| Ottawa Titans | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| Information | |||||
| League | Frontier League (East Division) | ||||
| Location | Ottawa, Ontario | ||||
| Ballpark | Ottawa Stadium | ||||
| Founded | 2020 | ||||
| Colours | Red, white, black | ||||
| Mascot | Cappy | ||||
| Playoff berths |
| ||||
| Ownership | Sam Katz, OSEG, Jacques J.M. Shore | ||||
| Manager | Bobby Brown | ||||
| General Manager | Martin Boyce | ||||
| President | Regan Katz | ||||
| Media | Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Sun, Global News, Radio-Canada, Le Droit, CKDJ-FM, Unique FM, TSN1200 | ||||
| Website | ottawatitans | ||||
The Ottawa Titans Baseball Club (French: Les Titans d'Ottawa) are a professional baseball team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Titans made their debut as a member of the MLB Partner Frontier League in 2020. Since their inaugural season, they play their home games at Ottawa Stadium.
History
After the 2019 season, the Can-Am League merged with the Frontier League and five of the six teams remaining in it joined the latter league. The Champions were not invited to take part, but it was not immediately clear if they would fold or go on hiatus as owner Miles Wolff, the former Can-Am League commissioner, looked to sell the team. He could not find a buyer, however, and the team folded operations. Eventually, the Frontier League decided to expand to Ottawa anyway, announcing in September 2020 that the league would be granting a franchise to a group led by Sam Katz, the former mayor of Winnipeg and owner of the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, and Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, who owns the Ottawa 67’s junior hockey team and the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League; the league considers this to be an expansion team and not to have any connection to the Champions.[1][2][3]
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.[4] In December 2020, Ottawa announced the team name as Ottawa Titans a result of a name-the-team contest,[4][5] and the team colours in the tradition of Ottawa sports franchises such as the Ottawa Redblacks, Ottawa 67's, and Ottawa Senators.[5]
On April 22, 2021, the Frontier League announced that Ottawa (along with the Trois-Rivières Aigles) would not compete in the 2021 season due to the 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 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.
In October 2021, Bobby Brown was hired as the Titans manager for the 2022 season, after Steve Brook, on a one-year contract, became the Gateway Grizzlies manager.[6] The Titans played their first home game on May 24, 2022, against the Evansville Otters in front of a crowd of 3,458.[7] On June 11, 2022, outfielder Jacob Sanford tied the Frontier League record with 10 RBI in a single game in a 13–0 victory over the Empire State Greys.[8] On September 3, 2022, the Titans clinched a playoff spot.[9] In the wild card game, the Titans defeated the New York Boulders 8-2 to advance to the divisional round against their rival Québec Capitales. However, they lost to the Capitales 2 games to 1 in the divisional round. [10] In their first season in Ottawa, the Titans averaged 1,211 fans per game for a total of 61,727 in 51 home games.
In the 2023 season, the Titans failed to make the playoffs.
Season-by-season records
| Ottawa Titans | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | W–L Record | Win % | Finish | Playoffs |
| 2022 | 56–39 | .589 | 3rd in East | Won East Division Wild Card Game over New York Boulders 8-2 Lost Divisional Round to Québec Capitales 2-1 |
| 2023 | 48–48 | .500 | 6th in East | Did not qualify |
Attendance
| Season | Home Games | Total | Average | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 51 | 61,727 | 1,211 | [11] |
| 2023 | 51 | 81,343 | 1,540 | [12] |
Ottawa Stadium
Since 2022, the Titans play their home games at the 10,332-seat Ottawa Stadium just east of downtown Ottawa.[13] Ottawa Stadium has a pedestrian bridge to get to the ballpark using OC Transpo's light rail system. The pedestrian bridge crosses over Highway 417 to connect the ballpark to the Transit Way and is named in honour of the late Canadian broadcaster Max Keeping.
Broadcasting and stadium entertainment
Titans games can be heard on CKDJ-FM in english and UNIK-FM, and all season games are available via the FloSports website. The play-by-play broadcasters are Davide Disipio in english, and Mikael Lafleur in french. At many home games, the fans are entertained both outside and inside Ottawa Stadium with myriad entertainers – live music, giveaways and promotions. Between innings, the entertainment varies with on-field contests with their mascot Cappy, youth games, t-shirt giveaways, promotions and many more.
Current roster
| Active roster | Coaches/Other | |||
|
Pitchers
Utility players
|
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||
References
- ↑ "Frontier League Welcomes Ottawa for 2021 Season". frontierleague.com (Press release). Frontier League. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
- ↑ Reichard, Kevin (25 September 2020). "Frontier League returns to Ottawa in 2021". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
- ↑ Baines, Tim (23 September 2020). "PLAY BALL! Sam Katz confident baseball will be a hit in Ottawa when it returns next year". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
- 1 2 "Decorated Manager Brook Hired to Lead Ottawa". frontierleague.com (Press release). Frontier League. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- 1 2 Baines, Tim (3 December 2020). "REMEMBER THE TITANS: Ottawa's new pro baseball team gets a name". Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ↑ "TITANS HIRE MANAGER: Bobby Brown takes charge for 2022 Frontier League season". Ottawa Sun. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
- ↑ Warren, Ken (24 May 2022). "Ottawa Titans finally take the field in franchise opener as Grills burns Evansville". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ↑ Colley, Mark (12 June 2022). "Sanford ties Frontier League RBI record in Titans' ninth straight win". Capital Current. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- ↑ Disipio, Davide. "Titans clinch playoff berth with victory over Capitales | Ottawa Titans Baseball Club". Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ↑ "Westcott pitches a gem as Titans advance to Frontier League East final". ottawasun. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ↑ "Frontier League". Frontier League. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ↑ "2023 Season Attendance". Frontier League. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
- ↑ "The Ottawa Stadium - Community Visioning". Engage Ottawa. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
