Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Edmonton Capitals suspend operations

The Edmonton Capitals have suspended operations effective immediately. The move follows similar decisions made by the Calgary Vipers at the completion of the 2011 season and the Victoria Seals after the 2010 campaign.

Sadly, these three teams were once the strongest franchises in the Golden Baseball League and their demise had little or nothing to do with the local markets and everything to do with a poorly run league. It looks like the Parkers, ex-owners of the Victoria Seals, saw the writing on the wall when they packed it in after two wildly popular seasons in the BC capital. An overly aggressive expansion into far-flung cities caused travel costs in the new North American Baseball League (NABL) to jump to unsustainable levels. With the demise of both Alberta teams, the Northern Division of the NABL may be forced to retreat to a handful of league-owned teams in California and Arizona. If I was a baseball fan in Maui, I'd be more than a little worried about the upcoming NABL season.