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History of the Wood Bat Tourney

The idea for this tournament was conceived last September at the NAFA tournament in Carson City, when (after a few beers) Jimmy Ullock blurted "Hey Milty, we should have one of these tournaments in BC". NAFA chief Benjie Hedgecock wasn't too far away so on my next beer trip, I strolled over to Benjie and relayed Jimmy's idea..

Being the perennial enthusiast, Benjie liked the idea right away. He did caution me that it would be difficult to attract teams from south of the border but offered to help with that task in any event. At that point, we didn't have a particular weekend in mind or even a location.

Now to be honest, I did have an ulterior motive. I was beginning to assemble a 65+ team to head to Quad Cities for the NAFA Masters in September 2019 - so a tune-up tournament would work perfect for us! Most of the players were still there so I took a quick survey, especially looking for responses from the guys who would have to travel...

Catcher Herb Thacker from Calgary was first on board, then all three pitchers; Guy Lund (Northern Alberta), Fred Hamm (Winnipeg), and Barry Stobbs (Calgary) gave their thumbs up. Somewhere along the line, I proposed that maybe we should make this a wood bat tourney. All four of us pitchers were nodding in agreement but 1st baseman Randy Zuter was the most vocal.

Randy plays in the Saskatoon Men's league, which is quite likely the best league in Canada. Randy said "Wood bats are a great idea!. When we're playing those young guys hit the ball so friggin' hard, as a first baseman you don't have time to blink or think and it's buzzed past your ear. It's friggin' crazy!" That speech pretty much did it for me. I agree with Randy. It is crazy, especially for us old farts, to go out there and risk life and limb - when it is so easy to change the game and make it safer.

There's always been resistance to the notion of using wood bats or a lower cor ball, but I maintain that the game would not just be safer - but faster too. As any squash player knows, the slow ball makes for a faster game - or to be more exact "a more playable game". Playable meaning that batted balls are more readily played by the defense.

I predict there will be more diving catches and plays on the bases because batted balls are not screaming through the infield quite as fast. Strike outs may increase a bit due to slightly heavier bats, so pitchers should be happy - but the infielders should notice the most difference.

Upon returning to BC, Jimmy had another idea: why not check and see if the fields in Squamish are available for the August long weekend. A quick trip to Squamish proved favorable. The fields are booked and the campground next to the park is available to ball teams only for the weekend!

Now...to decide how deep to set the fences...I figure about 210 feet would be about right...