Information update + Seb Boucher retirement
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← Previous revision | Revision as of 01:55, 2 May 2024 |
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| In December of 2020, following a name-the-team contest that saw over 1,200 entries and 700 unique names, the Ottawa Titans were born. The league considers this to be an expansion team and not to have any connection to the Champions. | In December of 2020, following a name-the-team contest that saw over 1,200 entries and 700 unique names, the Ottawa Titans were born. The league considers this to be an expansion team and not to have any connection to the Champions. |
| On October 6, 2020, Ottawa announced Steve Brook as the team's inaugural manager. Brook previously managed the [[River City Rascals]] in the [[Frontier League]] from 2010 to 2019. He led the Rascals to a 488–373 record over his nine seasons at the helm including the 2010 and 2019 championships. In December 2020, Ottawa announced the team name as Ottawa Titans a result of a name-the-team contest, and the team colours in the tradition of Ottawa sports franchises such as the [[Ottawa Redblacks]], [[Ottawa 67's]], and [[Ottawa Senators]].<ref name="Baines-team-name">{{cite news |last1=Baines |first1=Tim |title=REMEMBER THE TITANS: Ottawa's new pro baseball team gets a name |url=https://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/...name/wcm/43a3a739-60dc-458f-89ff-d044597eff6a |access-date=3 December 2020 |work=[[Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune]] |date=3 December 2020}}</ref> | On October 6, 2020, Ottawa announced Steve Brook as the team's inaugural manager. Brook previously managed the [[River City Rascals]] in the [[Frontier League]] from 2010 to 2019. He led the Rascals to a 488–373 record over his nine seasons at the helm including the 2010 and 2019 championships. In December 2020, Ottawa announced the team name as Ottawa Titans a result of a name-the-team contest, and the team colours in the tradition of Ottawa sports franchises such as the [[Ottawa Redblacks]], [[Ottawa 67's]], and [[Ottawa Senators]]. |
| On April 22, 2021, the Frontier League announced that Ottawa (along with the [[Trois-Rivières Aigles (Frontier League)|Trois-Rivières Aigles]]) would not compete in the 2021 season due to the [[Canada–United States border#21st century|prolonged closure of the Canada–United States border]] as a result of the ongoing [[COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa]]. Canadian players signed by the Titans and the Aigles had the opportunity to join the [[Québec Capitales]], who started the season as a [[Traveling team|travelling team]], known as ''Équipe Québec'' (playing exclusively in the U.S.). While non-Canadian players signed by the Titans and the Aigles were subject to a dispersal draft among the 13 U.S.–based teams. They started the season as a traveling team, and as of July 30, 2021, they have played a total of 21 home games including 10 at [[Stade Canac]], and 11 at [[Stade Quillorama]]. On July 30, Équipe Québec hosted the [[New York Boulders]] at Stade Canac and won the game 10–8 in front of a full house of 2,800 spectators, the maximum number allowed during sanitary measures. A full reset was done by the front office to immediately shift focus to the 2022 season. | |
| The continued closure of the [[Canada–United States border]] resulted in pushing the Titans’ first game to the 2022 season. Ottawa, Québec, and Trois-Rivières were replaced on the 2021 schedule by ''Équipe Québec''. Équipe Québec used the Canadian players from the Capitales, Aigles, and Titans to craft the base of their roster and spent the first half of the season on the road, before returning to Canada in late July. Équipe Québec split home games between [[Stade Canac]] in Quebec City and [[Stade Quillorama]] in Trois-Rivières. | |
| On July 30, 2021, Équipe Québec hosted the [[New York Boulders]] at Stade Canac and won the game 10–8 in front of a full house of 2,800 spectators, the maximum number allowed during sanitary measures. On September 12, 2021, Équipe Québec qualified for the playoffs. They faced the [[Washington Wild Things]] in the semi-finals and lost 4–0 in Game #5. The crowd of 3,751 gathered at Stade Canac during game #3 represented more than 900 spectators than the number allowed due to sanitary measures. Équipe Québec finished the season with a record of 52 wins and 44 losses with an average of 2,238 fans in 24 home games, including the playoffs. | On September 12, 2021, Équipe Québec qualified for the playoffs, and they faced the [[Washington Wild Things]] in the divisional round but lost 4–0 in game 5. The crowd of 3,750 gathered at Stade Canac during game 3 represented more than 900 people than the number allowed due to sanitary measures. Équipe Québec finished the season with a record of 52 wins and 44 losses with an average of 2,329 fans in 24 home games, including the playoffs. |
| In October 2021, Bobby Brown was hired as the Titans manager for the [[2022 Frontier League season|2022 season]], after Steve Brook, on a one-year contract, became the [[Gateway Grizzlies]] manager. | In October 2021, Bobby Brown was hired as the Titans manager for the [[2022 Frontier League season|2022 season]], after Steve Brook, on a one-year contract, became the [[Gateway Grizzlies]] manager. |
