Barnstormers prepare for season two
As Chicago Cubs legend Ernie Banks used to say—let’s play two.
After a memorable inaugural season, the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers opened their season with a lopsided 9-1 win over the Kitchener-Waterloo Panthers on May 17 at Fergie Jenkins Field in Chatham-Kent’s season opener.
Here are a few things to know about the Barnstormers off-season.
New manager
Last year’s manager Dan Norman is not coming back. Last year’s pitching coach Gil Rondon is moving into the manager’s chair.
Rondon has a long and extensive baseball resume.
He’s a former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Houston Astros and the Chicago White Sox. Rondon’s dad and uncle ae former MLB players
Rondón, who is 71 years-old, was a coach for Puerto Rico during the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He has also coached in the Mexican Baseball League and the Frontier League.
New players
Among the players the Barnstormers signed in the off-season include Montreal’s Yuri O’Connor-Yokoyama, who is a pitcher. He has been playing professional baseball for the last two seasons in the Sawakami-Kansai Japanese Independent League. The Barnstormers also bolstered their pitching staff with Mizuki Akatsuka and Christian Hauck. Hauck, a Corunna resident, has IBL experience.
Another newcomer is utility player, Tim Wagner from Hingham, MA. Wagner is a senior at Wheaton College Lyons.
Also signing is 20-year-old, first baseman Owen Constantineau from Ottawa, Owen Constantineau. played at St-Louis Community College and now plays at Carleton University.
Gang back together
Playing in the IBL can be a grind. It means playing games every weekend from May to August. Throw in families and full-time jobs, it can be tough to get ready Sunday morning for a road trip for an afternoon game in Toronto and then get back to Chatham when it’s dark and you have to get ready for work the next day.
However, to their credit, the Barnstormers are bringing back 18 players from last year’s Year One team.
Chatham’s Spencer Marcus is back after a standout rookie season. Marcus, who played NCAA Division I baseball for Niagara University, was the Barnstormers offensive player of the year last season, making the IBL All Star game and finished second in IBL batting average
Other veterans coming back in the outfield are Braxton Haggith and Spencer Morin. Catcher Mitsuki Fukuda is a fan favourite and provides good defence, as well as a strong bat. Trent Sillett, Robert Mackie, Sadler Goodwin, Anthony Polowick and Jalen Butcher give the Barnstormers a good strong core of young players.
The pitching staff includes Chatham’s Garret Day. Day was second in the IBL in saves last year. Other pitchers back include ace Brock Whitson, Catalin Morin, Aden Ryan, Torrin Vaselenak,
Schedule
The Barnstormers play 42 games between mid-May and mid-August. The bulk of their home games at Fergie Jenkins Field are on Saturday and Sundays, but they also play home games on Friday night, and Tuesday night (June 17 and July 1 and July 22 and July 29),
Promotions
The Barnstormers put on a good show for fans, with every home game hosting promotional events and having a festive atmosphere. Highlights include Star Wars night May 31, Fergie Jenkins night on June 7, where Jenkins’ number 31 will be retired, and Doug Melvin night on June 17.
Field renovations
The Barnstormers have made a few renovations to Fergie Jenkins Field, including new bleachers to boost attendance, as well as a new clubhouse and offices.
In their Barnstormers first season they perhaps overperformed as an expansion team, finishing with a 20-22 record and qualifying for the playoffs where they lost in the first round.