Mavericks season in limbo

By Ryan McCracken on March 26, 2021.

SCREEN CAPTURE VIA ZOOM Western Canadian Baseball League commissioner Kevin Kvame addresses the media in a Zoom conference on Thursday morning.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com
@MHNMcCracken

The Western Canadian Baseball League announced Thursday it is committed to putting on a 2021 season, and for the first time ever, the league will feature only Canadian players.

But the Medicine Hat Mavericks still need to figure out if they’ll be able to join the party.

In a Zoom call with media, WCBL president Kevin Kvame explained that the Edmonton Prospects, Sylvan Lake Gulls, Lethbridge Bulls and two Okotoks Dawgs teams have committed to putting on a summer season. All four Saskatchewan-based squads, as well as the Brooks Bombers, have opted to wait until 2022 to return to play — but the Mavericks and Fort McMurray Giants are still weighing options.

“I just need more information on how things are going to play out here with the restrictions for fans, primarily,” said Mavericks owner and general manager Greg Morrison. “I don’t know if I’ll have an answer in a week, or the end of April, but I’m still hopeful there’s time on whether I can pull this together on financial resources and staff resources and that sort of stuff.”

With Athletic Park slated for renovations, the Mavericks would be forced to compete out of Jeffries Park if they opt to play this season. It would be the team’s first time playing at the field since 2013, when they were displaced by a flood.

“We had to move there, in essence, in a day because of the alarm of the flood happening, so we do have more time to prepare for that,” said Morrison. “We’ve been there before. We performed very well on the field — it’s a great playing surface. We’re going to deal with what we’ve got to deal with in regard to doing our best to get a season in.”

Morrison added he can’t lock down a figure of how many fans he’d need to pull off a season because there are so many other factors at play.

“There are so many factors that if you held me to some specific metrics right now I don’t think I could do it,” he said. “I’m budgeting, adjusting budgets and looking at them every couple days. Everything from COVID testing —- what’s that requirement going to be, and cost — to host families and players. And if we’re like the WHL and there’s one case and you’re shut down for two weeks, what does that impact on the budget?”

The Mavericks had a number of American players planning on reporting to Medicine Hat for the summer, but Morrison says the decision to host only Canadian players — one brought on by border-related COVID-19 concerns — shouldn’t hamper the team’s ability to field a competitive roster.

“I haven’t been in this position before, but I feel there’s a good swath of Canadian players out there,” he said. “Whether that’s from other markets in our league that are not operating, or kids who were maybe planning on going down south for summer college ball.”

Teams notified their American players of the news this week to allow them the opportunity to seek roles with other teams for the upcoming summer season. Morrison says he gave that option to his Canadian players as well, as nothing is set in stone for the Mavericks or the WCBL.

“I’m completely prepared to start from zero recruiting if that’s the case,” said Morrison. “We just don’t know, so if those guys are in the same boat where they want to know or want to play somewhere, I think it was very important for us to not just tell the American guys, but to let the Canadian guys know that we’re a maybe.”

All-Canadian ball

In Thursday’s Zoom conference, Kvame said hosting only Canadian players in the league this year has its pros and cons, but he does not feel it will impact the level of competition within the league.

“I do believe it’s an exciting brand of baseball and it’s going to really focus in on the Canadian talent we have in the league,” said Kvame.

Kvame says most U.S. summer college leagues are still operating, which should allow Americans who previously committed to the WCBL a chance at competing elsewhere.

“Without the ability to bring them into the WCBL with any surety at this point in time, it was felt it was important to allow them the opportunity to seek out other playing opportunities,” he said. “That is the main reason we pivoted to this unique, one-time only type of 2021 season — the U.S. situation being probably the main reason and the second being government regulations, restrictions, and funding being a major concern for teams in the league.”

Giants also facing
financial concerns

Kvame says the Giants are in a similar boat to Medicine Hat, needing answers to a number of financial questions before a decision can be made.

“Fort McMurray has had their issues ever since they entered the league,” said Kvame. “They’ve experienced floods and fires and all that kind of stuff. They’re also the most-northern community and probably the most expensive team to operate from a travel logistics standpoint.”

A release from the WCBL says the teams that opted to step away for the summer — the Swift Current 57’s, Regina Red Sox, Weyburn Beavers, Moose Jaw Miller Express and Brooks Bombers — did so due to “COVID-19 restrictions, border issues and the uncertainty of any changes.” The Melville Millionaires and Yorkton Cardinals have ceased operations as of December, says Kvame.

An updated schedule is expected to be released near the end of April.