NOTES FROM THE NAT: Vancouver Canadians news

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 in
the Westin St Francis hotel in San Francisco, visiting team hotel of
the Oakland A’s. Crisp recounts an eerie ride up to his room that left
him sleepless that night. His teammate at the time with the Cleveland
Indians, C.C. Sabathia, thought a ghost entered the elevator while he
was on it and got off on the 17th floor. Veteran teammate and former
Sox 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 bullpen
at Wrigley Field late at night. Merchandise workers at Dodger Stadium
claim to have seen a ghost meandering on the diamond after games. Petco
Park is rumored to have poltergeists that keep the overnight cleaning
crew on edge. There have also been Babe Ruth sightings on a storied
ballfield in St Pete. All-Star second baseman Michael Young describes a
haunted room in Shreveport. Johnny Damon shares a fun story about being
pinned down by a ghost.

Michael Young: "My roommate wakes me up in the middle of the night and
says he saw a ghost above him. He was freaking out. So I got a big glob
of toothpaste and put a big cross on the door and I told him, ‘Is this
good 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.

The Canadians were the 6th NWL team to release their 2008 schedule, and they will open the season at home once again.  Their 9th season as a member of the Northwest League features an eight-game road-trip through Everett and Spokane, a six-game bus trip through Oregon against the Emeralds and Volcanoes, as well as an eight-game stay at home vs Salem and Boise.

Game times were not released, because as the release said, "as we finalize a few details from a promotional standpoint".  The "upsetting" thing is that the C’s will close the season on the road.  But if they make the playoffs that won’t end up mattering.

If you want to read the schedule in my view, keep reading, otherwise head to the C’s visual representation of what 2008 will look like.

The boys of summer will kick off 2008 at home, for the fifth straight season.  Tri-City is back for the opening homestand, and that series will run from the 17th (Tuesday) through the 21st of June.  There is a Wednesday and Friday in that ’stand, so if last year’s schedule was any indication there should be two Nooners to open up 2008.

The first road trip takes place on the 22nd of June, finishing out on the 26th.  Vancouver will be in Yakima.

Returning for a six-game stay at home against divisional rivals Eugene and Everett, the C’s will entertain the Vancouver faithful from the 27th of June, all the way through until the 2nd of July.  That’s right fans, the Canadians are going to be at home on Canada Day.

Boise will host Vancouver during between the 3rd and 7th of July, before an off-day keeps the C’s from hosting the Spokane Indians.

The Injuns will be in town from the 9th, until the 13th before Vancouver embarks on a six-day road trip.  This half-a-dozen day bus trip will be to Oregon, where Vancouver will battle Salem-Keizer and Eugene, respectively.

Yakima visits the Nat on the 20th of July, and departs Canada after the 24th.  Vancouver will then play their sixth Eastern Division series of the year on the road against Tri-City.  This series, stretching from the 25th of July, through the 29th, will be the final meeting between the two teams.

An off-day on July 30th forces the dirty Volcanoes to enter town a day later, rounding out the month of July.  Salem leaves on the 2nd of August, before Vancouver goes away for their longest stint of the season.  The eight-game trip will take them through Everett and Spokane, before they come home on the 11th.

They won’t play at home until the 12th, against Salem to start their longest home-stand of the year.  The Volcanoes won’t leave until the 14th, and Boise will come-and-go between the 15th and 19th.  Playing Eugene on the road in late-August is never easy, but Vancouver will have to face the Emeralds before bringing home the Aquasox, making their final appearance at Nat Bailey of the season.

The Aquasox home-stand marks the beginning of a home-and-home between the two clubs.  Vancouver will be in Everett on Tuesday the 26th, and will leave on Thursday the 28th, before meeting the Emeralds one more time.  Eugene is in Vancouver to close out the home portion of the season, on the Labour Day long-weekend.

Vancouver wraps up the season in Salem, on September the 3rd.  Check back soon for the promotional aspects of the schedule, as well as game times.
 

So yesterday, out went a press notice from the Vancouver Canadians media office, announcing that the following day, the team would be ‘recreating’ Jeff Francis’ UBC Thunderbirds locker at Nat Bailey Stadium. The media, if they so desired, could come and take pictures.

