The Yorkton Cardinals are about to embark on a new Western Major Baseball League (WMBL) season.
Long-time manager Bill Sobkow said this year鈥檚 team will rely heavily on Canadian talent, with only 11 players American on a roster of 26, leaving one spot available should another player show interest.
Overall, Sobkow said a team in the WMBL is never sure of what talent will look like until everyone is one the field as a group. The Cardinals are expecting 13 players to arrive in the next couple of days.
That said, Sobkow said he remains optimistic every season.
鈥淭he last couple of years I thought we had some pretty good baseball players,鈥� he said, even if the team record was not stellar.
This season Sobkow said he anticipates a team which is good defensively, and does alright at the plate.
Leading what could be a solid defence are a trio of players headed to Yorkton from the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Sobkow said UBC has 鈥渢he best baseball programs in Canada鈥� and when the team called looking to place players with the Cardinals it was a positive development.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the first time UBC has really offered quality players to Yorkton,鈥� he said.
Three UBC freshmen are joining the Cardinals, which Sobkow said he hopes will mean a relationship building which could see the players returning for multiple seasons.
The players include outfielders Griff Goyer and John Waley, and shortstop Kyle McComb.
Sobkow said he expects the trio will be good with their gloves, but as freshmen will take some time to get their batting eyes.
On the mound, Sobkow said the Cardinals are less certain of what they have.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what the pitching is going to do,鈥� he said. 鈥淎 lot of these kids haven鈥檛 pitched a lot in their schools.鈥�
Sobkow added pitchers with lots of college innings are hard to attract as they are often resting their arms in the summer, or the 鈥渂etter ones 鈥渁re drafted.鈥�
The roster also has a local element with pitchers Derek Marshall and Kody Rock, both second year Cardinals, Rock having played in 2013, and Marshall last season.
Colby and Logan Parachoniak also join the team for the summer.
Both Parachoniak brothers as well as Rock spent last season with the Canora Supers of the SESBL.
The Cardinals start the season Friday evening in Melville, then host the same Millionaires Sunday.
