Baseball Ontario


Baseball Ontario, officially known as the Ontario Baseball Association, is the provincial governing body for baseball in Ontario. The Ontario Baseball Association was founded under the name "Ontario Baseball Amateur Association" which was organized at a meeting held in Hamilton at the Central YMCA on Saturday, May 4, 1918. In 1938, the name was changed to "Ontario Baseball Association", and in 1982, the organization was incorporated as "Ontario Baseball Association, Inc". Baseball Ontario currently has its headquarters in Cambridge, Ontario. In 2017, Baseball Ontario is celebrating 100 years of amateur baseball in the province which will culminate in the 2017 Baseball Ontario/Baseball Canada AGM in Hamilton in November.
In 2013, Baseball Ontario was named Province of the Year by Baseball Canada due, in large part to the eight medals won by Ontario teams at National Championships. Ontario medaled in all seven tournaments, winning gold at the Bantam Girls, Bantam Boys, Midget, Junior, Senior Women's and Senior Men's tournaments in addition to a silver medal at the Baseball Canada Cup and a bronze at the Senior Men's tournament.

Hall of Fame

The establishment of the Baseball Ontario Hall of Fame provides the opportunity to recognize individuals and teams that have achieved the highest standards and commitment to the sport of baseball in Ontario.
Inductees of the Baseball Ontario Hall of Fame are players, coaches, managers, umpires, teams and builders. They are chosen by the Baseball Ontario Hall of Fame's Selection Committee.

Objectives

In order of priority, the objectives of the OBA as clearly stated in the are:
  1. To foster and improve baseball at all levels in the Province of Ontario.
  2. To protect and promote the mutual interests of the members.
  3. To institute and regulate competition for the Ontario championships.
  4. To institute and regulate competition for determining the Ontario representative in the national or Canadian play-offs.

    Organizational Structure

The Ontario Baseball Association Executive consists of three separate Boards. The Board of Management oversees the operation of the business, the Rep Council oversees competitive Rep baseball including Provincial Championships and Elimination Tournaments, and the Select Council which oversees select baseball in the province including Select Provincial Championships.
The Board of Management includes the President, Vice President, Immediate Past President, Rep Division Commissioner, Select Division Commissioner, Treasurer, Supervisor of Umpires, 6 Elected Directors from the Rep Division, and 3 Elected Directors from the Select Division as well as Directors appointed by the President.
Each council selects its own members.
The Rep Division is comproed of the Rep Commissioner, Rep Vice Commissioner, Immediate Past Commissioner, Registrar, and six elected Directors. The President and Vice President of the organization are also de facto members of the Rep Council and each Affiliated Association appoints a member to the Rep Council. The Rep Commissioner may also appoint members to the Rep Council.
The Select Council is composed of the Select Commissioner, Select Vice Commissioner, Immediate Past Commissioner, Registrar and 10 Directors elected to two-year terms on alternating schedules. The President and Vice President of the organization are also de facto members of the Select Council. The Select Commissioner may also appoint members to the Select Council.

Board of Management

Past Presidents

*Deceased

Rep Division Series Chairs

Rep Division Series Chairs act as the liaison between their identified series and/or title and the Rep Council. Series Chairs are responsible for reviewing the proposed team classifications submitted by the Affiliated Associations to ensure all the information is complete and correct. The Series Chairs must also make certain that each team is properly classified based on the performance of the team, the quality of its competition, and the size of the community. The Series Chairs are responsible for making final recommendations with regards to team classifications and are responsible for the overall management of their assigned Series. The following table lists the OBA's Series Chairs and their respective positions.

