Notes From The Nat

So the biggest news in baseball, potentially since the Sosa/McGwire homerun record chase (possibly even since the Pete Rose betting scandal) has hit the headlines, and the damage to the game is likely to be massive.

The Mitchell Report, a 20-month investigation on the topic of drugs in baseball, has been released, and the list of names and evidence that it contains is damning.

Read through the report and you’ll find mentions of Roger Clemens, Chuck Knoblauch, Andy Pettitte, Sammy Sosa, David Justice, Paul LoDuca, David Segui, Rondell White, Jason Giambi, Jeremy Giambi, Jose Guillen, Glenallen Hill, Wally Joyner, Lenny Dysktra, Eric Gagne… and that’s maybe 5% of the names. There are copies of checks cashed by suppliers, there are admissions from former players, and a few current ones, there are trainers fessing up to being dealers… it’s disgusting, top to bottom.

Of the Oakland Athletics organization, the following players are named (former Vancouver Canadians listed with year played):

• Randy Velarde (’97)
  
• Jason Giambi
• Miguel Tejada
• Jose Canseco
• FP Santangelo
• Adam Piatt (’99)
  
• Jose Guillen
• Jack Cust
• David Justice
• Cody McKay

Yes, Jack Cust (seen above) - current Oakland DH. His story, according to the report, goes as follows:

Jack Cust is an outfielder who began his major league career with the Arizona
Diamondbacks in 2001.  Since then, he has played for five teams in Major League Baseball, the Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, and Oakland Athletics.

In 2007, he played with Oakland.At the beginning of the 2003 season, Cust and Larry Bigbie were both playing for Baltimore?s class AAA affiliate in Ottawa.  Bigbie?s locker was next to Cust?s.  Cust eventually asked Bigbie if he had ever tried steroids.  Bigbie acknowledged he had, and Cust said that he,too, had tried steroids.  Cust told Bigbie that he had a source who could procure anything he
wanted, but Bigbie informed him he already had a friend who could supply him.

How did Cust respond to the allegations?

In order to provide Cust with information about these allegations and to give him
an opportunity to respond, I asked him to meet with me; he declined.

Damning.

Even more damning, and far more detailed, is the story of 1999 AAA Vancouver Canadians outfielder, Adam Piatt (seen right). His career stalled in a major way, right at the zero hour as he was due to break through, and this may explain why:

Adam Piatt played as an outfielder with two teams in Major League Baseball forportions of four seasons between 2000 and 2003, the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay DevilRays. In 1999, he was the Oakland Athletics? Minor League Player of the Year.

After [Mets trainer and roid supplier Kurt] Radomski?s guilty plea was publicly announced, Piatt?s lawyer contacted us. We later interviewed Piatt, who voluntarily admitted his use of performance enhancingsubstances. He accepted full responsibility for his actions and said that he had learned animportant life lesson as a result. Piatt should be commended for his candor, for his willingnessto admit that he made a mistake, and for accepting responsibility for his actions.

Piatt was called up to Oakland from the minor leagues in 2000. He said that he
knew nothing at that time about steroids or amphetamines. In 2001, Piatt contracted a viralinfection and lost 24 pounds in ten days. This illness affected his strength and caused extreme200stress. He tried to come back to play baseball in August, but he was unsuccessful. Piatt said thathe worked hard during the off-season to be physically prepared for 2002.

During 2002, hestarted considering using human growth hormone. He researched the subject extensively thatyear.Piatt recalled that he learned of Kirk Radomski through F.P. Santangelo.Santangelo and Piatt were teammates on the Oakland Athletics and on Oakland?s minor leagueaffiliate in Sacramento.

Santangelo described Radomski to him as a personal trainer who was
knowledgeable about dietary issues and as a steroids supplier.Before obtaining any substances, Piatt had several conversations with Radomski.They discussed Piatt?s diet and what Piatt should do and take to get in optimal shape for theupcoming year. Radomski recommended that Piatt modify his diet and work on getting in shapebefore he started using human growth hormone. The conversations were all by telephone. Piattnever met Radomski in person.

Piatt believed he initially obtained human growth hormone and either testosteroneor Deca-Durabolin from Radomski. The substances sat unused for a long time, however, before he tried them. He was more concerned with the possible long-term health risks than with theethical issues.

He also thought about the problems he was having in baseball. A friend on theteam told Piatt that he lacked the bat speed he had enjoyed before his illness. Ultimately, Piattbegan using performance enhancing substances during the 2002-03 off-season. Piatt?s typicalregimen was to take one shot of testosterone per week for three to five weeks. He also injectedhimself with human growth hormone every day until he contracted carpal tunnel syndrome. Hetalked to Radomski about this side effect and then decreased the frequency of his use.

