On the morning show today, the player-manager with the Cobourg’s men’s fastball team joined us to talk about their season so far, and the trip to Wisconsin coming up later this summer.
Shane Taylor, the player-manager for the Cobourg Dirt Road Co. fastball team said that they played against 14 teams over in Ingersoll, for the ISC East tournament earlier this month. The team was one of six that qualified to move on to the ISC World Fastball Championships. That will take place from August 10 to 18 in Denmark, Wisconsin.
Since they formed in 2015, fastball is still trying to take off in the Cobourg region.
“On the league wise, around this area, it’s not that great. The Cobourg town league where we are, it hasn’t been around for well over 10 years. The other league that we were just playing [at] in Peterborough, it folded,” said Taylor.
Compared to traditional baseball, instead of nine innings, Taylor and his teammates play seven. A big difference is the distance from the pitcher’s mound to home plate. Where major league baseball plays at a distance of 60ft from the pitcher’s mound, in fastball it is 45ft.
The Cobourg team pays in six tournaments a year, including in Grafton, Cobourg and Oswego, New York.
They played last year at the ISC World Tournament when it was held in Kitchener.
Looking ahead to August, he said they just need to keep moving.
“The way I kind of explain to some people is if you play recreational baseball, the highest level of recreational baseball, or amateur baseball…. you’re never going to play against anybody that plays for the Toronto Blue Jays, especially that year.” With fastball you get a team, you qualify for this world tournament, your playing against literally the best players in the world. Guys that are representing team Canada, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand. You are literally playing against the best players, pitchers, hitters in the world. So it’s kind of a cool experience.” he said.
Here is our full interview,
