From outposts in Venezuela and South Korea to Victoria, baseball has become a truly global game. It is 鈥� and rightfully so, according to many 鈥� retaking its place in the Olympic Games next year in Tokyo.
Island fans will get a taste of that international flavour when the Victoria HarbourCats of the West Coast League host a touring Cuban team, from the town of Union de Reyes in the province of Matanzas, today and again on June 10 at Wilson鈥檚 Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park.
First-year HarbourCats head coach Todd Haney has lived the world baseball experience. He played winter ball in Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Mexico, minor-pro ball in Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa before playing in the MLB for the Montreal Expos, and has conducted clinics with major-league alumni groups in China, Italy, Germany and Australia.
鈥淚鈥檝e found that baseball is a game loved and understood around the world,鈥� said Haney.
His latest stop, this time as HabourCats bench boss, brings the Texan back across the border. It鈥檚 a family affair for the Haneys. Son Tanner Haney plays for the HarbourCats and Kira Haney is joining her husband and son in Victoria for the summer WCL season.
鈥淜ira has been with me through everything,鈥� said Todd Haney.
鈥淲hen you look up 鈥榖aseball wife鈥� in the dictionary, her picture is there.鈥�
It鈥檚 been quite the journey on diamonds all across the U.S., sa国际传媒 and Latin America.
鈥渟a国际传媒 has very knowledgeable fans who understand baseball and love watching the game,鈥� said Haney.
The Expos, although long gone, still hold a cherished place in Canadian baseball lore among the former team鈥檚 fans across the country, who seem to be now in greater abundance than they were in turning out for games in the waning years of the franchise鈥檚 years in Olympic Stadium.
鈥淚t was a great organization and a beautiful city,鈥� Haney recalled of his time there in 1992.
鈥淚 am honoured to have been a part it.鈥�
The 53-year-old Haney came out of the University of Texas Longhorns of the NCAA, going to the College World Series, and was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 1987. He played second base in the MLB for the Expos, Chicago Cubs and New York Mets for parts of five seasons from 1992 to 1998 and finished with a .244 batting average, three home runs, 12 RBIs and a .979 fielding percentage in 101 games in the majors.
Haney didn鈥檛 have the physique at five-foot-nine and 165 pounds, but was feisty and driven. Expect those attributes to be among those he imparts to his HarbourCats players in the WCL, which is a summer league for top NCAA and collegiate players looking to make it to the pros.
鈥淚 was undersized and always had to fight for my opportunities and playing time,鈥� said Haney.
鈥淚 had an older brother, Joe, who pushed me. We started out in T-ball in Waco, Texas, when I was four and he was six.鈥�
Haney said everyone who makes it to the collegiate level has at least some of the five tools it takes to make it in the pros.
鈥淭here are few players 鈥� Albert Pujols and Ken Griffey Jr. come to mind 鈥� who had all five tools, which are arm strength, speed, hitting for average, hitting for power and defence,鈥� said Haney.
鈥淏ut you need to be above average in a few of the tools. A lot of it depends on your position. For instance, a centre fielder without speed is not going to make it in college, never mind the pros.鈥�
WCL players 鈥� used to weekend-only play in the NCAA 鈥� learn a lot of things over a summer. Among the most important lessons is how to prepare to play every day in the WCL like they will have to in the minor pros and how to handle the bus travel from the Island to all over Washington state and Oregon.
鈥淚 want the players to embrace the grind,鈥� said Haney, director of player development for the NCAA Div. 1 Sun Belt Conference-champion Texas State Bobcats.
Haney rode buses in the minor pros at Bellingham and St. Lucie, Florida, and plenty of stops in between.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about learning how to take care of your body when you play every day,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou have to prepare yourself to feeling 80 per cent, but having to play at 100 per cent. And it鈥檚 great for learning what those long bus rides are going to be like in the pros and to learn to prepare for that now.鈥�
Haney was an assistant coach last year with the HarbourCats and that鈥檚 why general manager Jim Swanson foresees a 鈥渟mooth transition鈥� to Haney from former head coach Brian McRae.
Ten-season MLB veteran McRae departed the organization after compiling a two-season record of 56-52 as head coach and taking the HarbourCats to within one game of the 2017 WCL playoff title.
Swanson said he had no hesitation in elevating Haney, after one season as assistant.
鈥淚 want our players to work hard and play hard,鈥� said Haney, who has signed a two-year deal to guide the HarbourCats.
鈥淧layers come into summer ball hungry for information and development and to get better to move on to the next level and to pro ball. With players at younger ages, you are teaching fundamentals. They should have that now. With college players, you are dealing with the smaller details and fine-tuning those, so they can keep improving to reach their potential.鈥�
The HarbourCats鈥� season opener is Tuesday in Wenatchee, Washington, against the AppleSox. The seventh home opener in franchise history is Friday against the Corvallis Knights at Royal Athletic Park.