Survey drug testing was conducted in Major League Baseball in 2003. Piatt did
not change his regimen because of that testing. He was tested sometime during the summer.

Piatt retired from baseball in 2004 at the age of 28 because he had lost his love for
the game. He believes that he could have played longer. According to Piatt, the time he usedillegal substances was the only time he did not enjoy baseball. He thought he had "compromisedsomething."

Piatt made some payments to Radomski in 2004, but he said that those were tosatisfy old debts for 2003 shipments. He said he had no need for, and did not use, human growthhormone after he retired. Piatt noted that Radomski never encouraged Piatt to use moresubstances after Piatt said he wanted to stop. Radomski provided eight checks from Piatt, withdates ranging from 2002 to 2004, and totaling $11,550.

Used to be a time when talent was enough. Here’s the Randy Velarde story.

Randy Velarde admitted to us, through his lawyer, that he had used performanceenhancing substances he obtained from Greg Anderson. According to his lawyer, if interviewed,Velarde would have told us he received the "cream" and the "clear" from Anderson in atransaction that occurred in a parking lot during spring training in 2003. Velarde was playing forthe Oakland Athletics at the time, was near the end of his career and was attempting to play foranother year to support his family.

There are a whole load of players named in the report, and I’m sure more will be named in the days or weeks ahead, so I’m not sure whether any of the old Anaheim Angels-system Vancouver Canadians are mentioned, but either way, it’s a tough time to be a ball fan.

This is the second time I’ve written this post. The first time, as I was about to hit ’submit’, the entire post just vanished. It’s not as if I accidentally deleted everything or hit the wrong button, I was just reading it over to check for errors and (bink!) it was gone.

Weirdest GD thing I’ve ever seen since I started the blog, and it happened while I was writing about ghosts, no less.

So here’s what I was trying to write:

I was just over on Athletics Nation, and saw a link to a press release about a book called Haunted Baseball. It’s essentially a book about all the ghost stories to do with ballparks, players, etc etc. And it looks outstanding.

A sample:

Sox centerfielder Coco Crisp tells a story about a haunted elevator inthe Westin St Francis hotel in San Francisco, visiting team hotel ofthe Oakland A’s. Crisp recounts an eerie ride up to his room that lefthim sleepless that night. His teammate at the time with the ClevelandIndians, C.C. Sabathia, thought a ghost entered the elevator while hewas on it and got off on the 17th floor. Veteran teammate and formerSox outfielder, Ellis Burks, swears a ghostly woman walked by him.Burks asked to change rooms.

Legendary Cubs manager Charlie Grimm is said to still call the bullpenat Wrigley Field late at night. Merchandise workers at Dodger Stadiumclaim to have seen a ghost meandering on the diamond after games. PetcoPark is rumored to have poltergeists that keep the overnight cleaningcrew on edge. There have also been Babe Ruth sightings on a storiedballfield in St Pete. All-Star second baseman Michael Young describes ahaunted room in Shreveport. Johnny Damon shares a fun story about beingpinned down by a ghost.

Michael Young: "My roommate wakes me up in the middle of the night andsays he saw a ghost above him. He was freaking out. So I got a big globof toothpaste and put a big cross on the door and I told him, ‘Is thisgood enough for you? ‘Cause I’m going back to sleep.’"

Hilarious. Although I do wonder if the ghost holding Johnny Damon down might have been waiting for another ghost to put the boot in, but I digress.

Now, all this talk of ghosts got me thinking about Nat Bailey Stadium’s own ghost stories - and there are plenty. From staff on their way out the door, thinking they’re the last ones left in the stadium at night, seeing people walking along the top row of the bleachers, to folks in the press box, when the stadium lights are all off and it’s late late at night, seeing players walking around in the outfield, anyone who has been at the stadium for a long time  (especially late at night) has had an encounter or two. 

There’s the media relations guy from several years ago who told me he once came face to face with a player under the stands, nearly walking right into him late at night, which elicited a polite ‘excuse me’ from the player in question.

As the two passed, the Media Guy thought to himself, "Hey, who was that? All the players went home hours ago…", and turned around to ask, only for there to be nobody there.
 

Then there’s the clubby from 2004, sleeping in the home locker room to save on rent and get an early start each day, who would hear cleats walking around outside in the dugout at 2AM, along with the tap-tap-tap of a bat being tested on the concrete. Upon investigation, he’d find nobody out there, but would hear more noises coming from the clubhouse he just walked out of.