Life Members

Life Members are recommended by the OBA Board of Directors once the individual has continuously served the OBA for fifteen years or more and if the OBA Board of Directors want to reward the active service of the individual with an official status. Only previous Honorary Members are eligible to be appointed Life Members. The maximum number of Life Members that can serve at any one time is three; however, Life Members appointed prior to 1972 will maintain their status during their lifetime. When necessary, Life Members may be called upon to rule on matters not covered in the OBA Constitution and By-Laws and their decisions on these matters are final. The following individuals currently hold the Ontario Baseball Association's Life Members' positions.
Honorary Members are given their title by the OBA Board of Directors for their endless commitment and commendable service to the Ontario Baseball Association. Honorary Members have the right of delegates at all Annual and Special Meetings of the OBA, including the right to vote. The following is a list of the current Ontario Baseball Association's Honorary Members.
Like Honorary Members, Past Presidents have the right to vote at all Annual Meetings and Special Meetings of the OBA. With Life Members, Past Presidents can be called upon to make final decisions on matters that are not addressed in the Ontario Baseball Association Constitution and By-Laws.
The following table lists the head representatives from each affiliate association within the Rep Division of the Ontario Baseball Association.

Select Council

Baseball Ontario Office Staff

The office staff are responsible for the daily operations of the Baseball Ontario office in Cambridge, Ontario. Their duties include processing applications and fees from Affiliated Associations as well as duties assigned by the Executive Committee of the Board of Management. They are also responsible for disseminating information to all Board Members, Series Chairs, and Affiliated Associations of the Ontario Baseball Association.

Baseball Ontario Affiliated Associations

Affiliated associations interested in joining the Ontario Baseball Association must send a completed membership application, a list of its officers, and a copy of its constitution and by-laws, to the OBA Office for approval. Once approved, Affiliated Associations are responsible for submitting classifications of the team within their jurisdiction to the OBA Office. With every new membership approval, territorial boundaries for each and every association are re-assessed and determined by the OBA Board of Directors.
The following list names the OBA's current Affiliated Associations.

Age and category

To be eligible to play in a particular category, a player must fall within the age group indicated next to the category listed in the table below. It is possible for a younger player to play with an older age category, such as a 11U player playing on a 12U team; however, the player will be considered as a player of the older series and cannot be called up to the younger series team.
File:Tee ball player swinging at ball on tee 2010.JPG|thumb|350px|right|A right-handed T-Ball player swings at a ball on the tee. Photo by

Baseball Ontario Umpires

Baseball Ontario's Umpire Development program is administered under the leadership of the Supervisor of Umpires, Ray Merkley and The Baseball Ontario Umpires Committee. It is one of the hardest working committees in the OBA, working year-round to improve umpiring across the province.
Umpires in Ontario are certified by Baseball Canada trained Course Conductors and progress through the ranks beginning with Level 1 and working their way to the pinnacle of amateur umpiring in Canada, Level 5. The curriculum for the provincial umpire development program is reviewed annually and updated as necessary to ensure maximum effectiveness. Level 1 umpires progress through two years of basic umpire training, learning The Offense and The Defense. Level 2 umpires expand on the Level 1 training through a three-year program; The Offense, The Defense, and Game Management.
Level 3 umpires are the most senior provincially certified umpires. Annually these umpires must complete and pass an exam to maintain certification and must attend a Superclinic once every three years. The Superclinics are more advanced than the Level 1 & 2 programs and are designed to be more intensive, reflecting the advanced skills and abilities of the Level 3 umpires.
Level 4 and 5 umpires are certified by Baseball Canada after receiving provincial endorsement and are eligible to represent Ontario at National and International championships.
The Course Conductors are certified by Baseball Canada and must attend an intensive training Caravan in order to attain certification as a Course Conductor. In order to maintain their status as Course Conductors and ensure effective standardized training of officials across the province, Baseball Ontario also regularly hosts Clinician's Retreats and other professional development opportunities.
There are several levels of Course Conductor status:
The following individuals currently form the Baseball Ontario Umpires Committee.
The following chart describes the OBA's umpire certification program, and how one would go about becoming an umpire. First, one must be certified as a Level 1 umpire. At this level, no previous experience is necessary, and to meet the requirements one must simply attend a Level 1 clinic. The chart also demonstrates final examination requirements; the levels of baseball that a Level 1 umpire is certified to umpire; and, the requirements necessary to maintain certification. The evaluation column refers to required live evaluations from highly trained umpires during an actual game.

