Baseball Ontario, officially known as the Ontario Baseball Association (OBA), is the provincial governing body for baseball in Ontario. The Ontario Baseball Association was founded under the name "Ontario Baseball Amateur Association" which was organized at a meeting held in Hamilton at the Central YMCA on Saturday, May 4, 1918. In 1938, the name was changed to "Ontario Baseball Association", and in 1982, the organization was incorporated as "Ontario Baseball Association, Inc". Baseball Ontario currently has its headquarters in Cambridge, Ontario. In 2017, Baseball Ontario is celebrating 100 years of amateur baseball in the province which will culminate in the 2017 Baseball Ontario/Baseball Canada AGM in Hamilton in November.
In 2013, Baseball Ontario was named Province of the Year by Baseball Canada due, in large part to the 8 medals won by Ontario teams at National Championships. Ontario medaled in all seven tournaments, winning gold at the Bantam Girls, Bantam Boys, Midget, Junior, Senior Women's and Senior Men's tournaments in addition to a silver medal at the Baseball Canada Cup and a bronze at the Senior Men's tournament.
Video Baseball Ontario
Hall of Fame
The establishment of the Baseball Ontario Hall of Fame provides the opportunity to recognize individuals and teams that have achieved the highest standards and commitment to the sport of baseball in Ontario.
Inductees of the Baseball Ontario Hall of Fame are players, coaches, managers, umpires, teams and builders. They are chosen by the Baseball Ontario Hall of Fame's Selection Committee.
Maps Baseball Ontario
Objectives
In order of priority, the objectives of the OBA as clearly stated in the Constitution & By-Laws of Baseball Ontario are:
- To foster and improve baseball at all levels in the Province of Ontario.
- To protect and promote the mutual interests of the members.
- To institute and regulate competition for the Ontario championships.
- To institute and regulate competition for determining the Ontario representative(s) in the national or Canadian play-offs.
Age and category
To be eligible to play in a particular category, a player must fall within the age group indicated next to the category listed in the table below. It is possible for a younger player to play with an older age category, such as a Mosquito-aged player with a Peewee-aged team; however, the player will be considered as a player of the older series and cannot be called up to the younger series team.
Baseball Ontario Umpires
Baseball Ontario's Umpire Development program is administered under the leadership of the Supervisor of Umpires, Ray Merkley and The Baseball Ontario Umpires Committee. It is one of the hardest working committees in the OBA, working year-round to improve umpiring across the province.
Umpires in Ontario are certified by Baseball Canada trained Course Conductors and progress through the ranks beginning with Level 1 and working their way to the pinnacle of amateur umpiring in Canada, Level 5 (International Certified). The curriculum for the provincial umpire development program is reviewed annually and updated as necessary to ensure maximum effectiveness. Level 1 umpires progress through two years of basic umpire training, learning The Offense and The Defense. Level 2 umpires expand on the Level 1 training through a three-year program; The Offense, The Defense, and Game Management.
Level 3 umpires are the most senior provincially certified umpires. Annually these umpires must complete and pass an exam to maintain certification and must attend a Superclinic once every three years. The Superclinics are more advanced than the Level 1 & 2 programs and are designed to be more intensive, reflecting the advanced skills and abilities of the Level 3 umpires.
Level 4 and 5 umpires are certified by Baseball Canada after receiving provincial endorsement and are eligible to represent Ontario at National and International championships.
The Course Conductors are certified by Baseball Canada and must attend an intensive training Caravan in order to attain certification as a Course Conductor. In order to maintain their status as Course Conductors and ensure effective standardized training of officials across the province, Baseball Ontario also regularly hosts Clinician's Retreats and other professional development opportunities.
There are several levels of Course Conductor status:
- Emerging Course Conductor
- Effective Course Conductor
- Accomplished Course Conductor
- Senior Course Conductor
- Master Course Conductor
Umpire Committee
The following individuals currently form the Baseball Ontario Umpires Committee.
- Ray Merkley, Supervisor of Umpires
- Trevor Grieve
- Miqdad Jaffer
- Jim McMillan
- Ed Quinlan
- Lisa Turbitt
- Chris Wilhelm
Umpire certification
The following chart describes the OBA's umpire certification program, and how one would go about becoming an umpire. First, one must be certified as a Level 1 umpire. At this level, no previous experience is necessary, and to meet the requirements one must simply attend a Level 1 clinic. The chart also demonstrates final examination requirements; the levels of baseball that a Level 1 umpire is certified to umpire; and, the requirements necessary to maintain certification. The evaluation column refers to required live evaluations from highly trained umpires during an actual game.
World Baseball Classic
In 2013, Baseball Ontario Umpire Committee member and former Minor League umpire Trevor Grieve was selected to participate in the World Baseball Classic.
Grieve was given the opportunity to umpire at the WBC Qualifier in Jupiter, Florida in September 2012 where he worked four out of six tournament games including home plate when South Africa took on France in an elimination game and first base when Spain defeated Israel in the championship contest.
The Oshawa, ON native umpired every round of the WBC beginning in Taichung, Taiwan for the first round before travelling to Tokyo, Japan for the second round of competition.
Trevor was very successful in the first two rounds of the tournament and earned a spot in the Championship Round held in San Francisco, CA working third & first base in each of the semi-final games and then finishing off the tournament by working the right field line in the Gold Medal game with three MLB umpires.
MLB's First Year Player Draft (2009) - Ontario players
By the end of the First Year Player Draft in 2009, 1521 players were drafted by the 30 Major League Baseball teams. From the 1521 players drafted, forty were Canadian, with fourteen coming from Ontario. First, the Toronto Blue Jays selected Newmarket native Jake Eliopoulos as their second pick and number 68th overall. In total, the Toronto Blue Jays selected four players from Ontario. Furthermore, in the 41st round the Detroit Tigers selected Chatham's Larry Balkwill, who was named Baseball Ontario's 2008 Adult Player of the Year.
Listed below are all of the Ontario players selected in the 2009 First Year Player Draft.
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees from Ontario
Since its inception as a non-profit, charitable foundation in October 1983, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum has been dedicated to preserving Canada's rich baseball heritage. Originally located in Toronto at both Exhibition Place and then Ontario Place until 1989, the Hall then moved to its current location in St. Marys in 1994 and opened in 1998.
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum has 90 Inductees (including the 2010 Inductees). They range from players to administrators to amateurs to umpires to trainers and to builders.
Listed below are the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum Inductees from Ontario:
First recorded baseball game
On June 4, 1838, a year before Abner Doubleday was recognized with inventing baseball in Cooperstown, New York, two teams from Oxford and Zorra townships met in Beachville, Ontario in what is now known as the first documented game in North American history. It was Dr. Adam Ford, a former resident of St. Marys, Ontario, now home to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, who later reported details of this game in a letter published in the May 5, 1886 issue of Sporting Life magazine.
While living in Denver, Colorado, he wrote of his recollections that the match was played on a square field in a pasture. The game included five bases, fair and foul balls, players using a hand hewn stick as a bat and a ball made of twisted yarn and covered with calf skin. Ford's account was researched by the Beachville District Historical Society and it was concluded that the information in his letter is authentic.
The following are the names of the players on the Beachville and Zorra teams that participated in the historic game:
Board of directors
Board of Management
The members of the Ontario Baseball Association Board of Directors includes the President, first Vice President, second Vice President, the Immediate Past President, six elected Directors, the Treasurer, Life Members, Honorary Members, Past Presidents and one appointed Director from each Affiliated Association who is appointed by his or her own Affiliated Association. Each member is responsible, through a series of meetings, for making various decisions that affect the OBA, including but not limited to organizing league tournaments, coaches, sponsorships, and management of funds. The Board of Director meeting minutes for both current and past meetings can be found at Baseball Ontario's official website. The following table lists the current members of the OBA's Board of Management.
Life Members
Life Members are recommended by the OBA Board of Directors once the individual has continuously served the OBA for fifteen years or more and if the OBA Board of Directors want to reward the active service of the individual with an official status. Only previous Honorary Members are eligible to be appointed Life Members. The maximum number of Life Members that can serve at any one time is three; however, Life Members appointed prior to 1972 will maintain their status during their lifetime. When necessary, Life Members may be called upon to rule on matters not covered in the OBA Constitution and By-Laws and their decisions on these matters are final. The following individuals currently hold the Ontario Baseball Association's Life Members' positions.