There are a load more stories, of course, as there always will be when a place like The Nat stands for as long as it has. Hell, beerhawker Rob McGowan haunts Nat Bailey Stadium to this day, and he’s still alive!

Got your own Nat Bailey Stadium ghost story? Tell it in the comments below.

Busy times for the C’s, even though there’s nary a ball being pitched at The Nat at the moment.

The annual UBC Alumni vs UBC Thunderbirds ballgame was canceled on the weekend after the deluge that pounded the city made the outfield look like BizarroWorld’s version of California, but that was the sole piece of poor news for the C’s this week.

Our own team historian, Bud Kerr [seen above], was given an award last Thursday at the Vancouver Museum that has been a long time coming; a Heritage Vancouver Lifetime Membership, recognizing his contribution to preserving the history of Vancouver baseball.

According to The Sun, "To avoid having to sneak into Athletic Park as a kid in the 1940s, Kerr volunteered to be a scorekeeper with the Capilanos" - that’s a pretty tiny summary for a guy who has been involved with the game in this city as a player, staffer, fan, archivist and promoter for so long he can take you to the spot on 5th Ave where Vancouver’s long lost Athletic Park stood back in 1913 - the same spot he used to scale the fence to watch games.

C’s owners Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney have taken a personal interest in ensuring that Bud gets the appreciation he deserves, and have not only announced they’ll be building a museum in his name at Nat Bailey Stadium, but they’re also actively assisting him in his latest campaign; to get plaques placed at the location of each of Vancouver’s old ballparks (Considering how everything made of brass seems to get stolen by scrap metal thieves these days, might I suggest they consider plastic as an option?).

While we’re on the history front, the C’s will gather several UBC baseball alumni together in the Vancouver Canadians clubhouse to recreate Jeff Francis’ old locker, from back when he played at The Nat as a UBC Thunderbird.

Francis’ old coach, Terry McKaig, won’t be there for the ceremony, as he’s on his way to Boston to watch Francis pitch in the World Series on Wednesday (and will apparently be writing about it in the Vancouver Sun), but Brooks McNiven, Derran Watts, Brent Mutis and Cavanaugh Whiteley will be there to recount stories of ‘Frank and Beans’.

Also on Francis, according to The Sun, if you’re near UBC or Delta, you might want to stop in at a pub on Wednesday:

Mahony & Sons Public House, a UBC-based sports bar, has "a bigparty" planned for Francis on Wednesday, according to owner/managerChris Mahony.

"We’re expecting pretty close to 100 people," saysMahony. "Some of Jeff’s former UBC teammates will be there, but it’s abig party for all UBC athletes. We’ve got a lot of big-screen TVs inthe bar and everybody will be watching Jeff pitch in the game. I’m sureit’s going to be a fun time."

The recently opened bar is at 5990 University Blvd., opposite UBC’s War Memorial Gym.

TheDelta Lion Pub will also host a gathering of Francis fans on Wednesday.The pub is at 11186, 84th Ave., and is close to the Francis family home.

"Jeff’smom and dad come in here to watch most of his games," saysowner/manager Mike Mahony, who is Chris Mahony’s brother. "It’s like aWorld Series game every time Jeff’s on the mound, so Wednesday’s gameis going to be special. We’re expecting a pretty big crowd, including alot of Jeff’s friends and young baseball players in this area. They’reall Jeff Francis fans."

Good times.

Had a visit from Bud Kerr today, which is always an interesting way to spend a day.

Bud is the Vancouver baseball historian that provided so much of the memorabilia that graced the walls of The Nat over the last few years, and was recently announced as being the man that the Vancouver Canadians will name their upcoming museum after. He’s been to the ballpark most every day there was a game for several decades, including UBC games, and even when the doctor tells him he should be staying home. He’s seen it all. He’s lived it all.

So today he needed something typed up and emailed, and because I live not far from him I volunteered to help. It happened to be a list of former Vancouver ballparks, dating all the way back to 1905, and once we got talking about the various parks, well, let’s just say the conversation went until it physically had to end.

In order to help Bud in his effort to record as many of his memories as he possibly can, I asked if I could put his list online at NFTN; a request he was happy to accept.

So without further delay, here’s a rundown on every Vancouver professional ballpark, from 1905 to 1951, when Capilano Stadium (now Nat Bailey Stadium) opened.

RECREATION PARK:
Recreation Park [seen above] was Vancouver?sfirst professional baseball stadium. It was located at the Southeast corner ofSmithe and Homer Streets, and opened for business May 11^th, 1905. Theland was owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway and leased back to city businessmen who then sublet it to the ballclub, but they eventually opted to kick their tenants out and use the land for warehousing.

