Deep in November, it’s always a pleasant thought to think about baseball outdoors in spring and summer with hot dog and beer in hand.
The West Coast League unveiled its 2023 schedule Tuesday, not an easy thing to put together for a league that stretches from Edmonton to Oregon. The Victoria HarbourCats and Nanaimo NightOwls are members of the 16-team collegiate summer league whose alumni includes 60 players who played in MLB this past season and more than 300 in affiliated pro ball.
The HarbourCats open at home against the Kamloops NorthPaws on June 2 at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park and the NightOwls also that night against the Walla Walla Sweets at Serauxmen Stadium.
Jim Swanson, managing partner of the company that owns both the HarbourCats and NightOwls, said schedule-launch day is traditionally a big part of the baseball off-season at the minor-pro and summer collegiate levels: “It’s always an exciting day to tell our fans when we get back on the field.”
Each WCL team will play 54 games, 27 at home and 27 on the road.
“No doubt, these last few seasons have been challenging,” WCL commissioner Rob Neyer said in a statement.
“The pandemic wiped out our 2020 completely, border issues preventing our valued Canadian teams from playing in 2021, and adding four first-year teams in 2022 [including Nanaimo, Kamloops and Edmonton]. But everyone worked together. Our huge geographical footprint presents both difficulties and opportunities. Thanks to the members who work so hard to create the schedule, along with the flexibility shown by all our teams, we’ve struck a balance.”
After six consecutive home games against Kamloops and Walla Walla from June 2-7, the HarbourCats’ first road game will be June 9 in Wenatchee, Washington, against the AppleSox.
Both the Victoria and Nanaimo clubs will celebrate sa国际传媒 Day at home, the HarbourCats against the Bellingham Bells and the Night Owls against the Port Angeles Lefties.
The Island derby will see the HarbourCats in Nanaimo from July 18-20 and the NightOwls in Victoria for the HarbourCats’ regular-season concluding home stand Aug. 1-3. The HarbourCats conclude the regular season Aug. 4-6 in Edmonton at Re/Max Field against the Riverhawks. Nanaimo closes on the road Aug. 4-6 in Kamloops.
The playoffs begin Aug. 8 and conclude Aug. 14, allowing the players enough time to return to their U.S. collegiate NCAA teams for the fall semester.
