By JOE McFARLAND

Baseball organizations in Alberta and Saskatchewan are hoping to make it onto Santa’s “nice” list this year.

Whether or not Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick can pack those wishes into the stocking might be a much bigger question to answer.

Another banner year in both provinces when it comes to participation, along with the success of the Toronto Blue Jays, has put the spotlight on the sport.

Many will tell you the “Blue Jays Bump” is real as registrations jump after extended playoff runs, as witnessed in 1992-1993 and 2015-2016.

We’re talking anywhere in the neighbourhood of 15 to 30%, depending on the community.

It’s great news for baseball organizations, especially as many young athletes are also now being exposed to fantastic coaching, outstanding facilities, and legitimate pathways to college and even professional baseball.

However, it’s also throwing a few curveballs at those groups as they get ready for 2026.

IF YOU (NEED TO) BUILD IT…

Interestingly, the COVID-19 pandemic put more than just the on-field product on hold for a long time.

Heading into what would have been the 2020 season, Baseball Alberta was riding a strong wave of growth and were starting to feel some pressures, starting with facilities.

“We had heard the rumblings that there weren’t enough of them,” president Jon Oko told Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast.

He says several communities were starting to do some preliminary planning to build new ball fields to serve a range of age groups.

Then everything was put on hold.

It wasn’t until 2025 that the provincial body says registration numbers were back above where they were in 2019, ending the season with 18,868 players – the most ever.

“As we continue to grow, I can see us surpassing 20,000 next year,” Oko said. “Are our associations ready for that influx, do we have enough facilities and fields, especially in the larger centres, to accommodate it?”

From RallyCap to 18U and the Baseball Alberta Elite League, he believes it’s going to be another big year in the province, so communities need to be ready.

POTENTIAL CHANGE ON THE HORIZON

While facilities aren’t a major concern right now for Baseball Sask, executive director Mike Ramage says more fields “would never be a bad thing, either.”

He tells Dugout Stories that registration was once again strong with a record number of teams (326) taking part and provincial championships (40) on the line.

While the facilities in Saskatchewan are serving the need now, Ramage admits one slight change nationally could make a major difference.

“If some of the bigger provinces get what they want in terms of changing the 15U base distances and pitching distances to 90 feet and 60 feet six inches, respectively, that will kill many fields in Saskatchewan that don’t have the massive amounts of money to change over,” he says.

They are all factors that Ramage and the Baseball Sask team is keeping a close eye on, while looking at creative ways to address the situations as they come up.

THE POWER OF PEOPLE

There’s the physical space needed to accommodate all of the young athletes wanting to try baseball or keep playing it.

And then there’s the people power that make teams and games happen.

With a likely surge in interest in the game, both provinces will be looking to their communities for additional support.

“We will most definitely require more umpires in 2026 as we needed more in 2025,” Ramage said.

“Fingers crossed that more young officials get involved this coming season.”

Both provincial organizations have been organizing clinics and sessions over the last few years to draw more interest from potential officials with varying degrees of success.

They are hoping to see a few more people join their roster heading into what figures to be a big year for the sport.

The other aspect relating to people will be coaching and managing teams, as many communities have begun the process of recruiting at virtually every level.

It’s hoped that former athletes who are starting to graduate college and university are willing to start giving back to their communities over the summers.

WE ALL HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY

It’s not just former players that have an opportunity to contribute to their hometown organizations.

This is where YOU come in.

It was actually highlighted for me this past year as my son wanted to play the game for the first time.

We registered him for t-ball and he absolutely loved it (I may have shed a tear when it “clicked” for him and he smacked his first one into the outfield a couple of practices in).

The challenge I noticed right away was that there was one coach trying to coordinate eight or 10 kids with hitting and defensive drills.

For those who have ever done it, you know it’s virtually impossible to keep the attention of five- and six-year-olds, so I offered up my services as an “assistant coach” of sorts to help with fielding drills.

I had a blast trying to make it fun for the kids with fundamentals, high-fives and some impromptu cheers, but it was more about instilling that love of the game in the kids, which I think many more of us are capable of doing.

Whether it’s coaching, umpiring, volunteering on boards, bringing orange slices, or advocating the different levels of government to invest in more and improved facilities, we can all play an integral role in keeping this positive momentum rolling.

Think of it as being like Santa for all the kids wanting to play baseball in 2026 and beyond.