A talented team in a beautiful ball park is a winning formula in Okotoks, Alberta.
In Woody Allen's latest movie "Whatever Works", the lead character played by Larry David of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" fame has a particular pet peeve; he absolutely loathes people who stoop to using clichés. ("Count your blessings"; "Something good always comes out of something bad"...you know the routine.)
But after paying a recent visit to beautiful Seaman Stadium in Okotoks, Alberta a couple of clichés straight out of another movie are the only things that came to mind.
So, let's get the apology to Larry David out of the way and just say it; Seaman Stadium is a "Field of Dreams" that proves "If you build it, they will come".
Named after the generous Seaman family who provided the funding, the $8 million dollar structure opened in 2007. The ballpark is home to the Okotoks Dawgs of the Western Major Baseball League, an elite loop for Canadian and U.S. college players who need a place to hone their skills in the summer. The Dawgs are the two-time defending champions of a league that stretches across the prairies and it's clear that success has its privileges. The club boasts eleven hundred season ticket holders, an impressive figure for a stadium seating about 2500 in a community of 20,000 located 20 km south of Calgary.
And that mix between country and city is what makes the Seaman experience so unique.
With a throwback ballpark nestled in the middle of gorgeous farm land, it's not hard to imagine you're in Iowa waiting for Shoeless Joe to come striding out of a corn field. But with the passing trains beyond the center field wall, there's also a touch of big city Baltimore and Camden Yards in the air.
Something else is in the air, too; the scent of the best ballpark burgers you've ever tasted.
"Believe me, I know beef," said Jim Wildeman, who's in the cattle business and doubles as the Dawgs volunteer marketing director. "We use the same meat in our burgers that you get at the best steak houses in downtown Calgary."
But there's more to Seaman Stadium than just good eating, as the game-night presentation is also first class. William Gardner has a unique talent for getting the crowd going while roaming the stands with his microphone, and at the end of the night he attempts to shake the hand of every fan as they exit the park.
"There's a true community feeling towards the Dawgs," explained Gardner. "We really appreciate the fans support and the personal touch that we try and give back is an important part of the team's mandate."
Winning is also part of the plan and with a chance to capture their third straight title playing in a first-class facility, the Dawgs have become a primary destination for some of the top college talent on the market. This year's squad features a number of players from the University of British Columbia, Canada's top collegiate baseball program, along with representatives from big-time U.S. schools such as the University of Southern California.
"The Cape Cod League still attracts the top summer talent," admitted Dawgs manager AJ Fystro. "But the word is definitely starting to spread about the Okotoks program. With our stadium and the great indoor training facility we're developing, we can offer players a set-up that's comparable to a lot of the good minor league operations around North America."
Jeremy Shelby can certainly attest to that. The 21-year old outfielder attends Grambling State in Louisiana and is the son of John Shelby, a former Major League player who owns a pair of World Series rings from his days with the L.A. Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles. The elder Shelby now works as the first base coach for the Orioles after spending a number of years managing in the minors. Jeremy tagged along with his dad down on the farm while picking up pointers from future big league stars such as Johnny Damon, and the educational process continues in Okotoks. Shelby has shown the Dawgs a definite defensive flair and he's the proud owner of the most feared arm in the WMBL. But one of the main reasons college players play summer ball is to make the transition from aluminum to wood bats, and Shelby admits it's been a big adjustment.
"With metal bats, you can hit the ball off the handle and you can still get a base hit," explained Shelby. "But with a wood bat, you've got to hit it on the right spot to get any distance at all."
From the pitcher's mound at Seaman Stadium Brandon Kaye is doing everything in his power to break the bats, and the hearts, of opposition hitters. The 20-year old played at Douglas College in New Westminster, B.C. before joining the Dawgs for the summer and features a 94 mph fastball as part of his arsenal. Kaye was drafted earlier this year by the Toronto Blue Jays, the same team his half-brother Scott Richmond pitches for.
Kaye and Richmond have different fathers but share the same mother and grew up in the same house in the Vancouver area. Richmond was a late bloomer who didn't become a Blue Jay until he was 28-years old and Kaye hopes to follow in his footsteps.
"Scott was in bed and didn't even realize the Jays had drafted me," remembered Kaye. "I was the one who called to break the news and told him I was coming for his job."
And what did big brother have to say about that?
"He told me to 'Bring it on, kid'," laughed Kaye.
The players, meanwhile, aren't the only ones trying to get to The Show. Seventeen-year old Jonathan Hodgson performs play-by-play duties for the Dawgs on the team's official website. He's a huge fan of the radio voice of the Blue Jays, Jerry Howarth, and has spent some time with the veteran broadcaster in Toronto.
"Jerry's such a class guy and he's given me some great advice on how to improve my broadcasts," said Hodgson. "I'm still learning, but I really believe that calling Dawgs baseball is the best job in the world."
Alright, maybe that last statement might be a bit of a cliché.
But at the end of "Whatever Works", even grumpy old Larry David winds up admitting that some clichés are actually true.
And cliché or not, it's obvious that the Okotoks Dawgs and their "Field of Dreams" at Seaman Stadium have become a true success story.