Baseball is America’s pastime. Peanuts, Cracker Jacks, hotdogs, the seventh inning stretch. There is something magical about the game. The history of the game is almost tangible in some places. I had a chance to visit Fenway Park in Boston in June and you know you are in the presence of something special when you step onto Yawkey Way, even for a Yankee fan. With August now upon us, things will be ramping up for another thrilling race to the finish in Major League Baseball. The additional wild card spot I’m sure will be applauded and chastised depending on who gets in and who doesn’t, but playoff time in baseball to me is the most compelling in all of spot.
Sadly, as a Calgarian, that’s pretty much the only way I’ll be able to satisfy my hunger for baseball. The Okotoks Dawgs continue their season with a playoff berth in the Western Major Baseball League (WMBL), but within a week to 10 days or whenever their run is over, the opportunity to view baseball in person in our city will be gone. The Calgary Vipers suspended operations this season leaving the Dawgs as the only option for baseball fans. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a tremendous product. It’s not professional ball, but between the caliber of college players taking part and the overall experience at the ball park in Okotoks, it is something everyone should experience if they haven’t already. But the WMBL season is only two months long. So, by the beginning of August when things should just be getting interesting, the season is coming to an end for baseball fans in our city.
I’ve said it before, I don’t have the answers. Not even close. I even understand it to a certain extent. Foothills Stadium is not a great place to take in a ball game. Nothing wrong with the seating or sight lines necessarily, but the run-down nature of the ball park is hardly conducive to an overly enjoyable fan experience. There is also the weather. Spring in Calgary isn’t exactly Arizona-esque. Rain, cold and even snow are just further monkey wrenches to deal with. So if the fans don’t come out, the team loses money, and eventually the team folds. Not a difficult equation to figure out.
So as a baseball fan in a city of over a million people, you have little opportunity to feed your passion. Barring a beautiful new ball park springing up somewhere in the city and Mother Nature dealing us a better hand, it’s unlikely things are going to change anytime soon.
So, fans are left with the option of getting a plane ticket to places like Toronto, Seattle, and Phoenix or making the drive to Okotoks to catch one of 27 home games before the start of August.