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Intercounty league fielding nine teamsEric Bender - The London Free Press
GUELPH -- There are old and new aspects as the Intercounty Baseball League prepares for its 86th season. The London Majors' 26-season ownership by veteran player and owner Arden Eddie is over, the team sold to Scott Dart.
The St. Thomas Storm, formed in 2000, have moved to Stratford.
The Waterloo Tigers, who revived a team in the Twin Cities in 2000, have folded, unable to make a go of it financially.
This season, it's a nine-team league with the age-old Guelph Royals, Kitchener Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Brantford Red Sox and Hamilton Cardinals and the newer Barrie Baycats and Oshawa Dodgers rounding it out.
It was announced at a league news conference here that the Toronto Blue Jays have donated $1,000 to each Intercounty team to support the league.
An interlocking trio of three-team groupings will play a 36-game season.
London, Stratford and Brantford are in one trio and play six games against each other and four games with the teams in the other groupings -- Kitchener-Hamilton-Guelph and Toronto-Oshawa-Barrie.
"Players are coming out of the woodwork like crazy, kids and veterans," said Dart. He's chosen former Major and Brantford Red Sox player-manager Ron LeClair, a London lawyer, as his field manager after talking to three candidates.
"Ron seemed like the natural fit," Dart said. "He played and managed in London. He knows the guys and he's a very intellectual guy."
In 2002, LeClair left the Majors, along with players including Steve Charles and Brandon Steele and pitchers Mark Shephard and Dale Marsden, for the Red Sox. Eddie vowed they would never again play for London as long as he owned the team.
Steele and Charles are expected back to play for Dart. University of Texas-Dallas pitching coach Derek Brandow, an ex-Blue Jays farmhand who has been supplying some imports for the Majors, is coming home to London this summer to handle third base. He's bringing at least one pitcher with him. Dan (Uncle Buck) Mendham is to handle the first base line.
Some early Majors' signings are right-handed pitcher Rob Robinson of Strathroy, infielders Todd Bargman, Kevin MacDonald, Kyle Piwowarczyk and Mike Carswell and outfielders Roop Chanderdat and John Boom. Among the league veterans are Kris Kewley, Peter Babcock and Jeremy Hudson.
The Majors play their first league game May 22 in Brantford. The home opener in Labatt Park is May 24 against the Stratford Storm.
Bob White is field manager of the Storm this season after being involved in a failed attempt to purchase the Majors.
Hard-hitting centre-fielder Josh Braby is on the Storm list, along with pitcher Jason Davidson and returnees John Hanko, Rick Ross, Ben Yormak, Jordan Rosenberg and James Grant.
The indomitable Jack Dominico, owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, has signed Perry Mader, an Intercounty player from the late 1980s and early 1990s, as manager.
He has the likes of Rob Butler, catcher Damon Topolie, pitcher Rob Paterson, Danny Gibbons out of the Orioles organization and Gamon Teague of the short-lived Canadian Baseball League on the roster, along with 18-year-old shortstop Steve Condotta.
In Guelph, a former London Werewolves player, Jamie Pogue, is set to go amid U.S. green card problems keeping some Canadian players from employment south of the border.
It could see Londoner Kevin Virtue suit up for the Majors.
Guelph already has former Werewolves Jason Borghese and Mel Melehes in the fold.
The season could see Kitchener's Randy Curran close the gap on Arden Eddie's hits total of 765. Curran has 611. He's the league home run leader with 154.
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Date: 2004-04-30 | |
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