Now, for the layman, that sounds about as exciting as watching the Minnesota Wild do defensive drills. It sounds as entertaining as watching Ben Mulroney talking about himself. It sounds as thrilling as a jumping castle with a slow leak.

But that’s why you’re the layman and Rob Fai is a media darling.

See, if you cover sport in Vancouver on a day like today, what are you going to do for a story? The Canucks aren’t playing, the Lions aren’t playing, there’s no ballgame, no NFL… it’s a dead day.

And when you’re sitting there scratching your head, dying for something - anything - to take a camera to, so as to keep the boss off your ass, well a nice little photo op, complete with a few of Jeff Francis’ old teammates for quotes, well, that’s just manna from heaven.

And they did flock. 14 separate media outlets in all jammed into the long emptied Vancouver Canadians/UBC clubhouse to take pictures of a shirt. That’s basically every media outlet in the city; radio, TV and print.

I tell you no lie, tonight as the missus was getting ready to watch her Coronation Street, she flicked through the stations, and on three of them, all at the same time, there was the C’s clubhouse, bold as brass.

Now, to be sure, there will be no tickets sold this day as a result of the morass of media. Things just don’t work out that way, and that’s why the old ownership couldn’t get the press office staff off the payroll quickly enough at the end of each season, but what they didn’t get way back then (and what most sporting organizations don’t get, to be honest) is that marketing isn’t about selling a ticket today.

It’s about building a brand. It’s about building awareness, and reminding the press that The Nat exists, and, "Yes, it DOES look wonderful now that it’s been all painted, doesn’t it? Here, have a beer and a media guide."

It’s about getting people watching TV to remember there’s a ballpark in Vancouver, and a ballteam to go with it. It’s about getting people to UBC baseball games when their season begins. It’s about making sure people are watching Jeff Francis throw in the World Series on Wednesday night, and thinking, "He’s a local kid. Wonder what other local kids we might have missed at The Nat this season?"

When Coca-Cola puts up a billboard, they know it won’t sell one single bottle of pop. Nobody will look at that sign and think "must buy a Coke right now" - ever. But if they put up enough of them, and keep the brand in your face, when you feel thirsty, what are you going to pick up?

Rob Fai, and the Vancouver Canadians management and ownership team, understand this concept, and they are playing it brilliantly.

And maybe, just maybe, if more Canadian sporting organizations played for the long term, instead of the short, we might have fewer articles like this one in circulation:

Once, near the beginning of the current century, there were six
professional baseball teams in Canada at the triple-A level or higher,
as of Opening Day 2008 there will be just one. We all know what
happened to Les Expos de Montréal, who bolted French-speaking
Canada after the 2004 season to become the Washington Nationals. But
did you know that Canada has also lost four high-level minor league
franchises? The triple-A Vancouver Canadians, Edmonton Trappers,
Calgary Cannons and Ottawa Lynx have all left Canada for the United
States in the last 15 years.

It left me wondering, while the
pro ranks have diminished, what is the state of the game itself up in
Canada? Do they even still play it up there? Or is the country so
hockey mad that they a) haven’t really noticed that all the pro
baseball teams have gone south and b) don’t play much baseball on the
youth level any more?

It’s a great article. But it’s sad that it should ever have to be written. 

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 big
party" planned for Francis on Wednesday, according to owner/manager
Chris Mahony.

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

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

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

Good times.

Two days ago (October 17th), was the day marking another 8 months until the start of the NWL 2008 season.  We can tell you for sure that the Everett Aquasox will be in Spokane from the 17th of June through the 21st.  How do we know this?  The Spokane Indians have released their tentative 2008 schedule on their website.

Because one team has released it, I wouldn’t say this theory is correct but if you go to that link, it’ll show you when a 5-game series will take place, compared to a three game series.  The Indians open the year with those five games against Everett, before playing another five games against Eugene, in the ‘Emerald’ city.

Meaning for Canadians fans, the C’s will be at home five times between June 17th and June 26th.  This follows with a few three-game sets, etc.

Now, the Indians site does mention when they battle the C’s. Spokane marches into Nat Bailey Stadium from the 9th of July, through the 13th.  The C’s take on the Indians in Spokane starting the 6th of August, and ending on the 10th of August.

