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By Lloyd Mackey
RETIRED Baptist pastor Peter McRaild now volunteers some of his leisure time as
chaplain to the new local ‘Boys of Summer’ – the Victoria Seals.
In that role, he can be found most Sunday afternoons, pre-game, at the Royal
Athletic Park, leading about 20 players from both the home and visiting
baseball teams in a short chapel service.
In his introductory session with the players, back in May, he talked about Eric
Liddell, the athlete immortalized in Chariots of Fire . Liddell used to say: “God made me fast. When I run, I feel his pleasure.”
His point, as a way of encouraging the players, was to help them feel God’s delight when they play baseball well.
McRaild came into his chaplaincy role through an international ministry,
Baseball Chapel, which is recognized in both major and minor leagues. The
organization oversees a total of more than 500 chaplains throughout pro ball.
The chaplains, as far as possible, try to work with players, coaches, managers,
spouses, umpires and ballpark staff.
The Baseball Chapel recruitment was directed to him through both Victoria
churches where he had previously pastored: Westside Bible and Gateway Baptist.
Chaplains have a role in helping players deal with issues like transfers and
trades – which, especially in a minor league, can be upsetting, particularly when they
require uprooting family. And chaplains help by simply encouraging players to
do well, using their gifts for the game.
McRaild has been getting to know other chaplains in the league via e-mail and,
in some cases, by phone consultation.
That is significant, he said, “because we do chapels that include the away team. The chaplain for one team does
not travel with the team.” In effect, the chaplain for the home team ‘pinch-hits’ for the visitors, in the encouragement and pastoral care role.
Royal Athletic Park has been the site of professional baseball off and on since
1946.
Baseball’s “golden era” at the park was the 1946-54 run of the New York Yankee-owned franchise known as
the Victoria Athletics. Attempts to return pro ball in the next 40 years were
periodic and short-lived. The Mussels and Blues operated in the late 70s, in
the Northwest League. The Capitals came in 2003, leading the Canadian Baseball
League in attendance with an average of over 1,000 fans per game. They died
with the demise of the league mid-way through the 2004 season. Some later
semi-pro experiments met a similar fate.
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Then came the October 2, 2008 headline in the Times-Colonist : ‘Boys of summer are back.’ It was announced that the Victoria Seals would begin play in the Golden
Baseball League this past May. Some of the other teams in the Golden League are
from Edmonton, Los Angeles, Yuma, Reno and Tucson.
The Seals are owned by Russ Parker and his son, Darren. The elder Parker owned
the Triple A Pacific Coast League Calgary Cannons from 1985 to 2001. He has
also owned a couple of professional hockey teams over time.
McRaild usually meets pre-game with Darren. “He has been very encouraging,” the chaplain said.
The Golden League is unaffiliated – which means the teams are not farm units of major league franchises. But there
are still opportunities for player advancement. Scouts from higher level
leagues are around town, and watching for talent.
Crowds at Seals games have been averaging 2,500, with 3,500 turning out on
Father’s Day. After doing his pre-game chapel stint that day, McRaild took his grandson
and son-in-law to the game. It turned out to be a bit of a thriller for his
grandson, with the home team turning in a game-ending grand slam home run.
McRaild is hoping that an end-of-season team barbecue in late August will take
place at Gateway Baptist, if tentative arrangements work out.
September 2009
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