Roger Lajoie Blog: Every Game Counts This Season

By Roger Lajoie This is an historic season for the Canadian Baseball League for a lot of reasons. First of all, it's now called the Canadian Baseball League! The legacy of the Intercounty Baseball League will live on, but the CBL has its new name because it has officially declared itself a pro baseball league, which is certainly historic. The IBL was Canada's top amateur league for more than 100 years after all. Secondly, there are a lot more games. It's a 48-game season now, which is a huge increase from the 32-36 game schedules teams in the IBL played for many years. That's a much bigger commitment for players and management and requires a more professional approach to its operations. Third, long gone are the days of every team making the playoffs, or eight of the nine teams making the playoffs, which was the case in recent years. There may be more regular season games, but the irony is, every game matters more! Only five of the nine teams in the CBL will play in the post-season. The top three teams will get a bye while the fourth and fifth place teams play a one-game elimination to complete the four teams that will head to the semi-finals. That's it. A sudden death first round, followed by two best-of-seven series that will eventually lead to the crowning of the first CBL champions. So, Hamilton Cardinals fans – when Emily tells you to yell "Go Cards Go!" she really wants you yelling with all you have this season! I have been around the IBL for decades and this season, I'm on the broadcast team of the Cardinals. Although there's still more than half a season to go, I really like the look of this club. It is already the best Cardinals team I've ever seen, and we are in for a tremendous second half. But that second half is going to be incredibly busy, and every game is going to be really important. Sixth to eighth place doesn't cut it anymore in the CBL, and being fourth or fifth just gets you a one-game elimination series. Teams really want to get one of those top three spots. Hamilton certainly looks like a team that is capable of that. With a 13-7 record heading into Wednesday's game at Christie Pits, the Cards sit in third place just one game out of first. But there's a lot of work still to do and a lot of important games still to be played. From July 8 to August 30, the Cardinals will play 28 games in 53 days. You read that right, 28 games in 53 days! And all of those games are important when you look at the top of the standings at the moment. The top five teams are separated by just two games. London, Barrie, Welland and Guelph are all battling with the Cards for top spot, and two of those very good baseball teams are likely to be involved in a one-game playoff to start the post-season instead of a seven-game series. And of course, there is still time for the rest of the league to make a push at one of those top five spots as well. The Cardinals are right there, they have shown they are as good as any team in the league. It really may be the best Hamilton team ever. But the level of play in the CBL is so high and every one of those 28 games remaining is vitally important for playoff seeding. Hamilton fans, do your part. Come out and really cheer on the club in what promises to be a very exciting summer. The CBL is a pro league now and you have a home team that's as good as any team in the league. There's a lot of games left, but one thing is for sure – every game matters.