MJBL gears up for start to season

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This article was published 11/06/2020 (2253 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Elmwood Giants manager Ed Kulyk had the boys working hard Wednesday, barking out some standard orders met with wild enthusiasm by his eager squad.

Then he hollered something likely never before heard on a warm June evening at Koskie Field in East Kildonan: “There’s hand sanitizer in the dugout. Please use it!”

Indeed, a sign of the times. And a refrain sure to become familiar during the 2020 Manitoba Junior Baseball League season, which rolls out in just a few short weeks.

The Giants are the league’s two-time defending champions, but Kulyk admits he figured the squad’s quest for the three-peat would have to wait a year. Even as recently as a month ago, a cancellation of the season owing to the COVID-19 pandemic seemed like a foregone conclusion, he said.

“Absolutely, 100 per cent. There was no way we were playing this year. I would not have thought with what’s happening across the border in the U.S. and in some places in Canada that we’d be playing baseball,” he said. “Yes, we were doing well in Manitoba but it just takes one thing to happen and we’re set back another month.

“So, it’s exciting for everyone. I’m really looking forward to getting the go-ahead. The guys were committed to staying in shape, and I don’t think we’ve lost a step.”

Phase 1 of Baseball Manitoba’s return-to-play protocol allowed for the start of training to begin Monday, and most MJBL teams were on the field that evening.

Opening day hasn’t been finalized but the MJBL is eyeing a late June or early July start. That’s about six weeks later than usual, although no one associated with the eight-team loop in southern Manitoba is griping.

“We’re very excited for a couple of reasons. We’re thrilled to provide our product to fans and for the local towns, as there are some leagues that won’t be able to get started, especially at the grassroots level,” said MJBL president Jamie Bettens.

“Secondly, for our players who are not only local but going away to colleges and academies that still need to keep their game going to represent our province for years beyond. This is a great opportunity to stay home and practise and play in an environment where they can still be successful when they go back to school.”

Few players were more eager to return to the diamond than Giants catcher Zach Delaquis, who attends Mount Royal College in Calgary but suits up for the University of Calgary Dinos. The 20-year-old competed in a few exhibition series in Idaho, Washington and B.C., however, the Canadian College Baseball Conference announced the cancellation of the spring season on March 18.

But Delaquis didn’t return home right away. His mother, Kathy, is at higher risk for coronavirus due to a compromised immune system from a previous medical condition, and he didn’t want to take any chances. So, he remained sequestered in a rented home in Alberta a month after his exams were completed, finally heading home on May 22.

Now, after enduring a 14-day quarantine at his Transcona home, he’s back working on the grounds crew during the day at the Chalmers Avenue field and practising with the Giants in the evening — with the excitement of the season on the horizon.

That’s far better than how he thought his summer training regimen would unfold.

“Everything was so up in the air. I had a (hitting) tee and a net set up in my backyard, and that was about it. That’s what I thought it would be like, just me grinding it out on my tee the whole summer,” Delaquis said, laughing. “It’s a great feeling knowing we’re going to play.

“Having an opportunity to play again with the same guys after you win a championship, to come out hungry with a few new guys, some fresh arms, it’s a good feeling, for sure. This coaching staff is amazing. It’s early but the dedication they’re putting in for these practices, it’s awesome.”

The MJBL will grow by one team with the return of Winnipeg South, which joins the Giants, St. James A’s, St. Boniface Legionaires, Interlake Blue Jays (Stonewall), Pembina Valley Orioles (Morden), Altona Bisons and Carillon Sultans (Steinbach).

Each MJBL club is responsible for ensuring provincial health guidelines are adhered to at its own park.

At Koskie Field, fans attending Giants games will be greeted by a portable hand-washing station as well as signage encouraging physical distancing. It won’t be monitored and the hope is the honour system kicks in. “We can’t police it. We’re hoping people are conscious of it and do the right thing,” said Kulyk.

Up to 50 spectators will be allowed in the stands, while the rest can stand along the fence that surrounds the park. Players will have their own space in the dugouts, their equipment bags will be spaced out along the fence, and balls and bats will be wiped down regularly.

Some of the traditions of the game will be gone. “There’s no chewing gum, no sunflower seeds, no spitting, no sharing water bottles. The boys show up and they sanitize their hands pretty much after every drill,” Kulyk said.

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Teams will play a 21-game schedule — each battling the others three times — with playoffs to follow in August. The eventual winner will have to be content with provincial bragging rights, as Baseball Canada has cancelled all regional and national championships, owning to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The league is also hoping to mark the 10-year anniversary of the MJBL all-star squad’s Canadian junior crown in 2010 in Trois-Riviéres, Que., the first Manitoba team to boast national supremacy since 1982 and only the third since ‘62.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell