- Ottawa Fat Cats
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Ottawa Fat Cats Founded in 2010
Ottawa, Ontario
Team logo
Cap insigniaLeague affiliations - Intercounty Baseball League (2010-present)
Name - Ottawa Fat Cats
Team Colours - red, black and white
Ballpark Championships - League titles: 0
Owner(s)/Operated By: Ottawa Stadium Group General Manager: Duncan MacDonald Manager: Tim Nelson Media: Ottawa Citizen / Ottawa Sun / Rogers TV Website: ottawafatcats.com The Ottawa Fat Cats are a semi-professional baseball club in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The team began play on May 8, 2010, against the Guelph Royals, and plays its home games at the Ottawa Baseball Stadium, the first home game was on May 15, 2010, against the Mississauga Twins. The team is a member of the Intercounty Baseball League.[1]
Contents
Founding
The Ottawa Stadium Group first became involved in operating a baseball team in 2009. With the Ottawa Baseball Stadium vacant, a city asset was unused. Councillor Bob Monette arranged some community baseball games and around the same time the OSG showed some interest in starting another Can-Am baseball team at the stadium. In January 2010, the group instead applied to the Intercounty League and was accepted. As the other eight teams are located within a short distance around Toronto, the Fat Cats had to accept conditions whereby the Cats would pay for accommodations for the visiting teams and also arrange the schedule to allow the other teams to play back-to-back games in Ottawa.[2]
In March 2010, the group named Duncan MacDonald as the general manager, and Bill Mackenzie, a former professional baseball player as the manager of the team. The name and logo of the team were announced at a news conference on March 24, 2010. The name 'Fat Cats' was chosen to poke fun at the public image of federal public servants employed in the city. The cap logo is a stylised 'O' using black, red and white stripes through the 'O' as a reference to Ottawa team colours, with a vertical slit in the middle of the 'O' to make it appear to be a cat's eye. The jersey logo is a cartoon cat with the team name written below. The Cats will use the traditional red, black and white of Ottawa teams. The Cats will also arrange concerts at the Stadium and provide family entertainment at ball games. The concerts will raise funds to offset any losses in the operation of baseball.[2]
2010 New Era All-Star Classic
On August 12th, it was announced that Ottawa would be the location for the first annual New Era All-Star Classic which features the best of the Intercounty Baseball League facing off in a four game series against the best of the Ligue de Baseball Senior Élite du Québec (LBSEQ). Games 1 and 2 will be held in Ottawa on August 21st and 22nd, while the series continues in Thetford Mines, Quebec in early September.
Attendance
In their first season in Ottawa, the Fat Cats did very well in attendance. They averaged 2,328 per game for a total of 25,611 on the season despite playing many doubleheaders and having the least amount of openings compared to any other team.
2011 Season The Ottawa Fat Cats made it into The IBL finals only to lose to the Branford Rex Sox.
Roster
See also
- Ottawa Lynx, active 1993–2007
- Ottawa Rapidz, active 2008
References
- ^ "Baseball team's name revealed". Ottawa Citizen. March 24, 2010. http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/Baseball+team+name+revealed/2721420/story.html.
- ^ a b "Fat Cats dressed for success". Ottawa Citizen. March 25, 2010. http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/Cats+dressed+success/2721420/story.html.
Categories:- Intercounty Baseball League
- Baseball teams in Ontario
- Baseball teams in Ottawa
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