- Jim LUTTON
- Keith WEESE
- Ron PEGG
Honorary Members
Honorary Members are given their title by the OBA Board of Directors for their endless commitment and commendable service to the Ontario Baseball Association. Honorary Members have the right of delegates at all Annual and Special Meetings of the OBA, including the right to vote. The following is a list of the current Ontario Baseball Association's Honorary Members.
- Lee NANTAIS
- Vi CHRISTOPHER
- Dennis RYAN
- Bernie SOULLIERE
- Howie BIRNIE
- Linda LEWIS
Active Past Presidents
Like Honorary Members, Past Presidents have the right to vote at all Annual Meetings and Special Meetings of the OBA. With Life Members, Past Presidents can be called upon to make final decisions on matters that are not addressed in the Ontario Baseball Association Constitution and By-Laws.
- Linda LEWIS
- Jim LUTTON
- Randy PICKLE
Affiliate representatives
The following table lists the head representatives from each affiliate association within the Ontario Baseball Association.
Past Presidents
*Deceased
Series Chairs
Series Chairs act as the liaison between their identified league and/or title and the OBA Board of Management. Series Chairs are responsible for reviewing the proposed team(s) classifications submitted by the Affiliated Associations to ensure all the information is complete and correct. The Series Chairs must also make certain that each team is properly classified based on the performance of the team, the quality of its competition, and the size of the community. The Series Chairs are responsible for making final recommendations with regards to team classifications. The following table lists the OBA's Series Chairs and their respective positions.
Affiliate Secretaries / Registrars - 2013
Affiliate secretaries and/or registrars deal with general inquiries, concerns, and registrations for their respective OBA-affiliated inner leagues. The following table lists the current OBA secretaries and/or registrars and their respective affiliate association.
Baseball Ontario office staff
Both the Administrative Director and the Administrative Co-ordinator are responsible for the daily operations of the Baseball Ontario office in Cambridge, Ontario. Their duties include processing applications and fees from Affiliated Associations as well as expense claims from the Board of Management. They are also responsible for disseminating information to all Board Members, Series Chairs, and Affiliated Associations of the Ontario Baseball Association.
Baseball Ontario associations
Affiliated associations interested in joining the Ontario Baseball Association must send a completed membership application, a list of its officers, and a copy of its constitution and by-laws, to the OBA Office for approval. Once approved, Affiliated Associations are responsible for submitting classifications of the team(s) within their jurisdiction to the OBA Office. With every new membership approval, territorial boundaries for each and every association are re-assessed and determined by the OBA Board of Directors. The following list names the OBA's current Affiliated Associations.
Major award winners
Dick Willis Memorial Umpire of the Year Award - Level 1/2
Dick Willis Memorial Umpire of the Year Award - Level 3
Don Gilbert Umpire of the Year - Level 4/5
Coach of the Year
In 1999, the Coach of the Year Award was divided into two categories:
- Youth (Peewee and down)
- Adult (Bantam and up)
Player of the Year Award - Youth
Player of the Year Award - Adult
Fergie Jenkins Pitcher of the Year Award
The Fergie Jenkins Award for Pitcher of the Year was divided into two categories - Youth and Adult beginning in 2008.
Jack Middlemass Volunteer of the Year Award
Team of the Year Award
Barry Salt Director of the Year Award
President Award
George Spalding Association of the Year Award
See also
- Intercounty Baseball League
- Northern Elite League, Northern Ontario league
- Jack Graney Award
- List of Intercounty Baseball League Champions
References
External links
Provincial, national, and international baseball links
- Baseball Canada
- Baseball Ontario
- Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum
- Intercounty Baseball League
- Major League Baseball
- Toronto Blue Jays
- [1]
Women's baseball links
- Baseball For All
- Ontario Women's Baseball League
Other baseball links
- Baseball-Reference.com - Baseball Statistics and History
- Canadian Baseball Network
- Nationalpastime.com - Today in Baseball History
Source of article : Wikipedia
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