Roger Lajoie Blog: One more item on Cardinals' "To Do" List

By Roger Lajoie The Hamilton Cardinals had a four-item "To Do" List at the start of the inaugural Canadian Baseball League season. That list is down to just one item – win the CBL championship. Hamilton being in this position in its first season as a professional team in the newly named Canadian Baseball League is quite frankly incredible, especially when you look back at the team's record over the past 68 years. Hamilton had a franchise in the Intercounty Baseball League since 1958. In those 68 seasons of baseball, the team won one IBL championship (way back in 1978) and never won a single pennant. Between 1958 and 2004, the franchise's record was 525-965, for a .352 winning percentage. For a six-season span between 2012 and 2017, Hamilton won the grand total of 53 games, averaging less than nine wins a year over that span. In 2012 the Cards went 6-30. Over a 42-year period, Hamilton compiled 40 losing seasons. Talk about a long-suffering fan base! But under the new and aggressive ownership of Eric and Anna Spearin, things changed quickly. The Spearins purchased the team in September 2022 and immediately made drastic changes to every aspect of the operation. The game day experience improved dramatically and slowly, so did the on-field performance. In 2024, the Cards were 18-24. Last season, they finished 21-21. Before the 2026 season, Eric told everyone he expected the team to be a top three club in the new CBL. For that to happen, there was a tough "To Do" List for sure. First item – the 2026 team had to be the best Cardinals team ever in the regular season. The Cards would have to win more games than they ever had to make it into the top three. Hamilton broke its franchise record for wins in August. One item checked off the list. Second, they had to compete with the best teams in the league over the 48-game regular season, not just post a "personal best" mark. Hamilton went out and put up a 31-17 record and a .646 winning percentage, along with a plus 148 run differential and an 18-6 record at Bernie Arbour Memorial Stadium. A six-game winning streak to end the season gave them the first pennant in Hamilton baseball history. Item two checked off the list - with authority! The pennant was great, but what really matters is the post-season. Next item up was the CBL semi-final series against the Barrie Baycats. Barrie is a veteran-laden team that has been to the league final three straight times, winning it all in 2024. It was a classic series that ended in dramatic fashion, with a thrilling 5-4 win in 11 innings in Game 6 in Barrie, giving the Cardinals the best-of-seven series four games to two. The third item checked off the list. Now let's make it clear – no matter what happens in the CBL Finals against the Welland Jackfish, this season will go down in the history books as a great one for Hamilton. The franchise has come so far so quickly, and the thrills have been many for Hamilton baseball fans in 2026. But the "To Do" List still has one item left to scratch off, and that's beat the defending champions in the best-of-seven Finals and win the Jack and Lynne Dominico Cup. That will be a tall task indeed. Welland has a tremendous team and finished with the same record in the regular season as the pennant-winning Cardinals did. They led the CBL in team hitting and fielding and were third in pitching. They are experienced in the post-season and have a great fan base that supports their team to the fullest. Now let's also make this clear – Hamilton has proved all season they belong with the very best in the CBL. Cards led the league in pitching and were third in fielding and hitting. The starting trio of Hector Yan, Owen Boon and Luis Ramirez finished one-two-three in both ERA and WHIP. The Cards' starting lineup one to nine has great depth and everybody contributes. The bullpen improved dramatically down the stretch and was a huge part of the playoff success to date. Hamilton had the best home field record in the league and has home field advantage in this series. The Cards haven't been in a Finals series since 2002, so Bernie Arbour Stadium should be ready to rock. There is absolutely no sense of "just happy to be here" coming from anybody connected with this team. It should be a great CBL Finals. Winning the Cup is the last item on every team's "To Do" List for any baseball season. And for 2026, it's still on the Hamilton Cardinals list. -30-