2016 Can-Am League season
| 2016 Can-Am League Season | |
|---|---|
| League | Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | May 19 – September 5, 2016 |
| Number of games | 100 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | New Jersey Jackals |
| Finals champions | Ottawa Champions |
The 2016 Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball season began May 19 and ended September 5. Following the regular season, the playoffs were held. It was the 12th season of operation for this professional independent baseball league. The Ottawa Champions won their first ever title in just their second season, defeating the Rockland Boulders in the fifth and deciding game of the league championships, played on September 17.
Season summary
On August 21, Ottawa Champions outfielder Sebastien Boucher set a league record for career hits with 752 in a game against the Trois-Rivières Aigles.[1]
Tragedy struck the league on September 4, when the co-owner of the Québec Capitales, Roberto Bissonnette was killed in a helicopter crash in Flatlands, New Brunswick, along with the pilot. Team president Michel Laplant was also in the helicopter, but only suffered from non-life threatening injuries.[2]
On September 5, former Cy Young Award winning pitcher Éric Gagné pitched for the Ottawa Champions,[3] attracting nearly 8,000 fans.[4] The Champions made it to the league finals in only their second season as a franchise.[5]
Tour of Cuban national team
The Cuba national baseball team played 20 regular season games as part of the league schedule, though they were ineligible for the playoffs. It was billed as a "goodwill tour" following the opening up of Cuba–United States relations in 2015.[6] The Cuban team finished with an 11–9 record.
Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey Jackals | 62 | 38 | .620 | – |
| Rockland Boulders | 58 | 42 | .580 | 4 |
| Québec Capitales | 56 | 44 | .560 | 6 |
| Ottawa Champions | 51 | 49 | .510 | 11 |
| Sussex County Miners | 39 | 61 | .390 | 23 |
| Trois-Rivières Aigles | 35 | 65 | .350 | 27 |
| Cuba national baseball team* | 11 | 9 | .550 | 11 |
| Shikoku Island* | 8 | 12 | .400 | 14 |
* Teams not eligible for playoffs
Playoffs
Bracket
| Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | New Jersey Jackals | 1 | |||||||
| 4 | Ottawa Champions | 3 | |||||||
| 4 | Ottawa Champions | 3 | |||||||
| 2 | Rockland Boulders | 2 | |||||||
| 2 | Rockland Boulders | 3 | |||||||
| 3 | Québec Capitales | 2 | |||||||
Semifinals
New Jersey vs. Ottawa
Ottawa won the series, 3–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 7 | New Jersey Jackals 11, Ottawa Champions 2 | RCGT Park | - | 1,193[7] |
| 2 | September 8 | New Jersey Jackals 3, Ottawa Champions 4 | RCGT Park | 2:47 | 1,259[8] |
| 3 | September 9 | Ottawa Champions 8, New Jersey Jackals 3 | Yogi Berra Stadium | 3:13 | 720[9] |
| 4 | September 10 | Ottawa Champions 7, New Jersey Jackals 2 | Yogi Berra Stadium | 3:07 | 475[10] |
Rockland vs. Québec
Rockland won the series, 3–2.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 7 | Rockland Boulders 4, Québec Capitales 5 | Stade Municipal | 3:08 | 3,924[11] |
| 2 | September 9 | Rockland Boulders 2, Québec Capitales 4 | Stade Municipal | 2:53 | 2,010[12] |
| 3 | September 10 | Québec Capitales 15, Rockland Boulders 16 | Palisades Credit Union Park | 4:08 | 2,090[13] |
| 4 | September 11 | Québec Capitales 2, Rockland Boulders 6 | Palisades Credit Union Park | 2:53 | 1,039[14] |
| 5 | September 12 | Québec Capitales 2, Rockland Boulders 3 | Palisades Credit Union Park | 2:55 | 1,470[15] |
Championship Finals
Rockland vs. Ottawa
The road team won every game of the 5 game series, which saw the Ottawa Champions come back from being down two games to none to win three straight games for the championship.
Ottawa won the series, 3-2.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 13 | Rockland Boulders 6, Ottawa Champions 5 | RCGT Park | 3:31 | 3,289[16] |
| 2 | September 14 | Rockland Boulders 5, Ottawa Champions 4 | RCGT Park | 3:36 | 2,412[17] |
| 3 | September 15 | Ottawa Champions 13, Rockland Boulders 12 | Palisades Credit Union Park | 4:34 | 2,015[18] |
| 4 | September 16 | Ottawa Champions 13, Rockland Boulders 3 | Palisades Credit Union Park | 2:43 | 1,247[19] |
| 5 | September 17 | Ottawa Champions 3, Rockland Boulders 1 | Palisades Credit Union Park | 2:28 | 3,314 |
Attendance
| 2016 Can-Am League attendance[20] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Total Attendance | Average Attendance | ||||
| Rockland Boulders | 149,632 | 2,934 | ||||
| Québec Capitales | 146,946 | 2,773 | ||||
| Ottawa Champions | 127,618 | 2,454 | ||||
| Sussex County Miners | 90,237 | 1,842 | ||||
| Trois-Rivières Aigles | 78,948 | 1,680 | ||||
| New Jersey Jackals | 74,335 | 1,652 | ||||
References
- ↑ http://www.cfra.com/news/2016/08/21/champions-hitter-breaks-can-am-league-record
- ↑ http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/co-owner-quebec-can-baseball-team-dies-helicopter-crash/
- ↑ http://ottawacitizen.com/sports/baseball/former-cy-young-winner-eric-gagne-signs-with-the-ottawa-champions
- ↑ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-champions-begin-can-am-playoffs-vs-jackals-1.3751722
- ↑ http://www.metronews.ca/news/ottawa/2016/09/11/fans-feeling-the-love-for-champions-ahead-of-finals.html
- ↑ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/baseball/baseball-diplomacy-results-in-series-between-cuban-and-can-am-teams/article29006932/
- ↑ http://canam.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=375427
- ↑ http://canam.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=375428
- ↑ http://canam.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=375429
- ↑ http://canam.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=375430
- ↑ http://canam.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=375432
- ↑ http://canam.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=375654
- ↑ http://canam.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=375435
- ↑ http://canam.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=375436
- ↑ http://canam.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=376044
- ↑ http://canam.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=376235
- ↑ http://canam.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=376236
- ↑ http://canam.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=376237
- ↑ http://canam.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=376238
- ↑ http://canam.bbstats.pointstreak.com/attendance.html?leagueid=201&seasonid=30053