The NWL season will end two days earlier than it did in 2007, on September 3rd.  For those of us who have to go to start school on the 4th and 5th, this is awesome because we can see the C’s finish out the year.  Expect more clubs to release their schedules soon, including the C’s, so stay tuned if you’re one of those people that ‘has to’ plan their summer around the Canadians (don’t we all).

So it’s October right?  The rain is pouring, the wind is (supposted to) be howling, and the night sky has arrived.  Four months ago tomorrow, will mark the day the C’s opened the 2007 season, full of high hopes and expectations.  It was a month and a half ago (around) today they finished the season, falling behind Salem-Keizer who once again finished first after tearing up the league.

Back to the original point.  Unless you’re a huge Boston Red Sox or Cleveland Indians fan, you won’t be having a baseball fix until the 24th when the World Series will begin.  Imagine my surprise to find another ‘amazing’ link to a Rob Fai masterpiece on the Canadians website tonight.  It’s not even funny how much this team has turned around their media department since Fai joined the ship May 15th.

First there he was at Fanfest ‘interviewing’ fans about their expectations for the season, and Nat Bailey in general.  Then, he spent 26 games broadcasting the Canadians on the Metro Vancouver airways.  When his two interns were away, he was bringing up all the food to the press box, and did a great job (as did his interns when they were around). 

All in all, he’s done a great job for the Canadians.  24 Hours covered this team for goodness sake!  On their website, he posted a newsletter this month, and has given out audio links each month explaining upcoming promotions etc. and even has made one this off-season! 

Tonight he gave an update on Corey Brown (which can also be found in the between the lines newsletter), Mike Richard, Julio Rivera and big #7 Dan Hamblin.  He also hinted about the new schedule, and that some of the new promotions and events of next season will be firsts at Nat Bailey. 

I think the best thing to come out of all of this is that there is an effort going on.  I can’t remember one season before this that the website was frequently updated.  Maybe it was in 2001 when Fai was with the C’s as Media Relations Director.  Anyways, this is exceptional, and especially in the off-season.  Canadians baseball is back folks, and purchase your tickets for the ‘08 season now because I have a feeling the next season will be one to remember.
 

(Picture Caption: Former Infielder Tyler Hughes will probably be at Nat Bailey on Saturday afternoon)

Go around the Lower Mainland, and ask a bunch of people who their favourite Canadian baseball team is, and the Toronto Blue Jays’ name will pop up more than often.  Occasionally you’ll hear, "Are the Montreal Expos still around", or even a "How are the Medicine Hat Jays doing these days?".  Even more rarely than that, the Vancouver Canadians name will come into the conversation.  

Never, have I heard mention of the UBC Thunderbirds Baseball team, other than at a T-Birds game at Nat Bailey Stadium.  The T-Birds have produced numerous pro ball players, most notably Brooks McNiven, who played at Nat Bailey in July 2003 as a member of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, and some no-name Jeff Francis. 

There have been a few T-Birds alumni that have made the minors but have since been cut.  Those players are Connor Janes (who played for the Yakima Bears), Cory Stuart (who reached the Yankees AAA team before getting cut this season), Derran Watts (the first UBC baseball player to be drafted), Mark Zamojc who played in the Florida State League with the Minnesota Twins in 2005, and Jeff Brewer, a Mets farm-hand that got cut after reaching the Kingsport Mets in 2004.  He had a brief stint in the Northern League with the Calgary Vipers.

There is also Joe Forest, who was a NDFA of the Philadelphia Phillies.  Forest signed in April, and in his first pro year, he was 4-1 with a 3.56 ERA against the rest of his rookie-ball competition in 30 innings.  He hasn’t been cut as of October 17th.

Back to the team itself.  The annual alumni game takes place this Saturday at the Nat.  Of course, Jeff Francis won’t make it back, but C’s webcaller Brent Mutis, Hitting Coach Cav Whitely and other alumnists will be there.   Last year, there were so many turn-ups they had to make three teams.  The game goes at  1 or 2 pm, following a UBC intrasquad game.   This is one of your first chances to see this year’s team, and it should be a good one.  Back to the alums, fan favourite Johnny Yiu and Cory Stuart will probably make the haul to the Nat, as will Brooks McNiven.

I mentioned a guy named Jeff Francis earlier, and he’ll be pitching Game 1 of the World Series for the Colorado Rockies next week.  More on him closer to the start of the series.