North Bay experiencing a baseball boom

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Kurtis Winrow is a member of a family that has had baseball in their blood for a couple of decades. Winrow is in third season as president of North Bay Baseball Association, and he feels a bit overwhelmed.  But that is a good thing he believes. Winrow tells the Nugget that hundreds of other kids in North Bay have the baseball bug as the younger divisions are packed.

“All six divisions are full and have a waiting list.  We have 550 kids between ages three and 16,” says Winrow.  “I have been a player/umpire/president since I was six years old, and this is the most kids I’ve ever seen (registered).”

When asked why this is the case in 2023 Winrow says Canada’s Major League Baseball team causes a major buzz.

“I think it has a lot to do with the excitement around the Blue Jays. We have seen increases in registrations in the past when the Jays were World Series contenders,” remarked Winrow.

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The NBBA President adds that, in his opinion, the Jays are not the only reason for the baseball boom. 

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“We are extremely fortunate with the volunteers that we have. They can provide a good experience to kids which increases word of mouth and gets more kids involved,” states Winrow.

League volunteer numbers may be good, but the search for more coaches is ongoing according to Winrow. 

“We have enough but not a lot. Some age groups have two to three volunteer coaches per team, which is okay,” states Winrow. 

Other age groups, I have had to ask some parents I know to help to get every team one coach,” states Winrow. 

Another shortage involves the people that call balls and strikes. 

“Umpires are harder to come by. A lot of the umpires play in the league, and it is difficult (for them) to work around busy summer schedules,” says the league president. 

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In years gone by there have been summer baseball skills clinics to help the new and novice players. 

For the moment, Winrow does not see those happening during the baseball campaign. 

“We do not have any clinics scheduled this summer. I do anticipate getting into a gym or (hopefully) the Canadore bubble to do some off-season training,” says Winrow.  “Last season we added more practices to the schedule in order to put an emphasis on player development, and that has remained the same this year.”

Jacob Brown is the Senior Men’s League Commissioner, a player, and a coach at the high school and T-Ball levels. 

“The health in local baseball from the grassroots levels to the senior league level is awesome to see. I think some of it has to do with the Blue Jays doing well, I remember numbers increased during the 2015-2016 (Blue Jay playoff years) seasons as well,” states Brown 

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Brown says last year’s Senior Men’s Cash Tournament will be returning in 2023.  The inaugural event drew teams from as far away as Montreal. 

“The plan is to have an eight-team tournament, six teams from out of town and two local teams comprised of North Bay Men’s league players,” states Brown. 

“We are well on our way to filling out the field with seven confirmed teams. Last year’s tournament was a success,” remarks the Men’s League Commissioner.

Brown expects the second go around to be even more successful.

“We have exciting announcements to be made public in the coming weeks regarding onsite vending from local establishments,” says Brown 

Tournament sponsors can contact the North Bay Men’s Baseball League Facebook page for more information.