Yesterday proved to be a busy, yet successful day for the Nat Bailey faithful, as well as the Lewis-Clark State Baseball team.

UBC’s baseball team lost their opening round game Thursday, before staying alive on Friday with a grand slam by Senior Mike Styrna.  They then, however, lost to College of Idaho Friday night, ending their 2008 season on home turf.

COI advanced to the final, where they faced Lewis-Clark State on Saturday.

VANCOUVER — The Lewis Clark State Warriors jumped
out to a big lead in the first inning and never looked back on their
way to winning the Region 1 championship by a score of 15-4 over the
College of Idaho Coyotes.

With one out in the bottom of the first, LC state went on a rally that
saw six straight Warriors reach base and five runs come in. That would
be all the offence they needed to win the Region 1 title, as the
Coyotes were held to four runs off seven hits in five innings of work
by Warriors starter Blaine Hardy, with Justin Mace throwing four no-hit
innings in relief to seal the deal.

LC state finished with 17 hits, including at least one hit in every
inning but the sixth. All but two of their starters registered at least
one hit in the game, with Mike Rivera’s four hit performance leading
the team.

With the win, the Warriors have earned the right to host the Super Regionals, which get underway on May 15 in Lewiston, Idaho.

 So once again, Lewis-Clark State pulls away with the Region I title.  It’s bad enough they get an automatic berth into their own NAIA World Series, but why do they have to compete in Region I?  It sucks if you’re a UBC fan.

Many good things came out of this season, though.  Scott Webster and Senior Fletcher Vynne each cranked five home-runs, and DH Ryan Pilgrim hit four, with a few years still left at UBC, and Seniors Matt Chester (who went out injured a few weeks ago) and Mike Styrna (Grand Slam Friday) found their groove, hitting .350 and .336 respectively.  They combined for 50 RBI and four home-runs as well as 21 extra-base hits.

Continue reading this post…

Just had the TV on for a moment and saw one of White Spot’s latest TV ads, and I just couldn’t pass up the chance to throw a minor hissyfit about it.

First, some history - Nat Bailey was instrumental in the creation of the stadium that was subsequently named after him, as well as the teams that played within its confines. Thus, he’s considered a bit of a Vancouver baseball legend.

He also started the White Spot restaurant chain. So there’s two things to be proud of, if you’re one of his ancestors.

But here’s the rub; while the White Spot restaurant chain utilizes the Nat Bailey name often when trying to drench itself in west coast history, they also use baseball in the same way. Order a coke and you’re likely to get it in a glass that has ol’ Nat’s face on the side, bookended by a pair of baseball bats, in front of a baseball diamond… heck, anyone would think that White Spot has the same passion for baseball that their founder did.

Only, that would be a lie. A bald-faced one, at that.

For years, the Vancouver Canadians called on the owners of White Spot to come back to The Nat and play a part in the success of the team. Open a burger counter, take out an outfield advertising sign, run a promotion.. anything! Just be a part of things!

But no. White Spot had no interest. In fact, they weren’t just uninterested, they were emphatically so. Year after year, they didn’t want to know. Nat Bailey’s grandkids were off playing golf or something, and couldn’t be bothered about this odd game played on dirt by people without trust funds.

And yet, here they are today, running an ad on TV in which their newly trained gourmet chefs are ‘preparing for spring training’, complete with ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ background music. 

White Spot, just cut it out already. Stop. You have NOTHING to do with baseball. Your natural position in baseball heaven has duly been taken over by A&W, who haven’t just gone and sponsored a bunch of Family Fun days over the coming Canadians season, but one of their owners went and BOUGHT THE FREAKING TEAM.

You’re done, White Spot. You no longer have any claim to baseball in this town. You’re McDonalds with nicer decor. You’re Wendy’s without the pig-tails. You’re as relevant to baseball as the Pirate Pack is to pirates. 

In fact, if White Spot doesn’t stop whoring their tenuous connection to baseball, I’m going to be the first one to stand up and suggest it might be time to rename Nat Bailey Stadium. 

Jeff Mooney Stadium… has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? 

Alas, the Thunderbirds’ bats dried up last night, as the College of Idaho took them down in a 3-0 shutout in the first round of the NAIA Region I tourney at Nat Bailey Stadium.

