It may not seem like baseball season just yet, but it’s not as far off as it seems.
The East Vancouver Island Baseball League, based at the Chemainus Ball Park’s Larry Irving Field, is expanding to four teams in 2024 from two. The Diamond Railmen and Mount Sicker Spirits will join the existing Stuart Channel Blue Heron and Yellow Point Vultures and players are needed to stock the two new teams.
The team names are purely arbitrary and do not imply any residency requirements.
The Diamond Railmen name is a clever twist on the region north of Ladysmith that’s obviously synonymous with baseball. There are already players from that area interested in forming the basis of the team, but additional members can come from anywhere else in the Cowichan Valley, Ladysmith, Nanaimo or beyond, for that matter, as long as they can make it to Chemainus for regular games.
“That’s at most 40 players,” said league organizer and Vultures team member Heath Fenton of the required numbers.
“It’s picking up pretty good. Everyone’s pretty much returning from last year.”
The players on the existing teams will welcome the addition of two more.
“We’re sick of playing each other,” laughed Fenton.
The league is for adult players. The youngest is currently 25 and the oldest 55.
An early-bird special is currently in effect until Feb. 15 for new players to join the league. The registration cost is $200 until then and will rise to $250 afterwards.
“I checked around, we’re the cheapest,” said Fenton of comparative costs to play. “$269 was the cheapest I could find.”
The field will be ready for practice in April on dates to be determined and then it’s right into a 12-game regular season schedule.
“May 2 is our target,” said Fenton. “That all depends on the weather, of course.”
There shouldn’t be any snow at that time so it just depends on how the spring rainy season pans out.
Doubleheaders will be played at first on Saturdays or Sundays in May depending when the field is available before switching to Monday or Friday weeknights in June.
There will also be some additional event games as time permits such as last July’s visit for an exhibition doubleheader by the Port Alberni Cubs, who were preparing for the national 55+ championships.
Related story: Different baseball missions accomplished by Port Alberni, Chemainus-based teams
Fenton welcomes anyone who’d like more information to contact him by email at eastvanislandbaseball@gmail.com or call 236-333-6233.
People can also follow the league any time by clicking here.