Teams that played in Recreation Park in the Northwestern League included:

• 1905-07: Vancouver Horse Doctors
• 1908-11: Vancouver Beavers
• 1912: Vancouver Champions

Bob Brown, who would come to be known in Vancouver as Mr Baseball, bought the Vancouver Beavers in 1910, starting his love affair with the game of baseball in this city that didn’t end until he did, some five decades later. Never one to be humble, when the Beavers won the Northwestern League championship in 1911, Brown changed their name to the Champions for the following season. As well as serving as owner, Brown also managed the team, and played shortstop.

He’d bought the struggling team for $500. His profits on the first year were $3500. The year after they won their first championship, he knocked back an offer of $35,000 for the team.

The park also hosted soccer games on occasion, with the arrival in 1910 of the British Columbia Professional Football League, but when the lease was pulled after the 1912 season, Bob Brown paid $500 for the bleachers, and set about clearing trees for the new home for Vancouver baseball.

ATHLETIC PARK:
Athletic Park was located at theNortheast corner of 5^th Ave and Hemlock Street. It opened for business on April 18^th, 1913, after Bob Brown literally cleared trees with his bare hands, a few saws, and a couple of sticks of dynamite. Right field was located on what is now the north side of the 1300 blockof West 6^th Ave on the south shore of False Creek.

On October 18^th, 1934, the Vancouver Senior League played an exhibitiongame against the Babe Ruth All-Stars, who were barnstorming through Canada on their way to Japan. Lou Gehrig reportedly played first base while wearing galoshes and holding an umbrella.

The teams that played in Athletic Parkwere part of the Northwestern League until 1917, and afterwards played in severalleagues, including the International Pacific Coast League, among others. These included:

• 1913: Vancouver Bees
• 1914: Vancouver Beavers
• 1915: Vancouver Champions
• 1916-17: Vancouver Beavers
• Early 1930’s: Vancouver Asahi (Terminal League)
  
• 1939-1951: Vancouver Capilanos
• 1950: University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds
  

This stadium saw the introduction of night baseball to the region, with Brown forking out $8000 for lights so his club could be the first team west of the Mississippi to play at night. Unfortunately, with its wooden bleachers and the propensity for cigarette butts to light dried peanut shells under the stands, the ballpark burned down twice.

The park was eventually demolished to make way for the Granville St Bridge on-ramp.

CON JONES PARK:
Con Jones Park[seen right] was an entirely wooden stadium located on Renfrew Streetacross from the Pacific National Exhibition grounds (bounded by Renfrew, Oxford, Kaslo and Cambridge Streets). The Main entrance was onthe corner of Oxfordand Kaslo Streets, in what is now an open park.

Con Jones was a big name in Canadian soccer, but the park was intended for lacrosse as well, before budgetary thinking saw the park opened to baseball. It was considered Vancouver’s soccer home for a long time, although the original park was destroyed by a fire on July 29, 1934, as was the habit with wooden structures of the time.

When Con Jones died in 1942, the park was willed to Mrs. Ada Stevenson, who in turn deeded it to the City of Vancouver. Her only demand? That it be renamed for her uncle, John Callister.

Callister Park would be soccer’s home in Van City for more than five decades, before being demolished on the February 4th, 1971.

Teams that played in Con Jones/Callister Park included:

• 1930?s: Vancouver Asahi (Terminal League)
• 1937-1938: Maple Leafs (Western International League)
• 1950?s: Vancouver Firemen (Pacific Coast Soccer League)
• 1966: Vancouver Athletics (United Soccer Assocation)

Most people have forgotten that professional soccer in Vancouver started in Callister Park. In fact, most people have forgotten their was a Callister Park.

VANCOUVER CENTRE PARK:
Thought the opening date is unknown at this time, Vancouver Centre Parkwas located at Broadway and Fir St. The main entrance and Northeast corner ofthe park was where the 1500 block of West Broadway now stands.

The stadiumhoused a women?s softball league, but no hardball.  The ballpark closed in the early 50?s, butnot before quite a few of the women who played there turned out for theAll-American Girls Professional Baseball League during WWII, made famous by the feature film A League Of Their Own.

And then came The Nat… 

Note: The intention is to host this information so that researchers can have easy access to the data and details, so if you happen to spot anything here that isn’t true as you know it, or you have expanded information, please drop us a comment so we can see to it. 

Was just watching the episode titled "Voices Carry" from season 2 of the TV series The 4400, and what should jump out at me?