Solid pitching by Mark Hardy put them within reach, but Bob from the Tbirds Baseball Fanpage has the details:

The Coyotes got all their runs in the seventh inning. 1B Richie Snider hit a double off the centre field scoreboard. He scored the only run the Coyotes needed on a single by 3B Alex O’Brien. The remaining two runs came on a single by C Dane McGrady, on an 0-2 pitch with two out; it was starter Mark Hardy’s only mistake of the game. McGrady was out trying to stretch his hit into a double, after the two runs scored.

CoI starting pitcher, Jake Bottari, pitched a complete game shut-out to get the win.

The Thunderbirds aren’t done yet, however, as they play Concordia-Portland, like, right now. The game started at 10am at The Nat, so if you have the morning off, go enjoy some aluminum bat action. It’s a good warm-up for the C’s regular season, which starts in just a few weeks (well, maybe more than a few, but certainly less than a lot).

Speaking of the Canadians, which is something we do kind of often here, they’ve announced their lineup of ’superstar appearances’ for this season, and I’m liking what they’re cooking up.

June 18 brings Tim ‘Rock’ Raines (seen left) to Nat Bailey Stadium, the 12-season Montreal Expos legend who eventually found his way to the White Sox, A’s, Yankees, Marlins and Orioles (and even back to the Expos for a brief period - at the age of 41). Raines was a .294 career hitter, and considering his career went over two decades, that’s a lot of hits. 

No less handy with a baseball bat, only in a slightly different way, is superstar number two - Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart. He’ll turn out on July 10, and if you don’t know who he is, you haven’t seen pro wrestling over the past thirty years. The Hitman is an Alberta native, and was a two-time WWF tag-team champion, two-time Intercontinental Champion, and five-time world heavyweight champion. Please, please, please, put him in the sumo suit.

The Famous San Diego Chicken shows up on July 23, and if you’ve never seen The Chicken in action, you simply have to come down to The Nat and get a taste. He’s the champion of mascots, an ongoing comedy routine, and he floored ‘em last year when he came to town.

Last, but certainly not least, is Chatham, Ontario’s own Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, Ferguson Jenkins, appearing on August 12. Three-time All-Star, 1971 Cy Young winner, and Cubbie legend, Jenkins’ first season as a starter was spent racking up twenty wins while posting a 2.80 ERA and notching 236 strikeouts. Not too foul.

Last note for today - the C’s have posted their job openings for the coming season - everything from Bat Boy to Beer Hawker to Team Driver. Apply directly to the front office if you’re down, or be at the team Job Fair.

Lefty pitcher Mark Hardy turns out for the UBC Thunderbirds today, starting the first game in the NAIA Region I college baseball tourney that the school also happens to be hosting.

While coach Terry McKaig isn’t exactly throwing out the pre-game hype, telling The Province’s Kent Gilchrist that his team is "young and inexperienced", adding, "I just hope we can compete because we’re not even close to rolling out our best team."

But for a team that was expected to get their backsides handed to them for most of the year, what with a rash of seniors from last season having moved on to the minors and assorted non-baseball careers, this UBC Thunderbirds team has done more than enough to warrant their spot in the tournament.

Part of the reason behind that is McKaig, their no-nonsense coach who pulls no punches, understands the game like few other coaches at this level, and has strong support from his athletic director.

It must also be said, the team has been getting strong support from their landlords at Nat Bailey Stadium - the Vancouver Canadians - who, instead of ignoring the college team as they have in recent years, have got behind the ballclub this season, realizing that promoting baseball means promoting it at every level.. not just the pros.

Previous incarnations of the C’s have generally minded their own business when the pre-draftees were in season, not promoting the team, not encouraging Canadians fans to show up, and certainly not making improvements to the field itself.

But these days, post-ownership change, the new guard is embracing what UBC brings to the table.

From today’s Province:

Three years ago, McKaig had been intent on getting his own baseball stadium constructed on campus, but with the new local baseball ownership of Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney and their enthusiastic endorsement of the UBC program and the Vancouver Canadians’ involvement, things have changed.
"They held a barbecue for the team Tuesday night," said McKaig. "Jake’s a UBC grad and [team president] Andy Dunn was a Division 1 player and has really taken me under his wing. They want our kids to feel like professional players."

