The move comes after the league decided to go with fully Canadian rosters for the upcoming campaign, which would have proven too difficult for the local squad to field a competitive team in such a short amount of time -- their season opener was slated for May 28 against the Medicine Hat Mavericks.
“It is what it is, I think for us we’re dealing with the provincial and federal governments and the health authorities, and one of the biggest things was having no decision with regards to American ball players being able to come up here this summer, and rightfully so for the governments,” said Miller Express president Darryl Pisio. “They don’t have a crystal ball, either, they’re going from day-to-day to try and make things the best for everyone.”
With many leagues in the United States planning to go ahead this summer, the Express felt shutting down now would give their signed players a chance to find new teams to play for well in advance of the summer campaign.
“Unfortunately for us, we just want to make sure our American players and all our players have a place to play and if there were doubts on our end we’d give them enough time to find somewhere to play,” Pisio said.
“It’s different than last year where no one was playing and we could drag it out as long as we could, but this year there are leagues that are going to make it work, so we just wanted to give an opportunity for everyone.”
Consideration was given to putting together an all-Canadian team on the quick, but finding enough college-aged players in just over two months to form a competitive crew wasn’t in the cards.
The Express weren’t the only team to feel that way, as the Swift Current 57s, Regina Red Sox, Weyburn Beavers and Brooks Bombers also suspended their seasons on Thursday, while the Fort McMurray Giants and Medicine Hat Mavericks have yet to make a decision.
“There is some opportunity in Alberta (for Canadian teams), the Lethbridges and Okotoks and Edmontons of the world have their academies and are able to make that happen for Canadian players,” Pisio said. “We felt it could be possible for us, but the problem is with no inter-provincial travel for sports and other teams not being able to make an all-Canadian roster work, there wouldn’t be much of a league in Saskatchewan to make that work.
“Then you take into account all the testing that has to be done, there’s a cost with that, and then there’s the question of what happens if one player gets COVID and things are shut down for 14 days. With our tight schedule, there’s all of a sudden 10 to 12 games that you can’t play.”
The good news is the decision shouldn’t hurt the team too much financially, at least not as badly as if a season was started with limited fans and cancelled halfway through.
“We’ll be okay, we’ll get by and our whole focus will be on the 2022 season, making more improvements to Ross Wells Park and making the whole game experience that much better for fans,” Pisio said.
“We want to thank our fans and sponsors for all their support, we think this will set us up well for next season and the many years in the future going forward as well.”
Extra innings... the Miller Express do have fundraising plans in the works, with an MLB baseball draft similar to hockey drafts run by the Moose Jaw Kinsmen in the planning stages. Be sure to follow them on Facebook for the latest updates.
