Saturday is going to be a special day as U9 baseball teams from around the southeast and the province head to Mitchell for a fun event, the Baseball Jamboree.
"We're really happy with the turnout this year," an excited Byron Dueck explains. "We have 28 teams, represented by 13 different communities, all the way from Vita, Niverville, La Broquerie and even a team from Winnipeg. It's a great way to get together, play against some different competition, there is no score kept so everyone can just enjoy a great day of baseball."
Dueck says it's a big deal for the town of Mitchell to host all the teams and their families, something the organizers take a lot of pride in. "I know that Mitchell has done this, I believe it's the fourth year and this is our big tournament we look forward to. We run the canteen with different options, burgers and hotdogs, and it supports our baseball communities. It helps keep costs down, helps with maintence on the fields and it's a great opportunity for the Mitchell community, as well."
Grand Slam Saturday is proof of the growth of baseball in the province, something Dueck is thrilled about. "It's great to see," he says with a smile. "Like I grew up playing baseball and I remember going back even 20 years ago, communities would have to combine just to put in one team, but now we're seeing teams like in Mitchell, this year we have five teams at the U9 level. Places like Vita are bringing two teams to this tournament. It's great and I think it's a great sport where you spend lots of time together in the dugout with your buddies, there's down time to just go out and have fun. I enjoy at the Grand Slam level, there is no score kept, no strike outs, everyone gets a chance to hit the ball and run the bases. I feel that's important to keep the game of baseball alive in communities and hopefully as the kids get older, they want to stay with it."
It's not just on the field, Dueck says it's great to see the kids being friends off the field throughout the day. "Generally, most of these kids are going to school together but they may not be in the same classes. They look forward to the practice time, thinking of the other games, it'll be great for the kids to go support the other teams. They want to go watch them play baseball because usually we're all playing on the same night. I know our kids are super excited, it's all they've been talking about for a couple weeks now."
Everything is all set to go and Dueck can't wait to see that first pitch thrown. "10:00 a.m. on Saturday, that's the first pitch," he says with excitement. "There's no fees to enter, games are starting at 10 and going until 2. There's a canteen serving hot food and cold drinks, so bring cash if you'd like to support the canteen. For any baseball fans in many communities like Steinbach, Grunthal, Mitchell, Vita, and every community in between. If you're looking to enjoy some baseball and cheer on some great kids, come on down to Mitchell, it's going to be a great day."