By Pepper Parr
August 13th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
It was the last game of the season that would take place in the city for the Burlington Herd.
They hugged the bottom of the league standings for most of the season. They were then matched against the league leading Barrie Baycats for the quarter finals and got taken out of contention in three games straight.
The Barrie Baycats played a strong game – the Herd lost several excellent opportunities when their bases were loaded.
The Barrie Baycats, who almost owned top spot through the season, put the series away with a 9-2 win Sunday night at Coates Stadium.
The Herd committed a number of errors that didn’t help.
Baycats pitcher St. Kitts went the distance giving the Barrie team the second of two wins in a five game quarter final game played at the Casey Cosgrove field at Nelson Park Saturday night.
The Herd coach didn’t get very far with the umpire.
The Herd has had a tough time throughout the season. The team is made up of relatively young players who seemed to need some guidance from a coach that wasn’t doing all that much to support and encourage the individual players.
He did go out on the field to argue one with the umpire – he lost that difference of opinion as well.
The crowd was small. Dedicated and attentive but still small.
Ryan Harrison has done a good job of building a revenue stream for the Herd. The hot dogs and the hamburgers were just fine. Beer was kept ice cold and decently priced as well.
High school football was being played on a field a parking lot away behind the high school – much bigger crowd; sounded much more boisterous as well.
The Herd was meant to be a local team that would entertain families and give the home town something to root for – they did the former, fell flat with the latter.
The objective of having an InterCounty League (IBL) baseball team for Burlington was to have an inexpensive place family’s could spend summer evenings taking in the game in pleasant surroundings.
That objective was met to some degree – there are always parents with children in the stands – jusyt not enough of them.
A team that didn’t own the bottom of the league standings would help.
Harrison seems to have done a good job of lining up sponsors. His biggest problem on that side is the city deal he has to live with. Harrison reports that he has to get his sponsors to take their sponsorship application and pay city hall who then keep 70% of the revenue.
Not much balance or fairness in that kind of lopsided deal.
Can Burlington support a local IBL baseball team? Can the team begin to look like a winner?
Harrison has been doing some research on the different venues around the province. He recently reported that he was looking at the ball park in Welland.
Putting some pressure on city hall seems to be the end game.
The end for the Herd came Sunday evening.
Is the end of the Herd as a Burlington baseball team in sight?
I go to several games per year and its a fun afternoon and a good value. While the actual playing field is nice, the sightlines, seating, and facilities are lacking. Most ibl teams have grandstands for seating elevated behind the plate. The ownership has done a sound job in promoting the team and trying to maximize fan experience. Hopefully a move to beautiful welland stadium is in order, and we will see a revamped roster with some veteran leadership come springtime.
Indeed, Ryan and crew have done a great job with promotions to improve the fan experience for kids and adults alike. A lot of work goes into hosting each game. I wish the team well with whatever the future holds.
(Note: the football on the nearby field was the Northern Football Conference (NFC) semi-final game between the Steel City Patriots and Sarnia Imperials. Sarnia won 44-15. The Steel City Patriots made Nelson Stadium their home field for 2018. It’s a post high school league. https://nfcfootball.ca/about)