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WILKIE — Could the warning signs have been seen when cities like the Battlefords and Lloydminster could field only one team for the North Saskatchewan Senior Men’s Baseball League from their former two-team entries, or the lack of U19 baseball players to move up to senior division in the communities of Macklin and Wilkie?
Nonetheless, the North Sask. River Baseball League will look very different from last season as two powerhouse teams will not have teams playing for the 2023 season.
Macklin Lakers’ Derrick Lantz tells the Unity-Wilkie Press-Herald they had only nine players commit and it is tough to field a short bench team in the NSRBL with a two-game per week schedule.
In 2022, Macklin was in the top three teams of the league and advanced to the league semifinal. Additionally, they were in the provincial semifinal, showcasing the high calibre of players the team had.
NSRBL 2022 champions, and 2021 provincial champions, Wilkie Brewers, were in a similar situation.
Brewers spokesperson, Rob Cey, says, “Couldn’t put nine guys together, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.”
Cey said retirees and the Unity players moving back to their home community to play with the senior Cardinals, made a big enough dent in the roster to set the ball in motion for the season’s absence.
Cey said he remains hopeful that the Brewers’ absence is one year only, and he is hopeful to rally a team for the 2024 season.
The Wilkie Brewers have fielded a senior men’s baseball team since 1974, and other than the 2020 season halted by COVID-19, this will be the first time in their 49-year history that there will not be a team in Wilkie.
Obviously, the reaction is disappointment in both communities, but it is hoped that absence will make the heart grow fonder and both communities will be able to bring back their teams to the league for the 2024 season.
The 2023 NSRBL season will include the familiar teams of Meadow Lake Sox, Mervin Flyers, Standard Hill Lakers, North Battleford Beavers, Lloydminster Twins and Kindersley Stallions, as well as the return of the senior Cardinals out of Unity and the new team, Glaslyn Orioles.