None other than The Nat, being used as a location for the opening act of the show.

The entire series has been shot in Vancouver, so you’ll often see scenes in and around places like the Art Gallery, Commercial Drive, Steveston Village, The Chan Centre at UBC, the Convocation Mall at SFU and the like, so it stands to reason that when an episode involves a minor league ballplayer who can hear what people are thinking, you’d look to The Nat for a backdrop.

If you’ve ever wondered what the Canadians locker rooms look like (or rather, used to look like), go rent Season Two, Disc One of The 4400 and all will be answered.

Oh, and no, this wasn’t the shoot that ripped up the infield grass several years ago - something the ballpark has still not recovered from. 

Can you think of any other movies or TV shows that have used The Nat as a backdrop? Leave a comment. 

MVPs are for bonus babies. All-star spots are for high draft picks.

Butwhat’s left for the guy who turns up early, works his ass off, thenspends the entire game warming up the bullpen, wondering if he’ll getmore than five swings per series?

What do we give to the guy whohas nothing but a dream and way too much time to dream it? What can the80% of guys destined to not get past AA ball, who are there primarilyto catch balls thrown and hit by the other 20%, look toward as theirown private World Series equivalent?

In short, what do the Rudy Rudibaker’s of this world play for?

Answer: The Vancouver Canadians Beer Hawker Player of the Year Award.

I couldn’t tell you who was the C’s MVP this season because,frankly, it just doesn’t matter. Whoever it was will go up the system,hit the cover off the ball, or peel the leather off catchers mitts, orsnap off breaking stuff that guys like Joe Morgan will say "isn’t asgood as it was in my day", but the guys that the InternationalBrotherhood of Minesweepers, Pastry Chefs, and Beerhawkers, Local 666,decide are the Beer Hawker Players of theYear… well, those guys go down in local legend. They live on in ourheartsand souls and stories and admiration.

Take Joe Newby, the 2005 winner of the BHPoY, who was sooutraged at his and other players’ living conditions with a certainhost family, that he took a video camera and filmed them, laterconfronting GM Dan Kilgras with the tape in what would come to be knownas "dogbloodgate". Newby’s fire, his ability to keep throwing the hardcheese with his head held high, even as all around him bootedgroundballs and waved at infield singles and allowed the runs to rackup, and the fact that he left a porno virus on his host family’scomputer, made him a lock on the big prize.

Newby was recentlyreleased by the A’s, but he’ll always have that video tape, and thememory of Kilgras with steam coming out of his ears, cursing like atourettes syndome patient in the midst of a sugar rush. And pop-ups advertising girl-on-goat sex.

The list of previous winners is as follows:

2006: Andre Piper-Jordan       Threw punches; wasn?t JermaineMitchell
2005: Joey Newby                  ?Accidentally? left a pornovirus on host family computer
2004: Myron Leslie                  Because he was the lastplayer they expected to win
2003: Eddie Kim                     Solid player; awardvalidated by chugging from the mini keg he won
2002: John Baker                   Always swung like itmattered; only hit one home run
2001: Casey Meyers               Inspired by legend of ?Three Fingers?Rowan
2000: Joe B. Cerone               Name rhymed with ?My Charona?;had good-looking sisters
1999: Ricky Freeman              Because Frank Menechino couldn?twin everything
1998: Ben Molina                    Name rhymed with ?MyCharona?
1997: Geoff Edsell                  Left heart in San Francisco; left uniform in New Orleans
1996: Orlando Palmeiro          Tried ? and failed ? to hit us with balls from theoutfield

This year, the award went to a player who had us at hello.

No,he didn’t hit too well. And sure, his defense is a work in progress.And yeah, he’s going to be in the group of players who are told byOakland "we’ll see you next year… in all likelihood."

But toC’s fans, he was Benny Winslow with a chest protector. He was thePlayer to be Famed Later. He was the guy we wanted to see succeed, forno other reason than, dammit, he’s earned a little karma with all thatbullpen work. And he has the best baseball name since Rollie Fingers.

And every now and then, when the opposition was feeling goodabout themselves and the fans were checking watches and the hawkerswere going back for a tray refill, Brother Love, the 2006 39th rounderfor Oakland, with nobody on and two outs, would dig in, stare down apitcher, grip the shaft of his bat a little harder, and think "breakingball down the middle."

Zip. Crack. Off the center field wall for a double.

Love’sline at season’s end wasn’t one that’ll have Scott Boras suggesting heswitch agents, but his commitment to the team, the game, and the redand blue, make him the only man who could take home the big award.

He showed us The Love. All hail ‘The Inferno’.

Also honoured, and no less important, is JD Pruitt, 2007 winner of the infrequently given Beerhawker Inspiration Award.

Pruitt’sability to telekinetically attract fastballs to his elbow, back and asswas enough to take his OBP into the stratosphere, shattering the NWLHBP record like a firmly plunked elbow in the process, and giving birthto the blog images that would become known as ‘lolpruitts’.

Thanks for the memories, JD. You played it like you meant it.

Previous winners of the Inspiration Award are as follows:

2006: James Heuser       Because we had to divert upset honeys when he was charting pitches
2001: Dan Johnson         Rested due to inability to play one fine, hung-over afternoon
2000: Freddie Bynum      Committed 29 errors; hit 2 fans
1997: Jerry Thurston       Because we had to convince people he was playing Triple-A
1996:Will Pennyfeather   Knocked a catcher out cold; played ?Count the Fans? with the hawkers

As for how these awards came to be, that story is deserving of its own post… 

A few weeks back, I bought a small knick knack on eBay - an Ottawa Lynx paperweight. At least I think it’s a paperweight. It doesn’t seem to serve any other kind of purpose that I can see.

Ibought it because, come Labor Day, the Ottawa Lynx will be no more, andthe Vancouver Canadians will be the last remaining Canadian minorleague baseball team.

Think about that for a second - no affiliated minor league baseball anywhere in Canada… except for Vancouver.

Ofcourse, this is a shameful course of events, and one that could havebeen avoided with just the minimal amount of care and concern, but careand concern aren’t words that sit well with baseball executives.

From today’s Globe and Mail:

On Labour Day, the Ottawa Lynx will play the final game of their15-year existence when they close out a six-game homestand against theSyracuse Chiefs, ending an era during which minor-league teams weredotted across Canada.

Less than a decade ago, there were Triple-A teams in Vancouver,Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa. In addition, Canada played host toseveral other major-league affiliates in places such as London, Ont.,Welland, Ont., and Medicine Hat.

Yet when the Lynx depart after this season for Allentown, Pa., theSingle-A Vancouver Canadians will become the only Canadian outpostamong the dozens of major-league farm teams in North America.

Granted, the game isn’t as big up here now that the Blue Jays aren’t incontention and the Expos are gone to Washington, and the ridiculousborder line-ups (mostly heading in a southerly direction) haven’thelped the situation.Nor has the fact that, up north, during April and May, it’s usually either raining, has just rained, or is about to rain.

Andthe fact that US towns and cities are happy to pile loads of taxpayermoney into building stadiums while Canadian cities view socialinfrastructure as something to be avoided is another factor.

Butif you want to know the REAL reason that there’s no minor league ballin Canada, I can sum it up in three words: the Blue Jays.

The Lynx were born when baseball interest in Canada was peaking. The franchise played its first game only five months after the Toronto Blue Jays captured their first World Series, as baseball participation, television audiences and attendance hit record highs.

Ottawa sold out most games during those early days, setting an International League attendance record in their new 10,000-seat facility and becoming the jewel of Canada’s minor-league scene.

But when interest in both the Blue Jays and Montreal Expos began to decline in the mid-1990s, so do did the minor leagues suffer in popularity.

Then there were the economic forces. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, a low Canadian dollar made teams more valuable in the United States than Canada.

Economics, schmeconomics. The failure of baseball at the minor league level in this country is down to the Jays.

And not their lack of results so much as their lack of resolve.

Put simply, the Blue Jays could have seen the game failing in their own backyard and done something about it beyond compelling people in the cheap seats to "Make some noize!" They could have showed a little charity, and helped out surrounding areas to keep their teams. They could have played exhibition games outside of Ontario, or even the occasional in-season game. They could have made their stars into nationwide heroes on the same level as Joe Carter or Larry Walker once were. They could have drafted more local kids, or traded for one or two. They could have dragged a minor league team or two BACK to Canada.

But they did none of this. Instead, they figure wall-to-wall Blue Jays coverage on Sportsnet is enough to keep the kids in Nunavut and the oldies in Thunder Bay interested. The result of that misguided thinking? If Vancouverites want to see a ballgame, they go to Seattle. If Calgarians want to see one, they go to the independent Northern League. If Regina folks want to see one, they’ll head for Chicago.

Sure,there’s no law that says the Blue Jays have to spend money or exacteffort in helping keep minor league ball in Canada. There’s noprovincial or federal directives that say they should sling a fewmillion to cities to help them build stadiums that could have helpedthem keep their teams. There’s nothing in the bible that says "thoushalt build the sport in your own backyard if you want people to give adamn when the Yankees and Sox own your ass."

