By Anthony Teolis
The Barrie Baycats are gearing up for another season, and they have big plans to contend for a championship this year.
After two years of rebuilding and developing young talent, the Baycats believe they now have the pieces in place to make a push for the title.
Club president, Josh Matlow, told Barrie360 they've added some big bats and quality pitching to their roster. They also focused on addressing commitment issues that he says affected their playoff run last year, ensuring that they have a full roster of dedicated players, as well as a full-time rotation and imports.
To further prepare for the upcoming season, they will embark on a unique adventure, as they head down to the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, April 26th, for spring training.
"We thought it would be a good idea to go down, spend some time together, play some baseball, see what we got basically going into the season - and really just kind of take in the whole baseball culture," Matlow said. "We're going to a handful of baseball academies down there - meet a few kids, hopefully, play some catch and it's going to go a long way."
Matlow says the team is bringing with them, 3-4 duffle bags of baseball equipment that they plan to distribute at the baseball academies.
The Baycats will then match up with Team La Romana of the Dominican Summer League who are also preparing for their upcoming season.
"We're playing a collection of former pro players, which is going to really push us to the limit and see what we're capable of," said Matlow. "But also to maybe humble us to say, 'hey, this is where we're at prior to the season.'"
In addition to their on-field preparations, the Baycats are also planning a number of team nights for their fans. They will have six Junior Baycats games, as well as eight team nights that they are excited to announce soon.
"There are some that we've never done before that we're excited to announce, be a part of and promote .... so I guess we'll have to wait for that."
Overall, the Baycats are pumped for the upcoming season and are putting in the work to ensure they have the best chance to compete for a championship.
Fans can expect to see some great baseball and exciting team events throughout the season.
Home opener is on May 18th when they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
For more information and to purchase event tickets visit their website.
Banner image via The Barrie Baycats (Josh Matlow)
