For the first ever Barrhead will be the site for the North Central Alberta Baseball League’s (NCABL) All-Star game.
On Sunday, July 17, NCABL fans from all over the region will converge in Barrhead to watch the league’s best players compete in a one game exhibition for bragging rights.
The NCABL is a AA Senior men’s amateur baseball league that has been in existence since 1968. Most of the teams are based in the Edmonton region and depending on how many teams there are in any given year, each team plays a 20 game regular season schedule.
Paul Riopel, NCABL commissioner, said the league is excited to be able to host its all-star game in Barrhead.
“Baseball has a long tradition in Barrhead and the NCABL,” he said.
Currently the Barrhead Orioles are in their third year back in the league after taking about a 10-year hiatus, after a long run in the NCABL. In 1983 and in 2003, Barrhead won the NCABL championship.
“The North Central Baseball League has a highly toned, fairly sophisticated process for the selection of our all-star team,” Riopel said, adding it is a two-staged process as the league combines voting with all-star manager selection.
The first stage, voting stage, team managers from across the league receive on July 1, a list of all the players that are registered on every team along with their position designation.
“Each manager, when registering his players, must assign each player with a position that he feels is their best position playable,” he said, adding it isn’t always an easy decision because on every team there are players who play multiple positions.
The managers, after receiving the list then have a week to submit their votes for the best player at each of the nine positions, plus a utility player.
Although the managers vote for their selections to the NCABL All-Stars when the actual all-star game is played the players are divided into two teams, based on team standings as of July 5. The teams in first, third, fifth, seventh and ninth or the odd positions, will play the even ranked teams. Each team has a 15-player roster.
Players from the Barrhead Orioles, in fifth place, will be included in the odd number all-star team.
Riopel noted players who are voted on the All-Star team will then be placed on the side from which their home team is ranked. For example if a Barrhead Orioles player is voted to the All-Star team, he would play for the odd team All-Stars, although they wouldn’t be called the Odd-Team All-Stars.
Each team is named after a NCABL sponsor, The Beverly Optimist Club will be the sponsor of the even team, while the odd team will be named after a Barrhead sponsor, which has yet to be announced.
In the second stage, the manager of the highest placed team in a grouping is named the manager of the team and they will then top up their team to the maximum 15-player roster using their own personal selections. The only caveat is every team must be represented.
Even though the league is looking forward to this year’s All-Star game, Riopel said, it is really a primer for next year’s event.
In 2017 the NCABL will celebrate its 50th anniversary.
“As such it will be a much bigger event. I know we are already planning a huge tail-gate party, with open air entertainment for the party and as part of the opening All-Star ceremonies,” he said, adding Barrhead will also next year’s game. “So really this is a practice run for the Barrhead group.”
The All-Star Game will be held on the big diamond at the Barrhead Sports Grounds. First pitch is at 2 p.m.
