Have the Vancouver Canadians ever received so much ink, with just over six weeks until their season is set to begin?  Most of their players for 2008 are still in College, playing for their respective teams, and probably a handful of them haven’t even graduated from High School.  Yet, the C’s are more popular than ever, and they can’t stay out of the spotlight.

Whether it’s minorleaguebaseball.com, The Province or even the Canadian Press, GM Andrew Seymour and President Andy Dunn are certainly getting a lot of credit for promotions, mascots and much more, and so they should.

Let’s start off with the article from the Canadian Press:

The reincarnation of the Vancouver Canadians as a single-A team in the Northwest League is becoming a rare success story for minor-league baseball in this country.

Attendance is solid, the ownership is both local and strong, and, perhaps most importantly, a long-term commitment to the city has been made with a 25-year lease for Nat Bailey Stadium.

All of that is why Vancouver looks set to buck the woes that have killed minor-league clubs in other Canadian cities, leaving it the sole remaining outpost of affiliated ball north of the border.

"The Northwest League business model works real well for us," team president Andy Dunn said during a recent visit to Toronto. "I think what we need in Vancouver is just a good, strong, traditional minor-league promotional plan.

"We really play on the old throw-back, historic feel, both at the facility and with the promotions."

[…]

"Most of the fans are coming out for the entertainment experience more than they are the baseball experience," said Dunn. "So
part of your fanbase is the die-hard baseball fan and they’re going to notice the difference, the other part of your fanbase is looking for the entertainment experience, so they want the fireworks show or to see the San Diego Chicken or an inexpensive night on the town that’s a great experience.

"If you give people a reason not to come, they’ll always find it. That’s the mentality you have to look at it with. Yeah, it’s not a triple-A franchise but it’s still professional
baseball."

That’s only a bit of the article, and if you’re even the smallest fan of Canadians baseball, you still need to check it out. 

Now, moving onto Marc Weber’s article focusing more on the promotional aspect of the team:

Andrew Seymour is a one-man dream team of theme, but the Vancouver
Canadians’ new GM says the main plot line this season will be good, clean, family fun.

That’s not to say the man who brought Billy Donovan Night, Bobble-Butt Night and Mike Tyson Ear Night (see sidebar) to the Florida State League’s Fort Myers Miracle won’t go a little goofy on occasion. Just that he knows the topical humour so popular in Florida isn’t necessarily needed at the Nat.

"In the Florida markets, each night you’ve got to dress it up a bit," said Seymour, a Torontonian who goes way back with new president Andy Dunn, a two-time Florida State League executive of the year."With Vancouver there’s a tradition of people coming out to Nat Bailey so you don’t have to get too silly, too risque. You don’t have to have whoopee cushion night every third Sunday."

[…]

The Canadians, who open the season at home on June 17, will soon
announce their Superstar Series — a list of celebrity appearances — and that’s where Dunn’s connections come in. Five A&W Sunday Family Fun Days will be a blast for kids, and Dunn wants to ramp up the classic nooners — make them a one-stop shop for business types. "I want fans to be able to get shoe shines and hair cuts," he said. "I’m trying to find a laundry service that will partner with us."

If anyone, thought that 9 years ago, this team would be as successful and as organized as they are today, I wouldn’t have believed them. 

It says they’ll ’soon’ announce their Superstar Series, but I guess they didn’t tell Minorleaguebaseball.com that, because during their interview with Andrew Seymour, they posted the names of those Superstars, as well as the team’s new mascot which will be revealed in less than a month.  Since that time, they’ve taken the Superstars, and the mascot off the site.

I’ve quoted enough articles, so you can check out Seymour’s interview for yourself, and it is a great read.

44 days until Opening Day, single-game tickets go on sale next Saturday at 10 AM.