News About Canadians

Canadian Baseball League –
Inaugual Season 2003

November 20, 2002 – Toronto – Canada's first and only professional baseball league formerly introduced its first eight participating teams to the Canadian public.

The Western Division will be represented by the Victoria Capitals, Kelowna Heat, Calgary Outlaws and Saskaton Legends. The Eastern Division is comprised of the Montreal Royales, London Monarchs, Trois-Rivieres Saints and the Niagara Stars. The eight teams will be playing an exciting 72-game schedule, with a mid-season All-Star Game, and a post-season National Champsionship – The Jenkins Cup, named after the CBL's Commissioner, Ferguson Jenkins.

Through a televised game-of-the-week the CBL will become the focus of sports fans across the country.

As Canada's newest professional sports venture, the Canadian Baseball League is focused on developing a strong national presence. The primary mission of the Canadian Baseball League is to provide the highest level of professional baseball and entertainment, affordably, to communities across Canada. The secondary mission of the CBL is to provide opportunities for highly talented Canadian baseball players to play professional baseball in their home country. There will be a mandatory minimun of five Canadian players per roster, with the focus on players with local ties in the host communities. The CBL's emphasis on Canadian content will inspire greater fan interest, enthusiasm, passion and support.

CBL teams will hold a series of instructional clinics for young ballplayers throughout the spring and summer months. Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins, Commissioner of Baseball for the CBL, and John Haar, former head coach of the National Baseball Institute and the Canadian National Team, and current Director of Baseball Operations for the CBL, will both be active on behalf of the CBL at these clinics, providing elite instruction from two of Canada’s greatest baseball icons.

The CBL’s Commissioner of Baseball is Canada’s own Ferguson Jenkins, the only Canadian-born player ever elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. The CBL’s director of baseball operations is John Haar, former head coach of the prestigious National Baseball Institute, the Canadian National Youth Team and the Canadian National Team. Our management team is lead by CBL chairman and founder, Tony Riviera, who brings over twenty years experience to the venture, including a decade in Major League Baseball, and president, co-founder and CEO, Charlton Lui, who brings two decades of proven corporate leadership and performance at company’s such as Apple, IBM, Stanford Research Center and Microsoft.

About the Canadian Baseball League

The Canadian Baseball League is a new international professional baseball league offering high caliber baseball to cities across Canada beginning in May 2003. For more information please visit the official website of the Canadian Baseball League at www.canadianbaseballleague.com.

Contact: Alex Klenman, CBL Director of Communications, 604-689-1566

AlexK@canadianbaseballleague.com

Special to Canadian Basebal News – 21 November 2002

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