World Baseball Classic

In 2013, Baseball Ontario Umpire Committee member and former Minor League umpire Trevor Grieve was selected to participate in the World Baseball Classic.
Grieve was given the opportunity to umpire at the WBC Qualifier in Jupiter, Florida in September 2012 where he worked four out of six tournament games including home plate when South Africa took on France in an elimination game and first base when Spain defeated Israel in the championship contest.
The Oshawa, ON native umpired every round of the WBC beginning in Taichung, Taiwan for the first round before travelling to Tokyo, Japan for the second round of competition.
Trevor was very successful in the first two rounds of the tournament and earned a spot in the Championship Round held in San Francisco, CA working third & first base in each of the semi-final games and then finishing off the tournament by working the right field line in the gold medal game with three MLB umpires.

MLB Players from Ontario

As of the end of the 2019 season, there have been 129 Ontario-born players who have played in the Majors. 7 are still active players.
Listed below are all of the Ontario-born players who have played in Major League Baseball.


Note: Stats are accurate to the end of the 2019 season.

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees from Ontario

Since its inception as a non-profit, charitable foundation in October 1983, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum has been dedicated to preserving Canada's rich baseball heritage. Originally located in Toronto at both Exhibition Place and then Ontario Place until 1989, the Hall then moved to its current location in St. Marys in 1994 and opened in 1998.
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum has 90 Inductees. They range from players to administrators to amateurs to umpires to trainers and to builders.
Listed below are the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum Inductees from Ontario:
player George Gibson, a catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates
, a left fielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire career with the Cleveland Indians

First recorded baseball game

On June 4, 1838, a year before Abner Doubleday was recognized with inventing baseball in Cooperstown, New York, two teams from Oxford and Zorra townships met in Beachville, Ontario in what is now known as the first documented game in North American history. It was Dr. Adam Ford, a former resident of St. Marys, Ontario, now home to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, who later reported details of this game in a letter published in the May 5, 1886 issue of Sporting Life magazine.
While living in Denver, Colorado, he wrote of his recollections that the match was played on a square field in a pasture. The game included five bases, fair and foul balls, players using a hand hewn stick as a bat and a ball made of twisted yarn and covered with calf skin. Ford's account was researched by the Beachville District Historical Society and it was concluded that the information in his letter is authentic.
File:Baseball & Mitt.jpg|thumb|190px|right|Photo by
The following are the names of the players on the Beachville and Zorra teams that participated in the historic game:

Baseball Ontario Major Award Winners

Dick Willis Memorial Umpire of the Year Award - Level 1/2

Dick Willis Memorial Umpire of the Year Award - Level 3

Don Gilbert Umpire of the Year - Level 4/5

Rep Coach of the Year - 13U and Below

Rep Coach of the Year - 14U and Above

Select Coach of the Year

Rep Player of the Year Award - 13U and Under

Player of the Year Award - Adult

Fergie Jenkins Pitcher of the Year Award

The Fergie Jenkins Award for Pitcher of the Year was divided into two categories - Youth and Adult beginning in 2008.
2008YouthDane Gordon
AdultJordan Prosper
2009YouthJordan Joly
AdultBilly Hurley
2010YouthJordan Joly
AdultJordan Abram
2011YouthJacob Kush
AdultSteven Carter
2012YouthBrady Wagenhoffer
AdultBlake Weston
2013YouthAnthony Vavaroutsos
AdultAlexander MacKinnon

Jack Middlemass Volunteer of the Year Award

Team of the Year Award

Barry Salt Director of the Year Award

President Award

George Spalding Association of the Year Award

Provincial, national, and international baseball links