When the Barrie Baycats hit the field next spring, it will be an entirely new ballgame.
The Intercounty Baseball League is changing its name after transitioning to a fully professional league.
The new Canadian Baseball League (CBL) will tee off in 2026, with each team playing a 48-game regular season, an increase of six games from this year.
An additional week has been added to the end of the season to accommodate the expansion, while the first round of the playoffs will be eliminated. That means only five teams will qualify for the postseason, and the fourth and fifth seeds will compete for a spot in the semi-finals. Both the semis and finals will now be best-of-seven series.
“For the IBL to go Pro, it allows the league to work together to grow the footprint of baseball in not only Ontario but Canada,” Baycats president Josh Matlow said in a statement.
“There are some great people behind this and a part of this league that are going to help guide this league into the next chapter of Canadian Baseball and I am honoured to be a part of it.”
