| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder | Tony Riviera |
| First season | 2003 |
| Ceased | 2003 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country | Canada |
| Last champion(s) | Calgary Outlaws (declared winner) |
| Most titles | Calgary (1) |
| Broadcaster(s) | The Score (18 regular season games, CBL All-Star Game and Jenkins Cup Championship) |
TheCanadian Baseball League was anindependentminor league that operated in 2003. The league's only Commissioner wasMajor League BaseballHall of Famer andCanadian Baseball Hall of Fame memberFerguson Jenkins. The league featured former major league players such asFrancisco Cabrera,Floyd Youmans,Rich Butler,Steve Sinclair.
The CBL was based inVancouver,British Columbia.
The championship trophy was theJenkins Cup, named after the commissioner of the league,Ferguson Jenkins.
The CBL was the brainchild ofTony Riviera, a former major league scout, and the face of the league. It was backed by formerMicrosoft product developerCharlton Lui, and later by formerYahoo! president, and part owner of theSan Francisco Giants,Jeff Mallett.[1]CanadianBaseball Hall of FamerFerguson Jenkins was brought in to act as the league's Commissioner.
Riviera's vision had big goals, and he followed suit by making big promises. Riviera stated that the CBL would be "AAA quality",[2] He was rumoured to have approached theWinnipeg Goldeyes about switching leagues, and even nominatedPete Rose for theCanadian Baseball Hall of Fame.[3]
The big plans initially appeared to be possible. The league announced a national television deal with sports channelThe Score,[4] while a crowd of 5,100 took in the league's inaugural game inLondon, Ontario.[5]
However, despite early promises that the league could, and would, average over 2,000 fans per game, it was clear that the CBL was not remotely close to projections. Only two markets averaged over 1,000 fans per game:Victoria at 1,700 andCalgary at 1,000.[6] Four teams averaged fewer than 300 per game:Kelowna (271),Saskatoon (256),Welland (181) andTrois-Rivières (163).[5] The national TV deal was cancelled after only six weeks after the CBL was unable to find enough sponsors to cover the production costs.[6]
The Montreal franchise never played a game in that city due to a lack of a playing field, as they were denied a lease atOlympic Stadium. Their home games were played atStade Amedee Roy inSherbrooke instead.
The Abbotsford Saints relocated to Trois Rivieres, Quebec before the season started.
The CBL's swan song was the All-Star game, held at Calgary. Unwilling to absorb any more losses, Mallett pulled the plug on the league, suspending operations the day before the game. A crowd of over 5,700 (the largest crowd to come to Burns Park all season) watched the East and West All-Stars play to a 5-5, ten-inning tie. Following the game, a home run derby was held, in which Jamie Gann of Kelowna hit the only dinger, thus giving the West the victory.[7] Despite losing as much as $4 million on the CBL,[6] Mallett initially promised to bring the league back in 2004. However, the remaining assets of the league were quietly auctioned off on December 1, 2003 in Vancouver and the league never returned.
The eight teams that played in the CBL, and their record at the time the league was suspended. The Calgary Outlaws were declared the Jenkins Cup champions on the basis of having the league's best record.
West Division
East Division