But the fundamentals of business dictate that, if you wantyour company to grow, your industry should grow too. and thefundamentals of sport management suggest that, if your team is playingaway for a week, but your Triple-A team plays just down the street, youkeep the locals interested in baseball ALL. THE. TIME.

TheMariners get this. Their minor league affiliates are as close as theycan be to Seattle, and the results are overwhelmingly positive. Do youhonestly think that Everett Aquasox fans don’t get to Safeco Field towatch the Mariners as often as they do the Flipperkids? Do you notthink Tacoma ball fans convoy past the airport to see their Triple-Aheroes playing in The Show?

Meanwhile, where do the Blue Jaysminor leaguers play? Not Montreal, Ottawa, Hamilton and St Johns, butrather New Hampshire, Florida, New York, and Michigan.

The BlueJays love to call themselves Canada’s team, but where’s the incentivefor Canadians outside the 416 to give a damn about the Jays,when they send their kids to the US to play? Where are baseball fans inWinnipeg, Quebec, Calgary and Edmonton supposed to go to get theirbaseball fill, if the Jays aren’t concerned with supplying it?

Now,I understand how the minors work. I get it that decisions such as theone to move the Lynx to Pennsylvania are not made by the Rogers board,but that board can damn well have a say, and when the city of Ottawacouldn’t or wouldn’t raise the cash to upgrade the ballpark there (oreven build parking for it, or even not destroy the existing parking),the Jays could have ridden in like local heroes, offered to build a newballpark, and taken over the affiliation of the team while doing so.

For$10-25m, the team could have exploited a great real estate opportunity,anchored itself among Ottawa’s ball fans as ‘their team’, and securedthe ability to have their call-ups a short drive away, rather than ashort flight - for decades to come.

But they don’t. And themotards who don’t think these things through will say "Canadians don’tlike baseball", even as the Vancouver Canadians attendance figures spikeup dramatically (for Low-A short season ball, at that), and thousands of Vancouverites tackle the bordercrossing every weekend to see Mariners games some four hours away.

City officials will say "I won’t waste taxpayer money on stadiums",even as stadium developments across the United States, from Memphis toBalitmore to Albuquerque to Round Rock, rejuvenate downtrodden areasand bring in millions of dollars (and thousands of jobs) to localeconomies, as well as giving local populations some 70 nights ofentertainment every summer that they otherwise would have spentwatching TV.

As for the economics reasoning that Ottawa’s owners are trotting out as the logic behind their move, it’s funny that as they leave, the Independent Can-Am League is looking to not just move in to the city, but take over the stadium lease.

[Can-Am League ‘Quebec Capitales’ owner Miles] Wolff is also betting that Canadians still have plenty of appetite for baseball. Right now, he’s bidding to take over the final two years of the Lynx lease and operate a Can-Am League team in Ottawa next spring, with a schedule that runs from late May to September.

"There is and has always been great baseball interest in Canada," Wolff said. "People say what can you do better than the Lynx? Well, we don’t have to play in April and May when the weather is terrible and the Senators are doing well."

The Ottawa Lynx are dead, just as the Edmonton Cubs,Dodgers, Drakes, Eskimos, Grays, Legislatures, Navy Cardinals andTrappers died off. They’re dead like the Calgary Cannons, or theMedicine Hat Blue Jays, or the Pulaski Blue Jays, or the St CatherinesBlue Jays, or the Montreal Royales, Royals and Royals Accomplishments.Extinct like the Victoria Rosebuds. Gone the way of the VancouverAsahi. Fallen off the twig like the Winnipeg Maroons and Whips. Or like the entire ill-conceived, ill-fated, corruptly-run Canadian Baseball League.

May the baseball gods have mercy on their souls.

And ours for letting it happen.

And me?I got to use the phrase, "I made a 100 year-old man’s day." How oftendoes that happen?

Bernie, Isabel, and me.  Bernie’s the one with hair.

Canadians co-owner, Jeff Mooney, with the happy couple.

The view from the good seats. 

Old timers may remember a guy by the name of Norton who once occupied the outfield at Nat Bailey Stadium, back in the day when the Mounties called it home.

Norton spent a decade in the minors - your prototypical AAAA player - grinding away, looking for a sniff of Major League ball.

Take it away, Tom Hawthorn of the Globe and Mail:

In 1968, the Sporting News featured him in a profile as he tore up the Southern League with his hitting for the Birmingham (Ala.) Barons. In the fourth inning of one game, he hit a homer, came up again later in the inning, smacking a grand slam… "Norton has been on the verge of being a top player for several years now," his manager said at the time. "And in the last month it looks as if he’s broken through and made it."

