British Columbia Premier Baseball League

British Columbia Premier Baseball League
Sport Baseball
Founded 1995
CEO Ted Hotzak
No. of teams 12
Country  Canada
Most recent
champion(s)
Abbotsford Cardinals
Most titles Langley Blaze, North Shore Twins (4)
Official website BCPBL.com

The British Columbia Premier Baseball League, commonly referred to as the BCPBL or the PBL, is a competitive youth baseball league consisting of 13 teams located throughout British Columbia, Canada. Over the years, the BCPBL has served as a talent pipeline for Major League Baseball as numerous BCPBL players have been selected in the Major League Baseball entry draft.

League History

Known as the Island Premier Baseball League when it was founded in 1995, the league originally included only five teams, all from Vancouver Island: Victoria Investors, Victoria Selects, Mid-Island Canadians, Nanaimo Pirates and the Parksville Royals. Although these five teams had been playing exhibition games against teams from the Lower Mainland, only in 1999 did the league officially expand to include six new teams: North Shore Twins, Vancouver Mounties, Coquitlam Reds, North Delta Blue Jays, White Rock Tritons, and Abbotsford Cardinals.[1]

In 2000, the league expanded once again by adding two more teams: the Whalley Chiefs and Penticton. Later that year, the league changed its name to the British Columbia Premier Baseball league to reflect its new membership.

In 2009, the PBL would again expand, by bringing a team back to Vancouver known as the Vancouver Cannons. In 2010, the PBL board has granted a second PBL franchise to Victoria, known as the Victoria Eagles. Also the team formerly known as the Kelowna Cubs became known as the Okanagan Athletics in the 2010 season.

Teams

Teams City Home Field Founded
Abbotsford Cardinals Abbotsford Delair Park 1998
Coquitlam Reds Coquitlam Mundy Park 1977
Whalley Chiefs Surrey Whalley Stadium 2000
Okanagan Athletics Kelowna Elks Stadium 2004
Langley Blaze Langley Macleod Athletic Park 1999
Nanaimo Pirates Nanaimo Serauxmen Stadium 1995
North Delta Blue Jays Delta Mackie Park 1995
North Shore Twins North Vancouver Parkgate Park 1999
Parksville Royals Parksville Royals Field 1995
Victoria Eagles Victoria Lambrick Park 2010
Victoria Mariners Victoria Henderson Field 1995
White Rock Tritons Surrey South Surrey Athletic Park 1993

Notable Alumni

Several well known ballplayers have played Major League Baseball:[2]

Many well known ex-BCPBL players have gone on to have successful minor league baseball careers:[3]

Past champions

Year Champion Runner Up Most Valuable Player
2001 White Rock Tritons Abbotsford Cardinals
2002 Nanaimo Pirates White Rock Tritons Tyler Williams (North Delta Blue Jays)
2003 White Rock Tritons Langley Blaze Devon Franklin (White Rock Tritons)
2004 Victoria Mariners Coquitlam Reds Michael Saunders (Victoria Mariners) and
Shawn Schaefer (Coquitlam Reds)
2005 Langley Blaze North Delta Blue Jays Jordan Padrinao (North Delta Blue Jays)
2006 Langley Blaze Fraser Valley Chiefs Alex White (North Delta Blue Jays)
2007 North Shore Twins Nanaimo Pirates Sam Armstrong (Coquitlam Reds)
2008 North Shore Twins Langley Blaze Oscar Rodriguez (Coquitlam Reds)
2009 North Shore Twins Fraser Valley Chiefs Zak Miller (Langley Blaze)
2010 Victoria Mariners North Delta Blue Jays Adam Cessford (Victoria Mariners)
2011 Langley Blaze Coquitlam Reds Kevin Biro (Parksville Royals)
2012 Okanagan Athletics North Shore Twins Aaron Horanski (Langley Blaze)
2013 Victoria Eagles Nanaimo Pirates Brandon Feldman (Victoria Eagles)
2014 Langley Blaze North Shore Twins Ryan Matsuda (Vancouver Cannons)
2015 North Shore Twins Nanaimo Pirates Tyler Duncan (Victoria Eagles) and
Matteo Vincelli (North Shore Twins)
2016 Abbotsford Cardinals Victoria Mariners

References

  1. BCPBL: League History Retrieved on 23 December 2009
  2. Vancouver Sun: Baseball's homegrown heroes 26 September 2008
  3. BCPBL: League players in the MLB Draft Retrieved 23 December 2009

External links

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