I lived in Vancouver in the early 1990s and saw many ballgames at Nat Bailey Stadium, a venerable old ballpark located on the edges of Queen Elizabeth Park. The Vancouver Canadians were the AAA affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and California Angels during that time and I saw many future stars such as Sammy Sosa, Garrett Anderson, and Jim Edmonds pass through, not to mention those on the visiting teams. As such, it was a great place to complete the 2-continent minor league doubleheader after seeing a game in Japan that afternoon. I flew from KIX to YVR, landing (timewise at least) before that first game had even started. Ah, the fun of flying over the International Date Line. After a nap at my hotel near the airport, I took the Skytrain to King Edward, from where The Nat is a short walk.
The stadium is now sponsored by Canada's telecomglomerate but I will not use their name here. There are several historic pictures and some pennants along the facade. Although the AAA team left for Sacramento in 2000, a Northwest team took their place that year, and they have won several league titles, both when the league was short-season and now as a High-A club. I picked up a front-row seat for $25 at the box office and made my way in.
The concourse is spacious around home plate, where the vast majority of concession stands can be found, selling a good variety of food including poutine for just $14.
Down the third base concourse, you will find the Bud Kerr Baseball Museum, a detailed series of displays about the history of baseball in Vancouver. It was added in 2008 and named for the team's historian, who passed away a year later. It is updated regularly and was a nostalgic visit for me, particularly with the bit below. I spent about 15 minutes just reading all of the information here; it is such a great addition to what was already a historic ballpark.
There are many other things to see in the relatively small concourse, such as those former C's who have gone on to the majors since the new team was established in 2000.
The new team was the affiliate of Oakland from 2000-10 before the Blue Jays took over, leading the club to five league titles. Sadly, that success has not made it up the ladder.
A Babe Ruth-signed baseball was donated and adds a bit of flair. Ruth did play in Vancouver once on his way to a Japan barnstorming tour.
There is also a local broadcaster Hall of Fame that recognizes the work done by those behind the mike.
The current standings and starting lineups are written on a chalkboard and the team looks to be nearing the end of another successful season (they clinched a playoff berth two days after I visited).
There are more things to see on the concourse, but it was time to get out into the sunshine and look at how the ballpark has evolved since I last visited sometime in 1996.
From what I can remember, the seating bowl is mostly unchanged, with a few rows of box seats below a walkway and many rows of red benches above, with most of them under a large sloping roof. It is really a beautiful ballpark and has aged very well since opening in 1951.
The weather on this night was perfect for baseball and a welcome change from the heat that dominates the Japanese summer.
Of course, there have been a few additions, including a Craft Corner on the exterior concourse behind third base. At $11, it isn't as much of a rip-off as you would expect and I enjoyed a celebratory beer once the game was official.
Beyond the left field fence is a group area with table seating. Note the low fence for home runs, this would come into play in the game.
I was allowed in before the game to take a picture, which shows the stadium structure, with the mountains visible beyond. It is interesting that the ballpark faces
Overall, Nat Bailey Stadium is still my favourite minor league ballpark and will remain so forever. The charm of having an older venue with the newer museum and other additions, coupled with the location, make it unique and unbeatable. Sure, newer parks have more amenities, but they are all too similar. The Nat is in its own league and needs to be visited by any baseball fan who has yet to do so.
The Game
The Eugene Emeralds (Giants) were visiting and sent Dylan Carmouche (15th round, 2023) to the hill (that's him pitching below) while Ryan Watson, who started the season with Florence of the Frontier League before being signed by Toronto, toed the rubber for the C's. The Ems notched a run in the first on a single, groundout, and single but that was all.
In the bottom half, Vancouver had runners on first and second when Je'Von Ward (12th, 2017 by Milwaukee) came to the plate. He fouled off 8 pitches on the way to a full count. On pitch 12, he sent a ball that cleared that low fence in left center field to make it 3-1; that's him scoring below. It was a classic at-bat that was recognized by MiLB on X.
Unfortunately, Watson could not hold the lead, giving up a run in the second, a pair in the third, and another on a stolen base and throwing error in the fifth. He was replaced by Anthony Amalfi, who yielded only a hit in 2.2 innings. Carmouche meanwhile did the fandango after the Ward homer, striking out 7 in his 5 innings of work.
Eugene brought Trent Harris in and he has a wicked curve, but a less than overpowering fastball as Adrian Pinto blasted the first pitch from Harris to move the C's within a run in the 6th. But Harris recovered, striking out three in his two frames. Tommy Kane (19th, 2023) started the 8th, and immediately ran into trouble, giving up a double and a walk (the only one in the game) before striking out Pinto. Hunter Dula (18th, 2021) came on and yielded a monster 2-run double to Peyton Williams (7th, 2022) that gave Vancouver the lead. Jackson Hornung (16th, 2023) followed with another double, as did Ward and it was suddenly 8-5 Canadians. Bo Bonds was tasked with the save and did so on just 8 pitches, including getting Giants #2 prospect James Tibbs III (13th overall, 2024) to ground out. Tibbs did get two hits on the day, raising his average from .024 to .065. He hit .415 in San Jose, so not a lost cause by any means.
When Pinto caught a pop fly off the bat of Sebin Ceballos (3rd round, 2023 by Atlanta, he was the Braves #17 prospect when dealt to the Giants in July), the game was over and my 2-continent doubleheader was complete. It was a great ending to the trip overall, with the game taking just 2:24 for 253 pitches, a nice 1.757 PPM (compared to 290 pitches in 3:05 in Japan, a 1.568 PPM).
Notes
These are the two tickets for the same day. There is a 16-hour time difference between Japan and the West Coast in the summer and flights are about 9-10 hours, so it is actually not that hard to see two games in two continents on the same day. It is even easier for major league games, as those cities have more direct flights. For example, on September 13th, you could see a game in Yokohama that starts at 6, get to Haneda before 10, fly to SFO on ANA leaving at 10:55, arrive at 4:30, and get to Oracle Park for a 7:15 start. I'm sure many have done this, but not sure if it has been done for two minor league games before.
Buck Martinez was on hand to sign autographs and threw out the first pitch. A few hundred fans lined up to get his signature on a photo that was given away to all who entered. I was not one of them because I did not want to miss a minute of the game.
My player to watch is Peyton Williams; at 6'4, 255 he's a first baseman in the Rowdy Tellez mold. He's slashing .289/.362/.462 in 74 games and looks to be a good competitor, hitting the game winning double a pitch after a potential homer was just foul by inches. He's not a top prospect, but worth watching for Jays fans.
Next Up
I'm heading back to Toronto next week to see the Blue Jays and TFC to celebrate my buddy Sharpy's 60th. One game will be watched from a room at the Marriott Hotel, check back to see how that went.
Best,
Sean
Back in the day in the Section One group in New York, there was a fellow called Lemonhead aka Jack Friedman. He saw a two country doubleheader involving the Giants. First game was Yomiuri (Tokyo), second was San Francisco. There may have been a mention of this in Sport magazine years ago.
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