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Fort McMurray, Alberta - We are going to witness the most anticipated division race in the history of Roughneck baseball. For the division championship in the Farmer’s League! Are you ready? CBL fans are you ready? For the thousands in attendance and the millions following all over the world, from the Canadian Baseball League, LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!
In the red corner, weighing in with zero CBL Championships, zero League Pennants, zero Division Titles and only one Wild Card, the up-and-coming challenger, Fort Mac Roughnecks!
In the blue corner, weighing in with one CBL Championship, one League Pennant, four Division Titles and one Wild Card, the undisputed three time defending champion of the Farmer’s Central, the Calgary Remparts!
In the previous 2 season, the Roughnecks have been a team that the Remparts have had to contend with and each season, Calgary has been up to the challenge. This season, the Roughnecks and the Remparts have been neck and neck in the standings right from the start. The race is very close this year, the teams have changed division leads 7 times and neither team has held more than a 3 game lead over the other.
Off the field, the teams have been jostling for position all season long as well. Each team has made some big trades to try to keep up with the other.
On May 10, Fort Mac picked up 1B Taira Matsumoto and this year’s All-Star MVP C Darryl Curtis for SP Bill Brauneller and 3 draft picks from West Bay.
Calgary wasn’t to be outdone and also completed a trade with West Bay on June 19 by acquiring their new closer Red Piatt for veteran LF Jonathon Molson.
Calgary also went and acquired some draft picks that would be used later on for 9-time All-Star Marcel Orren from the Red Skulls.
Before the trade deadline, Fort Mac made a move that may only help them on paper for this season, but may have a future impact on the rest of the team if the team can win. Fort Mac traded the team’s 1st Round pick of next year’s draft for a pair of 40 year old pitchers. The 2017 pitcher of the year SP Red Reccius and 8-time All-Star RP Landen Berganza.
But once again, not to be outdone the Remparts made a deal to bolster up their pitching staff by bringing in the 2013 3rd overall pick SP Dave Satala, SP Rudy Crawford, RP Derrek Boever and LF AJ Mahoney for 6 draft picks and a minor league player.
These trades are going to make both of these teams better and the battle should continue for not only the rest of the season, but also the next few years as well. By the All-Star game, the Roughnecks held a one game lead and the team was represented well by sending 8 players to the mid-summer classic, while Calgary sent 3. The Remparts seemed to take advantage of a tired Fort Mac team right after the All-Star game, by winning 3 out of the 4 games at Syncrude Stadium. However, the Roughnecks regained the lead after sweeping a 3 game series at the Fortress in Calgary a week later. The two teams finished 6-6 against each and unfortunately will not play again in the regular season. As it stands, Fort Mac holds a 3 game lead on Calgary with 55 games to go.
Will the younger Fort Mac have enough in the tank to hold onto the lead? Will the experience and the pitching help that Calgary was so desperately seeking be the spark that every great champion finds in order to overcome the deficit and retain their title?
There are many more questions yet to be asked this season and only time will be able to answer them all. For now, the only appropriate question to be asked is, “Ladies and Gentlemen, ARE YOU READY?”
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