Noted baseball expert Albert Einstein defined insanity as 鈥渄oing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.鈥�
Call them crazy, but the Victoria HarbourCats are the latest organization attempting to make a go of baseball at Royal Athletic Park when they open their inaugural West Coast League season there Wednesday night.
The Caledonia Street park is littered with the remnants of failed baseball franchises 鈥� the Single-A pro Victoria Mussels and Blues from 1978 to 1980, the pro Victoria Capitals of the Candian Baseball League in 2003, the amateur collegiate Victoria Royals in 2004 and the Victoria Seals of the independent pro Golden League in 2009 and 2010.
Vancouver private equity investor and HarbourCats owner John McLean didn鈥檛 let that deter him, however.
He did his homework and discovered that previous attempts at baseball in Royal Athletic Park failed not so much through lack of fan support, which was there in fairly impressive numbers, but for various other reasons 鈥� not the least of which is that the Canadian Baseball League and Golden League no longer even exist.
The Capitals led the Canadian Baseball League in attendance, while the Seals announced average attendance numbers of 2,342, the second best in the Golden League, in 2009 and 2,597 in 2010.
It鈥檚 that track record that McLean says attracted him to this market.
After all, the New York Yankees affiliate Victoria Athletics and later Tyees were successful in minor-pro baseball from 1946 to 1954 at Royal Athletic Park.
Victoria ranks 11th in sa国际传媒 in terms of pro baseball seasons played, with 25 from the Victoria Chappies in 1896 through the Athletics, Tyees, Mussels, Blues, Capitals and Seals. According to Baseball-Reference.com, Toronto tops the list with 119 seasons of pro baseball, Montreal with 96, Vancouver with 81, Winnipeg with 63, Hamilton with 47, Calgary with 45, Edmonton with 42, Ottawa with 37, London, Ont., with 36 and Quebec City with 33.
By any definition, the sa国际传媒 capital can certainly be described as a baseball town, which is the wellspring McLean hopes to tap into. The 59-year-old describes himself as a sports fanatic who became 鈥渁n accidental banker.鈥� McLean was looking to establish a West Coast League team on the Lower Mainland 鈥渨hile the Seals were still playing [in Victoria].鈥� But when the Seals folded after the 2010 season, McLean鈥檚 gaze shifted across the strait.
鈥淚 jumped on Victoria quickly because of its rich history of baseball, both good and bad,鈥� said McLean, who has lived in eastern sa国际传媒, San Francisco, London, Singapore, Hong Kong and now Vancouver.
鈥淭he grassroots for ball seemed to be here. Yet on another level, I鈥檝e never looked at it as a direct comparison with what鈥檚 gone on in the past.鈥�
The main reason is that the West Coast League is based on a different model than the minor-pro Mussels, Blues, Capitals or Seals. The WCL features U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association players who are not paid.
鈥淭he key difference is you鈥檙e not paying the players, so the cost structure is less. With no player salaries, the economic model is different,鈥� said McLean.
It also helps that while the Seals had to fly to away games in exotic locales such as Tijuania, Mexico, and Maui, Hawaii, the WCL is a bus league with teams in sa国际传媒, Washington state and Oregon.
Former Seals owner Darren Parker once said that the global budget to run that team in the Golden League was $900,000 to $1 million per season.
McLean refused to divulge what the yearly budget will be for the HarbourCats, but it will clearly be far less.
When the Victoria WCL franchise was officially confirmed in June of last year, McLean said he was hoping for crowds of between 1,000 and 1,500.
Average per-game West Coast League attendance last season was 1,113, which gives an indication of the fairly modest support needed for a team to be successful financially in this league.
鈥淚 acknowledge that Victoria fans will want to pigeonhole the WCL and ask what is it in comparison to minor-pro?鈥� said McLean this week, as he prepared for the season opener.
But he believes Island baseball fans are a savvy lot and will be quick learners.
鈥淚 was attracted to [the WCL] by the business model and player level,鈥� said McLean.
鈥淢any of these players are drafted. They all believe they are going to the major leagues and many will. For the summer in the WCL, they can experience what it will be like for them in minor-pro to ride the bus and play every day. Plus they get to use wood bats. That doesn鈥檛 happen in college.鈥� While pros use wooden bats, aluminum bats are used in college play.
A total of 54 West Coast League players were selected in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft, along with 45 the year before in the major-league draft.
鈥淭hese players are committed to improving their skill level in the WCL over the summer and going back to their NCAA teams and hopefully into the major-league draft, if not already drafted,鈥� said McLean.
鈥淚t鈥檚 similar to the [major-junior] Western Hockey League. You鈥檙e going to see some errors along the way, but you will also see exciting ball.鈥�
The HarbourCats would not release information on how many season or single-game tickets have been sold to date.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been very pleased,鈥� said HarbourCats general-manager Holly Jones, without going into details. 鈥淭he buy-in has been awesome.鈥�
Count the gracious former Seals owner among the season-ticket holders.
鈥淚鈥檓 quite excited,鈥� said Parker, now senior vice-president of sales and marketing for the Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to sitting back in my seat and simply enjoying the baseball without having to worry about the business side of things. There were a lot of good memories with the Seals. It鈥檚 a shame fans in the region had to miss out on baseball the last two summers.鈥�
Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin, a keen baseball fan, is also eagerly anticipating the return of the game to Caledonia Street.
鈥淭his reflects who we are as a capital city that embraces sport,鈥� said Fortin.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited by this [WCL] model. In many ways, it鈥檚 like the WHL is in hockey. What I鈥檓 most excited about is that it gives young people a chance to come out and watch ball and start their own dreams.鈥�
The HarbourCats will play a 54-game 2013 regular season in the West Coast League, with 27 home dates from Wednesday through Aug. 11.
