Baseball team set to defend title

CYNTHIA RAMSAY

The Vancouver Canadians play their first home game this season on Wednesday, June 20, at Nat Bailey Stadium. The team will take on the Tri-City Dust Devils, who they beat last year to win the 2011 Northwest League Championship.

“It is an incredible accomplishment to win the championship for our fans,” Canadians general manager – and Jewish community member – Jason Takefman told the Independent. “We had made the playoffs the year before but lost out to the eventual champions in Everett, our main rival, so it stung. Before 2010, we hadn’t made the playoffs since 2005, so it was nice to finally push through. Our coaching staff is hungry to defend our title, and I suspect we will have some returning players from last year, so the new guys can lean on them for veteran leadership and learn what it takes to win.

“It definitely sets up a great atmosphere here on opening night when the team we beat on the final game of the season will see us unravel our championship banner.”

The Northwest League comprises eight teams, each of which is affiliated with a Major League Baseball team. In the east, there are the Tri-City Dust Devils (affiliate of the Colorado Rockies), Boise Hawks (Chicago Cubs), Spokane Indians (Texas Rangers) and Yakima Bears (Arizona Diamondbacks). Vancouver, the Northwest League affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, is in the west, along with the Eugene Emeralds (affiliate of the San Diego Padres), Everett AquaSox (Seattle Mariners) and Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (San Francisco Giants).

“We are fortunate to be in Single A Short Season, as we get the youngest guys drafted right out of college, university or sometimes even high school,” explained Takefman about how the Northwest League fits into the overall baseball structure in North America. “We are the first place they go once they are selected and in the ‘working world,’ and they love our city and crowd support.

“Major League Baseball teams have many levels of their minor league system,” he continued. “Whereas in hockey there are seven rounds to a minor league draft, in baseball, there are 50. It is incredibly rare and difficult to make it from the minor leagues to the major leagues.

“Our players have 76 games in 79 days, 38 of which are at home, so they have to earn it and stay focused. For the players that ascend, there are four more minor league levels ahead of ours before they make it to the Jays.”

Takefman himself ascended the Canadians’ ranks quickly. Joining the team in 2006, he was general manager by late 2009. Among the credentials he brought with him to the Canadians was experience he gained from a stint with the Israeli National Hockey Team.

“I worked with the Israeli team my last semester in university,” explained Takefman. “I was fortunate enough to help their junior and senior teams prepare for their international tournaments and fundraising tours. It was a tremendous eye-opening experience for me in terms of how much goes on behind the scenes. Alan Maislin, chairman of the program at the time, taught me so much about preparation and how to coordinate all of the logistics while maintaining strong lines of communication. It was a privilege to work with him and the many other volunteers involved with their organization.

“After I graduated university, I applied to sports teams across the U.S. and Canada and was lucky to find a niche here in Vancouver. I had good timing, as the team was going through an ownership and a front-office expansion.

“I played a little bit when I was younger,” continued Takefman, who was born and raised in Montreal, “but baseball is an incredible industry with a growing business side. Minor League Baseball combines that with a strong commitment to customer service and affordability, as well as reaching out to families and businesses across the Lower Mainland to entertain their guests and clients, which has enabled us to have some success and fun. The latter is the part I enjoy the most, interaction with fans.”

He stressed this aspect of the game when asked about his journey with the team and moments of which he is especially proud, highlighting two developments that, he said, “go hand in hand: the growth of our staff and our four straight attendance records.”

He explained, “When I arrived in 2006, I was the fifth full-time staff member, now we have 14. Our local ownership has stopped at nothing to make sure the entire experience involved with Canadians Baseball, 12 months a year and on and off the field, is incredible. It is a privilege to work with them, and they have hired a very ambitious, talented and hard-working staff that bring to life that memorable experience for the community and make it a pleasure to come to work every day.

“Our attendance records are through the hard work of our staff and community involvement. Last year, we had 12 sellouts out of our 38 home games. Our fans are responding well to what our staff does to create the environment for them in our rejuvenated stadium. We have tremendous corporate and fan support along the way.”

And that support is a two-way street. The baseball club – led by Jake Kerr, Jeff Mooney and Andy Dunn – has developed the Canadians Baseball Foundation. Its goal is to help “local youth find self-confidence, hope, improved health and a skill set that will help not just on a baseball diamond, but in life.” Continues the team’s website, “From helping a young child onto a baseball diamond perhaps for the first time, right through to helping a bright-minded student find a way to continue their post-secondary education, the Vancouver Canadians Baseball Foundation is committed to our community and wants to ensure that your involvement helps redefine a child’s perspective on the game of baseball.”

“Our entire organization aims to support the same community that has supported our stadium since 1951,” explained Takefman. “A few years ago, we didn’t have anybody with community relations in their title and now we have three staff members whose main goal is to support our team goal and create interaction and involvement. Twelve months a year, we bring our mascots and championship trophy to schools, little league openings, community centres and festivals, mall openings, birthday parties, and everything in between.”

The importance of community is something with which Takefman, who attended Montreal’s Hebrew Foundation School and then Bialik High School, was ingrained from a young age.

“My sister and I were brought up with a very solid foundation of Jewish values and beliefs,” he said. “My sister, while not religious, lives with her husband and son in Israel and they absolutely love it there. Having a strong Jewish household was always important in my family.

“For the past five years, I have volunteered at the JCC [Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver] helping with the Sports Dinner, and have met some terrific community ambassadors. For me, it’s important to have some connection, both personal and professional, with the Jewish community where I live.”

For game and ticket information, call the Nat Bailey box office at 604-872-5232 or visit canadiansbaseball.com. Assured Takefman: “Opening night and back-to-back Canada Day fireworks, nine weekday afternoon games, four superstar appearances and five Sunday afternoon games – we have something for fans no matter how busy their schedule is this summer.”

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