Canadians Raise Curtain on 2017 Season Tonight
(PK Park - Eugene, OR) - They say "keep running and never look back" when you are in the throws of a race. Tonight a new starter's gun will sound and eight Northwest League teams will once again try and outlast the others over the course of a blistering 76-game
(PK Park - Eugene, OR) - They say "keep running and never look back" when you are in the throws of a race. Tonight a new starter's gun will sound and eight Northwest League teams will once again try and outlast the others over the course of a blistering 76-game season.
For the Canadians, the adage about never looking back is probably sound advice as last summer the Canadians checked out of the hotel with a few night's remaining on the bill and this summer have a lot to prove to regain the moniker of "team to beat."
Don't get it mixed up, the Canadians fan-friendly experience was better than it head ever been with more than 222-thousand fans cramming into Scotiabank Field to watch fireworks extravaganzas and the whole array of things that make our place 'the place to be' in the summer. The only hold up came on the field with a timid group that despite seeing some solid individual performances - never gelled the way you would hope to see a team do -- especially one with the history that the Canadians had built up over the previous five seasons.
From 2010 through 2014, no one in the Northwest League could come close. Five consecutive appearances, four trips to the final and three straight NWL titles. Life on the ol' ship Nat Bailey was as good as it could be.
But now, Canadians manager Rich Miller has a added layer on his "to-do" list as not only does he have to develop the future of the Toronto Blue Jays, but he has to do it well in front of 6,500 fans each night when the Vancouver fan base looks to get back to cheering on winning baseball.
Here's a look at five players that could have an immediate impact on the season:
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5) Mr. Draft - Although this player has yet to be given an identity here in Vancouver, it's no secret that the Toronto Blue Jays went college heavy in this year's MLB First-Year Player Draft. What does that mean for Vancouver? Hopefully something good. The past several blue chippers have all stopped through Vancouver including
So it's batten down the hatches and hang on for Rich Miller and the Canadians as the speculation is over and the first pitch of the season is tonight!
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