Baseball / A Renaissance for the Hamilton Cardinals?

A Renaissance for the Hamilton Cardinals?

Date:  Source: Hamilton Cardinals - Intercounty Baseball League

A renaissance for Hamilton Cardinals?

Community ownership helps bring fans back to Bernie Arbour Stadium

by Mark Newman, Hamilton Mountain News

 

A bit of a buzz returned to Bernie Arbour Stadium this summer.

After years of wallowing at or near the bottom of the Intercounty Baseball League, the Hamilton Cardinals finished the season with a more respectable 15-21 record, their best performance since 2007 when they won 16 games.

True, the team hasn’t seen .500 baseball in many years, but given what has gone on with the franchise in the last decade or two, it is an accomplishment.

What’s more the Cards upset London in the first round of the playoffs.

“We’re seeing 150 to 200 people per game and they’re loud.” - Jeff Lounsbury

It was their first postseason series win in ages.

But the momentum appears to have hit the centre field wall as the locals are down 3-0 to defending champion Barrie Baycats with game four slated for Bernie Arbour Stadium on Tuesday night.

Barrie is looking for their fifth straight IBL championship.

The success this season has been reflected at the gate.

“We’re seeing 150 to 200 people per game and they’re loud,” said Cardinals general manager Jeff Lounsbury who joined the team last winter for his third go-round with the team.

Lounsbury credits the turnaround to the community ownership that took over the franchise in February and saved the team from possibly folding.

 

“The Mercanti family spearheaded it and the Carmen’s Group and they led the Renaissance,” Lounsbury said. “The ownership group has done a great job of saving the team and putting some good baseball people that know the IBL in charge of the day-to-day operations.”

That included keeping Dean Castelli as the club’s field manager and bringing back IBL veteran and local baseball coaching great Dean DiCenzo as team president.

“Everyone has their role and their job to make the franchise successful,” Lounsbury said.

The Cards are also big on Hamilton area talent.

Lounsbury figures about half of their 25 player roster is made up of local talent and the team remains plugged in to the Hamilton Cardinals minor baseball system for much of that talent.

On the field, Lounsbury said good starting pitching and the ability to win some of the close games got the team to a 15 win season and the playoff upset.

Another big change this season was the field at Bernie Arbour Stadium saw a major upgrade in May and June which pushed the start of the Card’s home schedule into July.

Included in the upgrades was the levelling of the field which Lounsbury noted has eliminated the famous and dangerous Bernie Arbour hop.

“The field is fantastic right now,” Lounsbury said. “The balls are playing normal, we’re not getting bad hops, it looks professional and it’s playing safe.”

Next season the Cardinals will be looking to crack the .500 mark and perhaps even challenge the likes of Barrie, Kitchener and London in the top echelon of the IBL and continue creating a great game experience for the players and their renewed fan base