Goldeyes celebrating 25 years after meagre beginnings
Baseball team vying for 3rd straight title once played in the corner of a football stadium
The Winnipeg baseball team that used to launch homers from the corner of a football stadium is celebrating 25 years.
It took a while before the Winnipeg Goldeyes gained legitimacy, both from the players they wanted to recruit and the paying public, said general manager Andrew Collier, who worked his way up in the organization from selling tickets a quarter-century ago.
"A lot of the players had never even heard of Winnipeg and then trying to convince them that they're going to play in a football stadium — the corner of a football stadium — not even a real ballpark, that was a bit of a challenge," Collier told CBC Manitoba's Information Radio, "but we were able to entice some really good baseball players to come out here."
Players who took a chance on independent ball in Winnipeg ran on artificial turf and blasted balls over a left field temporary fence so low some home runs "probably wouldn't have gone out in any other ballpark," Collier said.
Fans, who'd seen past Winnipeg baseball teams fold, were skeptical of the experiment at first, he said.
But a quarter-century later, the club is thriving on and off the diamond.
The Goldeyes are vying for a third-straight American Association championship and the franchise has become a staple of the Winnipeg summer, attracting thousands of fans to a stadium, Shaw Park, specifically made for the boys of summer.
It's been a pleasure to be part of the team's growth, Collier said.
His personal highlight is watching the Fish clinch the league in four of the past 24 seasons. They won their first title in their inaugural season — a feat the expansion Vegas Golden Knights is seeking to repeat in the upcoming Stanley Cup final.
"After we won in '94, everybody thought, 'This is great,' " Collier said. "We won the first year, we're going to win every year, and then it was 18 years later before we won another one."
Since the 2012 championship, the Goldeyes repeated in 2016 and 2017.
Big hitters back in Fish lineup
Vying for another title is fan-favourite Reggie Abercrombie, the American Association's all-time leader in home runs (115) and runs batted in (474). Slugger David Bergin, who finished fifth in home runs and league batting average last year, as well as all-star shortstop Andrew Sohn and infielder Jordan Ebert also are among the returnees.
A familiar face back in a Goldeyes uniform is Josh Mazzola, the Fish's all-time home run leader (71), who is second in the league record books to Abercrombie. The former Goldeye spent the last two seasons in Fargo.
Following their six-game road stand in Texas, the Goldeyes are owners of a 4-2 record to begin their title defence. Tonight's home opener against the Sioux Falls Canaries is set for 7 p.m. at Shaw Park.
Collier said a new wrinkle to the fan experience this year is the creation of Craft Beer Corner, a patio deck along the left field line with six local craft brews on tap.
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With files from Information Radio