Blue Jays: Cool venues to play a regular season game

Blue Jays vs Detroit Tigers at Labatt Park in London, Ontario

Labatt Park in Downtown London, Ontario is the oldest continually operating baseball grounds in the world. Labatt Park Dates back to 1877 and was formerly known as Tecumseh Park, home of the 1877 International League Champion London Tecumseh’s. London cannot say they share the world’s oldest baseball diamond due to the fact that Tecumseh Park had to be rebuilt a few times due to two separate floods. One in 1883 and the other in 1936.

In 1937 the Labatt family donated over $10,000 to the clean up efforts of the park and after that gesture the name of the park was changed to the John Labatt Memorial Athletic Grounds.

The Park has seen it’s fair share of great Major League ballplayers come through town. Let’s start with London’s own George “Mooney” Gibson who played 16 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Giants and is the only Canadian at this point to be a manager in the big leagues. Ty Cobb also came to town with the Detroit Tigers to play an exhibition game in London against the Tecumseh’s. Fergie Jenkins also pitched in London with the Inter-county Baseball League London Majors and former 30 game winner Denny McLain also tried his hand with London’s team after his career finished.

The Tigers housed their Double-A franchise out of London from 1989 to 1993. They won the Eastern League Championship in 1990 featuring players like Travis Fryman and Manager Chris Chambliss. The Tigers relocated to Trenton, New Jersey after the 1993 season.

London is dead centre between Toronto and Detroit. I’m sure you’ve heard Dan Shulman and Buck Martinez reference the fact that there used to be bars in downtown London for Tigers fans and Jays fans. London loves their baseball and they would love a Blue Jays and Tigers regular season game at the gem known as Labatt Park.

Blue Jays vs Minnesota Twins at Shaw Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba

If you could merge Labatt Park, Sahlen Field and Nat Bailey Stadium all into one it’d be Shaw Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The home to Goldeneyes of the American Association is an absolute gem located not too far from Portage and Main in downtown Winnipeg. You have the two levels behind home plate that Sahlen Field has with the luxury suites. You have the outfield walls covered in advertisements looking at a mix of some trees like the Nat, and a huge downtown with a flowing river beyond the outfield walls like Labatt Park.

The really cool part that I learned as per the ballpark website was that Shaw Park sits on treaty one lands. The land belongs to, the original territories of Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and the homeland of the Métis Nation.

If the Blue Jays were to play a regular season game at Shaw Park, I would hope there is a priority to ensuring First Nations people to get access to not only watching a game but to also make sure they are celebrated during it as well. The more people you can encourage to get involved in the game of baseball the better.

The Blue Jays and Twins would attract a lot fans just based on where the location of this ballpark is. You would get fans from Thunder Bay and Regina. You’d also attract a lot of Twins fans that are between the Emerson, Manitoba border crossing.

Blue Jays vs Seattle Mariners at Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia

Vancouver is an underrated and passionate baseball city. This was due to the help to a passionate restaurateur and the man responsible for the first drive in restaurant in Canada, Nat Bailey. Bailey was a massive supporter of Little League Baseball in Canada and was a part owner of the Vancouver Mounties of the Pacific Coast League. Vancouver was talked about a few years ago as a temporary home for the Arizona Diamondbacks as they were having issues with their stadium Chase Field.

In 1951 Capilano Stadium was built and the ballpark was renamed after Nat Bailey in 1978 for all of his contributions to baseball in the city. Much of the original parts of stadium have stayed in tact over the years even after renovations.

The Toronto Blue Jays and the Vancouver Canadians have had a relationship since 2010. The Canadians have won many championships with Blue Jays prospects including three in a row 2011-2013 under current Major League Coach John Schneider and Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullogh. Starting pitcher Alek Manoah was the most recent Canadians alumni to join the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Seattle Mariners ballpark T-Mobile Park is only 2 hours and 30 minutes from Nat Bailey Stadium. If you pack the stadium full with 6,500 fans I’m sure it’d be just a blast. The Hey Y’all Porch and the evergreen trees just outside of the outfield walls are something to look at. The grounds crew at Nat Bailey have won many awards under Head Groundskeeper Ross Baron. Baron won three straight Northwest League Sports Turf Manager of the year awards. There is no doubt that if Major League Baseball came to the Nat, Ross and his team would be ready. Vancouver will be ready to rock as well.