| The wait lasted 598 days before professional baseball in Canada’s Capital returned with a Titans decisive 10-6 road victory over the [[Joliet Slammers]] on May 13. With a season-high nine games on the road out of the way to begin the season, the team returned home for their much-anticipated home opener on May 24. Led by local standout Evan Grills’ eight innings of scoreless baseball, the Titans put a bow on the opening day festivities with a 2-0 victory over the [[Evansville Otters]] in front of a crowd of 3,458. Grills also posted a single-season high 15 strikeouts in the win. | |
| The Titans surged up the standings in the first half of the season, winning 23 of their first 30 games. Over that stretch, the club won a season-best nine straight. | |
| Dartmouth’s Jake Sanford quickly emerged as a star on the expansion Titans by tying a league record with 10 RBIs on June 11 in a 13-0 win over the [[Empire State Greys]]. A key contributor, Sanford led the 2022 edition of the Titans with 22 home runs and 73 RBIs. | |
| At the all-star break, the Titans had cooled off a bit but posted a respectable 35-23 record. The team sent an East Division-high five representatives to contribute to an 8-1 East win over the West all-stars at the mid-summer classic on July 17 in [[Washington, Pennsylvania]]. Jake Sanford, AJ Wright, Zac Westcott, Kevin Escorcia, and Evan Grills all represented the Titans proudly with the nomination. | |
| Some tough stretches saw the Titans bow out of a playoff spot early in the month of August, but the 9-1 finish to the season managed to put the squad over the top. | |
| Over the final homestand of the season, fans came out in droves to cheer on the Titans in a playoff push. With the energy, the Titans won seven of nine during their final homestand to finish the season 56-39, including a franchise record crowd of 4,582 on Fan Appreciation Night against the [[Trois-Rivières Aigles (2013–)|Trois-Rivières Aigles]]. | |
| The Titans qualified for the postseason with a 4-1 victory over the Québec Capitales on September 2, guaranteeing themselves a berth in the Wild Card round. On the road, the Titans slugged their way to a decisive 8-2 victory to advance to the Division Series on September 7th against the [[New York Boulders]]. Despite Tyler Jandron’s complete game shutout in game one at home on September 9, the Titans bowed out of the postseason in a winner-take-all third game to the eventual champions from ''la belle province''. | |
| After an entertaining inaugural season, the Ottawa Titans returned the fun in front of record crowds during a successful second campaign. | |
| Opening Day brought a record 4,777 fans on hand for a thrilling 17-7 victory against the [[Empire State Greys]], seeing new faces and returning veterans start the season on a high note. The lopsided affair saw fan-favourite Jackie Urbaez belt the club’s first grand slam in franchise history apart of a nine-run fourth inning. Newcomer Jamey Smart made his presence felt in the capital and around the league, setting multiple career highs in his return to professional baseball. Smart slugged a team-best .334, ranking fifth in the Frontier League in the process. The [[San Ramon, California]] native product registered 37 multi-hit performances, clubbed a personal high of eight homers, and brought home a franchise record 83 RBIs. | |
| All seemed to have tapered off for the Titans after winning their series over Empire State on opening weekend as the team then lost 15 of their next 21 games to be on the outside looking in from the get-go of the season. | |
| Following a trade in early June, Sicnarf Loopstok helped the Titans get back in the playoff hunt belting a walk-off grand slam in his first Titans at-bat on June 2 against the club’s fierce rivals [[Québec Capitales]]. Loopstok went on to post a .298 average on the season with eight homers and 41 RBIs, suiting up in North America for the first time since 2019. | |
| The Titans entered the all-star break five games back of a playoff spot by posting a 25-26 record, in large part by winning five of their final eight games to end the first half of the season. Sicnarf Loopstok, Jason Dicochea, and Grant Larson all had the honour of representing the Titans at the mid-summer classic in [[Windy City (nickname)|Windy City]]. After being one of the more feared arms out of the bullpen in 2022, Larson made the jump to the rotation following several key losses, going 8-8 in 18 starts, and posting a 4.29 ERA in 121.2 innings. As for Dicochea, the utility player posted a team-best 16 home runs and drove in 63 over 92 contests. The [[Redondo Beach, California]] native had himself an all-star game to remember belting a home run and recording three RBIs. | |
| Following the break, the Titans played some of their best baseball but missed out on the Frontier League postseason. | |
| Damon Casetta-Stubbs blossomed into one of the top starters in the league, posting a career-high 109 strikeouts, ranking third in that department. The 24-year-old tossed to an ERA of just over 2.90 in his final 14 starts of the year. | |