If only. The next season he was playing for the Iowa Oaks in Des Moines when he was told to report to the airport in the morning. Rick Monday had broken his wrist. The Athletics needed an outfielder to meet the team in Baltimore.

Nine seasons of hard work, of kicking around the bush leagues, was about to be rewarded.

He was about to board a flight when paged. The A’s were calling up someone else. That was the closest he got.

Ouch. Still, Norton’s moved on; he coached Team Canada for a while, helped set up the National Baseball Insitute in BC, and now he’s not only a scout for the Seattle Mariners, covering Canada and Europe, but he seems to be someone they trust greatly - since he recommended they take Canadian pitcher Phillippe Aumont in the draft this year, and they did so with their first pick.

And if you’re wondering why the Seattle-affiliated Everett Aquasox had a pair of Dutchmen in their team this year, that’s down to Norton too. He also found them an Italian.

Nice to see hometown guys making their way, even after their playing days are done.

And nice to see the Canadian sporting press drinking from the baseball pool a little beyond the Blue Jays.

I get a lot of email and comments to the blog from people who dig what we do (or hate what we do), but on occasion we get some information in a comment that warrants a diary in its own right.

This is one such comment, from Max Weder, husband of Nat Bailey facade artist, Jennifer Ettinger:

Great blog on the Canadians. Thanks as well for the nice comments on Jennifer?s art at the stadium; it?s much appreciated (my spouse has all the talent; I?m just along for the ride)

We organize a baseball meeting each summer in Vancouver for SABR (Society for American Baseball research - www.sabr.org). This year, the meeting will be at Nat Bailey on Saturday, August 25 at 2 pm (there?s no game that day). We?ll have several speakers, including [Vancouver Canadians GM] Andy Dunn, and I?m trying to line up a couple ex-ballplayers to talk.

In the past, we?ve had Kit Krieger (sort of a ballplayer), Ernie Kershaw, Bill Whyte, Phil Filiatrault (played in Pirates system), Ray Crosato and others. I?m always looking for others interested, so if you think of any, send an email to us at art@ettinger.ca (I?m really interested if anyone has a contact for Hal Rodd, former announcer for the Capilanos).

Anyone interested in baseball is welcome to attend, and you don?t have to be a SABR member. There?s no admission charge and we also will have a bbq at our house afterwards to which all are invited.

Thanks again,
Max Weder

Folks who are on the fence about going to this should take note, I went to one of these meetings at the BC Sports Hall of Fame a few years back, and it was an amazing day. Extended chats with old time Vancouver ballplayers, C’s management, and a collection of uber ball-geeks that will make you realize how little you know about the game… or at least how little you know about who played third base for the Pirates in 1965, and what Reggie Jackson’s lifetime OBP was.

I’ll also say, if you think what’s on the outside of Nat Bailey Stadium is a great taste of old time ball, you should see the inside of Weder’s house, just five minutes from the stadium. Even if only for the barbeque, I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Saturday August 25th at 2pm, no cover charge - see you there!

EverythingI have come to know as true must now be questioned, for I have been tothe new Nat Bailey Stadium, and my world has duly been rocked.

TheNat Bailey Stadium I remember was nothing like The Nat of today. Theold Nat was vanilla. It was crusty stucco and blue-painted wood. It wascorners cut, maintenance-free, and rinky dink. It was friendly, happy,homely and weak. It was a shell of something great, trying desperatelyto fight off irrelevance in a changing professional sporting world.

Okay, let’s not mince words here - the place was basically crap.

Sure,I went to bat for the old girl when the wrecking ball loomed, but ifI’m honest, she was the equivalent of the crazy old aunt you have thatyou love dearly, but really don’t want to see any more than once a yearbecause she smells funny. 

The new Nat Bailey Stadiumis the opposite of that, but not in the ways that you might expect -there are no shiny steel surfaces or yuppy-luring neon, and there’s anabsolute absence of that very Canuck sporting experience, the "$9beer". It’s not corporate. It’s not imposing. It’s not boldlyengineered and outlandishly designed. It’s professional. It’s clean.

What it is, quite frankly, is awesome.

Aswe’d reported some weeks ago on Notes From The Nat, the new owners ofthe Vancouver Canadians have decided to invest their money on upgradesthat don’t ‘bring the C’s into the new century’. Rather, the place isnow positively dripping in the past, from the first moment you driveinto the parking lot, to the first steps into the concourse, all theway to your seat.

Let’s talk you through it.