Dawgs to host 2023 WCBL All-Star Game
Sylan Lake Gulls infielder Ethan is shown here receiving 2022 WCBL All-Star Game MVP honours from former MLBer Matt Stairs after the game which was hosted by the Okotoks Dawgs at Seaman Stadium. The Dawgs will host the game again in 2023. Photo: Ian Wilson, Alberta Dugout Stories
September 15, 2022
Official Okotoks Dawgs News Release
The Okotoks Dawgs Baseball Club, in conjunction with the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL), is pleased to announce that the 2023 WCBL All-Star Game will once again take place at Seaman Stadium in Okotoks, Alta., on Saturday, July 15, 2023.
The Dawgs, with average attendance in 2022 totaling in excess of 4,200 fans per game, are not only the top drawing franchise in the WCBL but were recently ranked fourth in all of North America among summer collegiate clubs in attendance by Ballpark Digest.
The Dawgs hope to build on a very successful 2022 All-Star Game when the club attracted a record breaking crowd of 6,000 fans.
The Dawgs are coming off a historic 2022 season that included welcoming their 1,000,000th fan, breaking the WCBL record for wins in the regular season with 43; with the season culminating in the franchise’s sixth WCBL Championship.
WCBL President, Kevin Kvame confirmed that the league was thrilled to award the 2023 showcase to the WCBL’s top drawing franchise as well as its largest market, that being the greater Calgary area.
“2022 was a truly remarkable season for the Dawgs,” said Kvame. “Not only did they shatter previous records for attendance but they established a new record for wins in the regular season and ultimately captured another WCBL Championship. The WCBL is pleased to offer fans one of the best baseball experiences on either side of the border at Seaman Stadium, one of the finest facilities in all of college baseball. As the WCBL’s flagship franchise, the Dawgs will showcase all that is truly extraordinary about the WCBL.”
Like the 2022 event, the 2023 WCBL All-Star Game will not only feature the league’s top players but will also entertain fans throughout the day with a Home Run Derby, an onsite Pre-Game Show, musical entertainment, fun activities for little leaguers of all ages, mascot challenges, a post-game fireworks display, and a featured Major League Baseball celebrity for autograph signings.
Canada’s own former MLB star, Matt Stairs (Fredericton, N.B.) was featured at the 2022 event.
The WCBL is the premier summer collegiate league in Canada and unlike many other summer collegiate circuits based in the United States, the WCBL showcases top Canadian as well as American talent at the collegiate level. Numerous Dawgs and WCBL alumni have gone on to be drafted and enjoy success with Major League Baseball organizations including the Dawgs own Jim Henderson of Calgary who enjoyed success pitching with the Milwaukee Brewers and the New York Mets and Andrew Kittredge who stars for the Tampa Bay Rays. Recently, former Dawgs and WCBL standout, Alejo Lopez hit his first MLB home run for the Cincinnati Reds.
In the 2022 MLB amateur draft, former Dawgs and WCBL standouts Jacob Melton and Gavin Logan were drafted in the second and ninth rounds respectively by the Houston Astros and Arizona Diamondbacks.