UBC is going to build McKain a diamond on campus, which will help the team handle training without having to trek across town, but it’s nice to know that the Tbirds will still be showing up at The Nat on game day.

Maybe it’s time that Vancouver Canadians fans did the same. Games start tonight at 6PM with UBC taking on the College of Idaho.

For more information, as always, visit the Tbird Baseball Fanpage. While you’re there, check out the latest information on UBC’s change of conference for next season.

It should be a great weekend of baseball, starting 2:00 on Thursday, when NAIA Champion Lewis-Clark State battles Concordia-Portland, in advance of UBC’s tilt with College of Idaho at 6:00.

This double-elimination tournament takes place at Nat Bailey Stadium, hosted by the ‘Birds.

After winning one of a possible three conference games on the weekend in Caldwell, Idaho, UBC clinched the tournament, a huge advantage.  

The Thunderbirds look to take back the Region I crown, two years after they made a remarkable run to the NAIA World Series.  Will they repeat?  Who knows, but they could go far, with the team they have.

From the UBC website:

CALDWELL, Idaho — The College of Idaho Coyotes swept the T-Birds in their double-bill season finale on Sunday to pull level with them in the Region 1 standings.  However, UBC holds the head-to-head tiebreaker, and will host the Region 1 tournament beginning on May 8 at Nat Bailey Stadium.

The wins for the Yotes (17-7) gave The College of Idaho a share of the regional regular season pennant, but UBC won the all-important tiebreaker, giving the T-Birds the host site for next week’s Region I Tournament.

There you have it, 6:00 Thursday night, Thunderbirds and College of Idaho. 

Busy tomorrow?

If not, and you’d like to get a little face time with Vancouver Canadians President Andy Dunn, make your way to the Rotary Club of Vancouver luncheon and the Terminal City Club, 837 West Hastings, at noon on Tuesday.

The title of his speech will be ‘Talking Baseball with the Vancouver Canadians’, and it’ll cost $30 to be there, with lunch included.

For more info, phone Pam Stewart at (604) 685-0481, or email rotary_van@telus.net

And if you go, be sure to take a cellphone camera and stick it on YouTube so us cheap folk can see. 

Last season at The Nat, on one of the many fine afternoons I sat next to one Bud Kerr, self-professed baseball historian and ladies man, he mentioned that the annual meeting of the local baseball statheads had taken place at the stadium.

"Damn it, I forgot that was coming up," I said.

"You should have been there," said Budrick. "This woman called me up and said she had some old photos from her grandfather’s collection, and I told her she should bring them to the meeting and we could tell her if any were important. She had one… you wouldn’t believe it. I think it’s worth something. I think it’s worth a lot."

I prodded him for information… carefully, since too much prodding makes Bud reach for the oxygen tank, these days.

"It was of the Chicago American Giants, a barnstorming team of black guys, from when they played in Vancouver. It’s got Rube Foster, Pop Lloyd, bunch of others. It was taken at the old Athletic Park. Real old. It’s got to be worth a lot of money."

Well, turns out it was. The photo went to auction last night, and bidding ended at 4AM at US$35,250. The buyer was apparently a collector of some note.

From the Globe and Mail:

Jennifer Koos owned a stack of historical photographs given to her by her grandfather, Harold Crummer, a railroad labourer and Second World War veteran. Mr. Crummer told her he had received the photographs from his father-in-law, a commercial photographer named Stuart Thomson.

Ms. Koos, who had 17 portraits of baseball teams, called the Vancouver Canadians baseball team for advice. The club put her in touch with team historian Bud Kerr, who suggested she visit Nat Bailey Stadium during a meeting of local baseball fans.

Her keepsakes stunned the gathering. Max Weder, a tax lawyer, and Kit Krieger, a retired teacher, instantly understood the significance of the American Giants portrait.

Koos will be using the money from the sale to "look after" her kids, which is likely what her grandfather would have used it for had he still been kicking about.

But her windfall wasn’t the biggest of the night:

The telephone and online auction was highlighted by the sale of a Babe Ruth rookie card for $440,000, which is believed to be the second-highest price yet paid for a baseball card. It was issued in 1914 by a Baltimore newspaper and is one of only 11 known to exist.

Anyone want a 1980 Mark Fidrych with a torn upper right hand corner?