British Columbia Premier Baseball League
 | |
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1995 |
| CEO | Ted Hotzak |
| No. of teams | 12 |
| Country |
 Canada |
| Most recent champion(s) | Abbotsford Cardinals |
| Most titles | Langley Blaze, North Shore Twins (4) |
| Official website | BCPBL.com |
The British Columbia Premier Baseball League, commonly referred to as the BCPBL or the PBL, is a competitive youth baseball league consisting of 13 teams located throughout British Columbia, Canada. Over the years, the BCPBL has served as a talent pipeline for Major League Baseball as numerous BCPBL players have been selected in the Major League Baseball entry draft.
League History
Known as the Island Premier Baseball League when it was founded in 1995, the league originally included only five teams, all from Vancouver Island: Victoria Investors, Victoria Selects, Mid-Island Canadians, Nanaimo Pirates and the Parksville Royals. Although these five teams had been playing exhibition games against teams from the Lower Mainland, only in 1999 did the league officially expand to include six new teams: North Shore Twins, Vancouver Mounties, Coquitlam Reds, North Delta Blue Jays, White Rock Tritons, and Abbotsford Cardinals.[1]
In 2000, the league expanded once again by adding two more teams: the Whalley Chiefs and Penticton. Later that year, the league changed its name to the British Columbia Premier Baseball league to reflect its new membership.
In 2009, the PBL would again expand, by bringing a team back to Vancouver known as the Vancouver Cannons. In 2010, the PBL board has granted a second PBL franchise to Victoria, known as the Victoria Eagles. Also the team formerly known as the Kelowna Cubs became known as the Okanagan Athletics in the 2010 season.
Teams
| Teams | City | Home Field | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abbotsford Cardinals | Abbotsford | Delair Park | 1998 |
| Coquitlam Reds | Coquitlam | Mundy Park | 1977 |
| Whalley Chiefs | Surrey | Whalley Stadium | 2000 |
| Okanagan Athletics | Kelowna | Elks Stadium | 2004 |
| Langley Blaze | Langley | Macleod Athletic Park | 1999 |
| Nanaimo Pirates | Nanaimo | Serauxmen Stadium | 1995 |
| North Delta Blue Jays | Delta | Mackie Park | 1995 |
| North Shore Twins | North Vancouver | Parkgate Park | 1999 |
| Parksville Royals | Parksville | Royals Field | 1995 |
| Victoria Eagles | Victoria | Lambrick Park | 2010 |
| Victoria Mariners | Victoria | Henderson Field | 1995 |
| White Rock Tritons | Surrey | South Surrey Athletic Park | 1993 |
Notable Alumni
Several well known ballplayers have played Major League Baseball:[2]
- Ryan Dempster (North Shore Twins)
- Jeff Francis (North Delta Blue Jays)
- Taylor Green (Parksville Royals)
- Rich Harden (Victoria Mariners)
- Brett Lawrie (Langley Blaze)
- Adam Loewen (Whalley Chiefs)
- Scott Mathieson(Langley Blaze)
- Justin Morneau (North Delta Blue Jays)
- Aaron Myette (Whalley Chiefs)
- Kevin Nicholson(Whalley Chiefs)
- James Paxton( North Delta Blue Jays)
- Michael Saunders(Victoria Mariners)
- Rene Tosoni (Coquitlam Reds)
Many well known ex-BCPBL players have gone on to have successful minor league baseball careers:[3]
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|
Past champions
| Year | Champion | Runner Up | Most Valuable Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | White Rock Tritons | Abbotsford Cardinals | |
| 2002 | Nanaimo Pirates | White Rock Tritons | Tyler Williams (North Delta Blue Jays) |
| 2003 | White Rock Tritons | Langley Blaze | Devon Franklin (White Rock Tritons) |
| 2004 | Victoria Mariners | Coquitlam Reds | Michael Saunders (Victoria Mariners) and Shawn Schaefer (Coquitlam Reds) |
| 2005 | Langley Blaze | North Delta Blue Jays | Jordan Padrinao (North Delta Blue Jays) |
| 2006 | Langley Blaze | Fraser Valley Chiefs | Alex White (North Delta Blue Jays) |
| 2007 | North Shore Twins | Nanaimo Pirates | Sam Armstrong (Coquitlam Reds) |
| 2008 | North Shore Twins | Langley Blaze | Oscar Rodriguez (Coquitlam Reds) |
| 2009 | North Shore Twins | Fraser Valley Chiefs | Zak Miller (Langley Blaze) |
| 2010 | Victoria Mariners | North Delta Blue Jays | Adam Cessford (Victoria Mariners) |
| 2011 | Langley Blaze | Coquitlam Reds | Kevin Biro (Parksville Royals) |
| 2012 | Okanagan Athletics | North Shore Twins | Aaron Horanski (Langley Blaze) |
| 2013 | Victoria Eagles | Nanaimo Pirates | Brandon Feldman (Victoria Eagles) |
| 2014 | Langley Blaze | North Shore Twins | Ryan Matsuda (Vancouver Cannons) |
| 2015 | North Shore Twins | Nanaimo Pirates | Tyler Duncan (Victoria Eagles) and Matteo Vincelli (North Shore Twins) |
| 2016 | Abbotsford Cardinals | Victoria Mariners | |
References
- ↑ BCPBL: League History Retrieved on 23 December 2009
- ↑ Vancouver Sun: Baseball's homegrown heroes 26 September 2008
- ↑ BCPBL: League players in the MLB Draft Retrieved 23 December 2009