side Monarchs, Hawks and Aces of Corner Brook.
The teams will play a single roundrobin series starting Thursday, with the championship game slated for noon Sunday.
Healy, who credited Corner Brook Baseball Association president Kevin McCarthy with the idea a couple of years ago, hopes the tourney will become an annual event.
It’s slated for St. John’s next summer.