Another summer of Western Canadian Baseball League action is in the books and it was another year to remember on many fronts.
From a rainy June that forced a record 40 postponements or cancellations and several records being set to an ultra-competitive race to the postseason (particularly in the East Division) and the Saskatoon Berries claiming their first Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy, the storylines were seemingly endless.
After everyone inevitably takes a couple of weeks off to decompress, it will be time to start game-planning for what the 2027 WCBL season will have in store.
And if I’m being honest, it feels like my Spidey senses are tingling about just how busy the offseason is going to be.
Beyond the usual plethora of award announcements and the schedule release, the WCBL’s teams and the board of governors will have plenty to digest.
Here’s a look at what I suspect will be on top of their minds.
1. PITCHING WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
If we learned anything from the championship series between the Saskatoon Berries and Sylvan Lake Gulls, it’s that pitching is going to be the key to getting yourself to the dance.
Those two teams easily had the deepest pitching staffs with players stepping into different roles at various times during the season.
While the early part of the season was very offense-heavy, things started to slow down dramatically when the weather got better in July (more control, less errors that the wet June) and we were seeing more 4-3 and 5-2 ball games (even a couple of 1-0 nailbiters).
When you look at the postseason, it felt like most teams had good starting pitching but if the bullpen had a hole or two, offenses were exploiting them quickly.
Heading into the offseason, I suspect every team will be looking to bolster their rotations with stronger recruitment, in particular locally to make sure they have a few extra bodies around for when colleges come calling for their players back in the later stages of the season.
2. SCHEDULING CHALLENGES
We’ve talked about the weather.
With things starting out so wet, it put the league’s schedule makers in a conundrum as they tried to fit games into narrow openings thanks to few off-days.
As a result, we saw a tonne of doubleheaders in July, which put a strain on the rosters of a few teams.
“A lot of teams struggle with the schedule that we have and the length of the schedule,” said league president Kevin Kvame in the final WCBL Report of the season. “There may be a move to shorten it a little bit.”
I suspect we’ll see plenty of discussion around whether 56 games is too much, but I also wonder if there’s an appetite around the league to create more true “series” with three or four games in a row against each team to cut down on travel costs.
We saw a lot of one-off games this year with lots of travel in between, which adds to the grind of a long summer season.
3. WHAT TO DO IN SPRUCE GROVE
Adding a further wrinkle to the scheduling challenges was the ongoing construction at Energy City Metro Ballpark in Spruce Grove.
We’ve already discussed the long and winding road the Cactus Rats have been on in recent years when the Edmonton Prospects began their move.
The season started with several games being delayed or postponed because of rain, but then it was learned the field wasn’t ready even on a good day, which led to an early-season ultimatum to get the field ready.
While 11 of the 28 scheduled home dates were played at the stadium, things seemingly fell apart again by the end of the season with games being moved to Red Deer and Sylvan Lake, leading to the team issuing a statement saying that potential opening dates will “only be announced once the required construction, inspections, approvals and an achievable opening plan are confirmed.”
During his interview on the WCBL Report, Kvame said the governors haven’t received updates on the status of the project in “a number of weeks,” but did say they were looking to move the league’s annual general meeting earlier in the fall to get a handle on it.
I get the sense that there is zero desire around the league to let what’s happened over the last couple of years happen again in 2027. So stay tuned.
4. DISCIPLINARY ACTION
It’s meant as a rule to deter players and coaches from trying to get a late last word with the umpiring crew.
If someone is ejected in the ninth inning of a game, they are subjected to a one-game suspension.
No one really thought twice about it during the regular season, but it became a contentious issue during the championship series when Gulls all-star Johnboy Rittenhouse was ejected in the late stages of game one against the Berries for arguing balls and strikes.
According to the league, Rittenhouse was given a warning before he was tossed and there was apparently a gesture of some kind made as well.
The Gulls issued a statement after finding out he wouldn’t be available for game two, saying they “explored every avenue to try to get him back in the heart of our order tonight,” but ultimately accepted the suspension.
It’s not going to be a cut-and-dry debate, but in talking to people from the Gulls and Berries leading up to game two, no one seemed overly thrilled by what all transpired. So a few questions will likely be asked around the governors table this fall, such as:
- Were Rittenhouse’s actions so egregious (especially considering it was a postseason game) that he deserved to get the heave-ho?
- Should there be different rules (or maybe slightly different tolerances for barking at umps) for the postseason given the stakes are much higher than a middle of summer regular season game?
- Is there a way to deliberate the ramifications of an ejection sooner so that we don’t see decisions rendered just a couple of hours before first pitch on the next game?
Ultimately, in a best-of-three series, you want everyone’s best players available, but it’s also a fine line between that and protecting umpires from unjust ridicule. We’ll see where that goes.
5. THE CANADIAN GAME
College baseball watchers read with interest an article entitled “The Cape Cod League is Drying Up,” which featured a sub-headline about what the future holds for the “greatest summer wood bat league in the world?”
It delves into the challenges facing summer collegiate baseball, especially as colleges look to gain more control over athletes while athletes are trying to protect themselves.
Rosters are having to be expanded with more names getting added just to fill innings needed.
If it can happen in the Cape, it can certainly happen in the WCBL and, well, it has been.
Kvame said teams are struggling with roster composition and the length of the schedule, so this will inevitably be a driving force in that scheduling discussion.
But these issues highlight why coaches and general managers need to really double-down on the strengths of the league when they begin their annual recruitment drive.
- They should be talking up the high quality of coaching and facilities across the league.
- They should be talking up the great crowds we see at each ballpark (which is much better than some leagues where you’re playing in front of families, friends and billets – at most). What player wouldn’t want to play in front of passionate fanbases?
- I would argue now’s a great time to convince players born from across Canada that they can play closer to home (which will give them a better chance to stick around for the full season instead of just a week or two, as we’ve seen in some cases).
FINAL THOUGHTS
The WCBL is in a good spot right now. Competition this season was strong (yes, there were blowouts but that happens in all sports). The race to the postseason was tight, especially in the East Division. The league has gained some new sponsors and partnerships, contributing to the bottom line. And fans are still coming out in droves.
As is always the case, the league and its teams enter the offseason with a few key things to be discussed and cleaned up to make the on-field product even better as we head toward 2027.
