Thank you for your patience as we work towards bringing this back. Counterculture baseball took to the field during this era with the Kozmik League, featuring future poet laureate George Bowering of the Granville Grange Zephyrs. You bring all of our own equipment – no bats, balls, pitching machines or gloves will be provided.
VANCOUVER. They would play better than .500 ball for their next four seasons, including a Western International League championship in 1954.While the team was at the top of its game, the league, unfortunately, was not. Future Hall-of-Famer third baseman Brooks Robinson would also join the team in 1959, batting .331.“There have been so many guys here who have gone on to big-league careers,” says Dunn, “but also think about how many guys on visiting rosters played here, it's part of Cooperstown.”Sadly, Vancouver baseball would once again fall victim to league politics, after dismal 1962 records both on the field and in attendance. After a bittersweet home-field league championship victory over the Oklahoma RedHawks (and a subsequent AAA World Series championship in Las Vegas), the team packed up and relocated to Sacramento, where they became the River Cats.Happily, there was no gap in professional baseball at Nat Bailey, as former minor-league pitcher Fred Hermann brought his Single-A Southern Oregon Timberjacks to town for the 2000 season.The new team wasn’t a hit right out of the gate, however.
If you've ever dreamed of hitting a home run at Nat Bailey Stadium, now is your chance to experience the magic up-close-and-personal.The Vancouver Canadians are offering a variety of packages that will allow you to perfect your pitch and enjoy some time with friends and family this summer.For $50, the Fan Batting Practice Package includes:A 30-pitch batting practice session at Nat Bailey StadiumPartial proceeds supporting the Vancouver Canadians Baseball Foundation and those who benefit including The Boys & Girls Clubs of South Coast B.C.Starting Aug. 5., There are six batting practice sessions to choose from. A young Nat Bailey got his start there selling peanuts; in 1928 he would be off to start the White Spot restaurant chain, and later become a central figure in Vancouver’s baseball history. Social distancing practices will be in effect, and the maximum for a group is 45 people - including players, coaches, umpires and spectators.
Capilano stadium would get a new name, as well, becoming Nat Bailey Stadium after Bailey’s death in March of that year, a fitting honour of the man who had done so much for baseball in Vancouver.Ornest also spent $60,000 for the salvage rights to Sick’s Stadium in Seattle (home of the ill-fated MLB Seattle Pilots, who only lasted one season before becoming the Milwaukee Brewers). Please check your browser settings to ensure that it is not blocking Facebook from running on straight.com Search is currently unavailable. The connection to a storied past is part of the park’s appeal, And Dunn knows it.“There have been quite a few changes over the years here at the Nat,” he says, “but we do make sure that it doesn’t lose its feel.
Over the next six years, the Mounties’ major league affiliation would switch from the Orioles to the Braves to the Twins, all with varying levels of success. For those that purchase a package, you will have access to the stadium from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Field access will only be available during your batting practice session.For a total of two hours, a group of 30 friends and family can enjoy the historic field at Nat Bailey Stadium. In the major leagues, only five pitchers—Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax, Cy Young, Bob Feller, and Larry Corcoran—have thrown three or more no-hitters, and none of them did it in one season. There were also varied and decidedly non-baseball events: The Vancouver Art Gallery set up “Stadium Gallery” which saw an ambitious series of workshops and events in the concourse and on the playing field, and there were concerts with musical acts such as Country Joe McDonald, Delaney & Bonnie and the Youngbloods.Then, with the expansion of major league baseball in 1977, new minor-league teams were needed and Triple-A baseball came roaring back to Vancouver in 1978.New owner Harry Ornest , with partial financing by Molson Breweries, called the new team the Canadians, with a logo and uniform colours based on the label of Molson Canadian beer.
A report completed by city auditors last summer stalled future ballpark plans for the Vancouver Canadians (Short Season A; Northwest League), including proposed upgrades to Nat Bailey Stadium. The city would once again be baseball-less for two years.During this time, Bailey and his group worked to return baseball to Vancouver, eventually luring the team back from Dallas in 1965.