| Although missing out on the playoffs, the Titans grew their average attendance by roughly 30% from the inaugural season. The club put a wrap on 2023 with a new record of 5,602 fans on hand for Fan Appreciation Day against the Trois-Rivières Aigles, helping the team win a franchise-best 32 home games. | |
| On April 17, 2024, the Ottawa Titans assistant general manager [[Sebastien Boucher|Sébastien Boucher]] will have his number 18 retired by the club on August 18th at Stade Canac as part of their 25th anniversary season of the Québec Capitales.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-19 |title=Boucher to be Honoured with Jersey Number Retirement by Quebec |url=https://www.ottawatitans.com/sebast...oured-with-jersey-number-retirement-by-quebec |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=www.ottawatitans.com |language=en}}</ref> | |
| Boucher ranks second all-time for the Capitales in career batting average (.319), RBI (327), and triples (12), lists third in runs scored (361) and hits (564), fourth in home runs (46) and stolen bases (89), and fifth in doubles (89). He spent six seasons with the Capitales from 2009 to 2014, helping to lead the team to five Can-"*****" League championships.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sébastien Boucher sera immortalisé |url=https://capitalesdequebec.com/sebastien-boucher-sera-immortalise/ |access-date=2024-05-02 |language=fr-FR}}</ref> | |
| One of the most prolific hitters in the history of the now-defunct Can-"*****" League, Boucher is the all-time league leader in hits (981), runs (597), and RBI (545). Boucher returned home in 2015 to suit up for the Ottawa Champions, headlined by winning his sixth league title in 2016. After retiring from playing, Boucher was named the Champions’ second manager in franchise history for the 2019 season, succeeding the [[Hal Lanier]]. | |
| Hailing from [[Gatineau]], [[Quebec]], Boucher was a seventh-round choice of the Seattle Mariners in the 2004 draft out of [[Bethune–Cookman University]] ([[Daytona Beach, Florida]]) and spent four seasons in the Seattle and Baltimore organizations, reaching as high as [[Triple-A (baseball)|Triple-A]]. He also played for Canada at the 2006 World Baseball Classic. | |
| Active in the region's baseball community, Boucher has held the Titans’ assistant GM position since the franchise's inception to the Frontier League in 2020. He also serves as the head coach at Polyvalente Nicolas-Gatineau's Sport-Études baseball program and co-owner of Gatineau's Académie de Baseball Ultime. | |
| == Rivalries == | |
| The Titans have developed strong rivalries with two Frontier League franchises, with whom they frequently shared divisions and competed in postseason play. The oldest is with the [[Québec Capitales]], who faced the Titans in the Frontier League Divisional Series (FLDS) in 2022. The Capitales won the series 2 games to 1, then won the Frontier League Championship Series (FLCS) against the [[Schaumburg Boomers]] 3 games to 1. The rivalry is due to Ottawa and Quebec City being the two largest cities of the league and two of the largest fanbases in the league. The rivalry is sometimes dramatized as being emblematic of Canada's [[English Canadian|English]] and [[French Canadian|French]] linguistic divide. The rivalry was also present in the [[Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball|Can-"*****" League]] from 2015 to 2019. | |
| The team's second biggest rival are the [[Tri-City ValleyCats]]. The rivalry is symbolic due to a total of five players being ejected in only three games, including two bench clearing brawls in one game. On August 25, 2022, Carson McCusker of the ValleyCats "*****" plumped twice by Evan Grills, which caused both benches to start clearing. Later, McCusker hit a solo home run to left field, and was mocking of the Titans catcher Tyrus Greene, which caused benches clearing once again.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Benvenuti |first=Frankie |date=2022-08-26 |title=Titans Take Down ValleyCats as Rivalry Boils |url=https://13thmansports.ca/2022/08/26/titans-take-down-valleycats-as-rivalry-boils/ |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=13th Man Sports |language=en-US}}</ref> Since then, both teams developped a strong rivalry. On July 20, 2023, infielder Jason Dicochea of the Titans hit a walk-off 2-run home run off the foul pole to give Ottawa a 9–7 win over Tri-City. As of the end of the 2023 season, Tri-City leads the regular season record 11–7. | |
| The Titans also have a small rivalry with the [[Trois-Rivières Aigles (2013–)|Trois-Rivières Aigles.]] This is due to both teams playing in the same country and the closeness of both provinces of [[Ontario]] and [[Quebec]]. Both stadiums are located within a distance of 320 kilometers, which appears to be the closest to Ottawa Stadium. | |
| == Season-by-season records == | == Season-by-season records == |
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| | BC2=#FF0000 | | BC2=#FF0000 |
| | FC2=#000 | | FC2=#000 |
| | Date=March 14, 2024 | | Date=May 1, 2024 |
| | Pitchers= | | Pitchers= |
| {{MLBplayer|22|Conor Angel}} | {{MLBplayer|22|Conor Angel}} |
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| | Catchers= | | Catchers= |
| {{MLBplayer|29|Carson Barker}} | {{MLBplayer|29|Carson Barker}} |
| {{MLBplayer|11|Mitsuki Fukuda}} | |
| | Infielders= | | Infielders= |
Okumaya devam et...