Baseball exploding in popularity
and und
Baseball Oshawa has seen a surge in interested registrants in recent years, growing from five rep teams and under 200 kids in 2008 to 18 rep teams and over 1,000 kids this season. The league attributes some of the new-found interest in the sport to the success of the Toronto Blue Jays. Here, Aaron Muravski of the 16U elite Legionnaires slides into third base during action at Kinsman Stadium last summer. Teams are already starting to practice on the field with play set to get underway in the coming weeks.
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
While they may be lagging this season, the Toronto Blue Jays’ recent success may be creating a boom in popularity of the sport in Oshawa.
Recently, Baseball Oshawa extended its registration deadline for this coming summer following what the league labels as “extraordinary registration popularity.”
According to Ken Babcock, the league’s president, there are well over 1,000 kids registered to hit the diamonds this summer – a result of years of hard work from dedicated volunteers.
“About eight years, we’ve been working hard to boost and promote and run a good program that people want to be involved in,” he says. “We’ve come a long way.”
A large part of that may be thanks to the Jays.
“There’s no doubt we’re seeing a 25-per-cent increase alone just with Toronto Blue Jay interest and little Josh Donaldson shirts running around,” Babcock says. “To get to that next level, the interest in the Blue Jays has just been phenomenal.”
This year, along with its multitude of house league age levels, which range from minor teeball to bantam, and select teams, Baseball Oshawa will also see 18 rep teams competing through the warmer months, including two elite league teams competing with some of the best minor baseball has to offer in the Elite Baseball League of Ontario (EBLO).
However, it would seem the old Field of Dreams adage doesn’t stand true in this case as Oshawa hasn’t built it, but they still continue to come.
“We’re really struggling with numbers of diamonds,” Babcock says. “The registrations are continuing up, they’ve been up for a while.”
The increase has seen Baseball Oshawa grow to its current state from five rep teams and under 200 kids participating in 2008.
The final day of registration is scheduled for today (April 26), and can be completed online by visiting www.baseballoshawa.com.