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2009 OSBA Tournament PREVIEW
The OSBA tournament is going into its 6th year and has featured 31 different teams from 8 different leagues across Ontario.
In OSBA tournament history, 129 total games have been played in the past 5 years to produce 4 champions.
Past Champions:
2004 - York Diamond Jacks (then known as Richmond Hill Phoenix)
2005 – Clarington Cubs (then known as Durham Chiefs)
2006 – Burlington Bulls
2007 – Brooklin/Whitby Stars
2008 – Burlington Bulls
Though down to 8 teams for the first time in history, this is arguably the deepest tournament ever with all 4 past champions returning (and also the 4 teams with the highest winning percentages in tournament history (Bulls(.857) , Brooklin/Whitby(.833), Cubs(.806) and D-Jacks(.738). Joining them are the two first place teams in other associations (Barrie Red Sox in NDBL and Brampton Royals in NDBL) The Mississauga Jays and Oshawa Talons round out the field of 8.
Here’s how the ’09 edition of the tournament stacks up
DIVISION A
Brooklin/Whitby Stars
League: None, but made up of mostly OSBA players
Years in Tournament: 2007-2008
Overall Tournament Record: 10-2 (5-1 Round Robin, 5-1 Playoffs)
Biggest Tournament Accomplishment: Winning Tournament in 2007 and placing as Finalist in 2008
How They’ve Done vs Teams in Tournament: 1-1 vs Bulls, 2-0 vs D-Jacks, 1-0 vs Talons, 1-0 vs Cubs, 1-0 vs Royals
How 2009 has gone so far: The two primary OSBA teams that make up this tournament team are having strong regular season. The Brooklin Dodgers are in first place in the Eastern Conference with a 8-3-1 record and the Whiby Chiefs are in 3rd place with a 6-3-1 record.
The Brooklin/Whitby Stars always draw upon a good talent field and should be considered one of the favourites this year as well. Coach Steve Smith has been in the tournament finals every year since 2005 with 2 wins (one with Clarington, one with Brooklin/Whitby)
Oshawa Talons
League: OSBA
Years in Tournament: 2004-2008
Overall Tournament Record: 8-10 (8-7 Round Robin, 0-3 Playoffs)
How They’ve Done vs Teams in Tournament: 1-0 vs Bulls. 0-2 vs Cubs. 0-3 vs D-Jacks. 0-1 vs Brooklin/Whitby
Biggest Tournament Accomplishment: In 2005 they went 3-0 in round robin before losing to the Dodgers in the semi finals.
How 2009 has gone so far: 5-4-1 in OSBA. 4th place in East division.
The Talons are one of 2 teams to have appeared in every single OSBA tournament. They have playoff appearance in 2005, 2007 and 2008 losing to the Dodgers in 2005 semi’s, Cubs in 2007 quarter finals and D-Jacks in 2008 quarter finals. They are a team built around pitching and have a lot of tournament experience.
Barrie Red Sox
League: NDBL
Years in Tournament: none
How 2009 has gone so far: 7-3 and in first place of NDBL – East Senior Division.
The Red Sox, coached by OSBA’s Barrie Brewers coach Gary Charters, will be a solid addition to the 2009 tournament. They compete in the very strong North Dufferin Baseball League and could be a strong contender for the 2009 OSBA Tournament championship
Mississauga Jays
League: MSBL
Years in Tournament : 2005 and 2007, 2008 (2005 as Christie Pitts Jays)
Overall Tournament Record: 4-7 (3-6 Round Robin. 1-1 Playoffs)
Biggest Tournament Accomplishment: Made it to the semi-finals of the 2007 tournament by beating the Brampton Cardinals in their quarter final game.
How They’ve Done vs Teams in Tournament: 0-2 vs Bulls, 0-1 vs Cub, 0-1 vs D-Jacks
How 2009 has gone so far: The team is in 3rd place in the MSBL with a 5-4 record.
The Jays had a good run in 2007 making it to the finals, but followed that up with an 0-3 record in 2008. They will be looking to get back to their 2007 winning ways.
DIVISION B
Burlington Bulls
League: OSBA
Years in Tournament: 2005-2008
Overall Tournament Record: 18-3 (11-1 Round Robin, 7-2 playoffs)
Biggest Tournament Accomplishment: Winning Tournament in 2006 and 2008..
How They’ve Done vs Teams in Tournament: 2-0 vs Jays. 1-0 vs D-Jacks, 1-1 vs Brooklin/Whitby. 1-1 vs Clarington Cubs, 0-1 vs Talons,
How 2009 has gone so far: 10-1-1 regular season record.
The Bulls have been one of most consistent teams in the OSBA tournament since 2005. They have appeared in the finals every single year, winning against Clarington in 2006 (after losing to them in 2005) and winning against Brooklin/Whitby in last years finals (after losing to them in 2007). The Bulls have always been a very successful tournament team with wins in the 2007 and 2008 NCBL tournament, as well as the 2007 Brooklin/Whitby Invitational.
Brampton Royals
League: BMRBL
Years in Tournament: 2004, 2006-2007
Overall Tournament Record: 1-8 (1-8 Round Robin, 0-0 playoffs)
Biggest Tournament Accomplishment: Beat the Peterborough Lynx in 2006 for their only tournament win.
How They’ve Done vs Teams in Tournament: 0-1 vs Bulls, 0-1 vs Brooklin/Whitby, 0-1 vs D-Jacks
How 2009 has gone so far: Playing in Tier “A’ of the BMRBL the Royals are 8-2 and in first place.
The Royals enter into their 4th OSBA Tournament hoping for their first playoff appearance. Bolstered by some new faces and a strong regular season, they hope this will be the year.
Clarington Cubs
League: OSBA
Years in Tournament: 2005-2008
Overall Tournament Record: 14-3-1 (11-0-1 Round Robin. 3-3 Playoffs)
Biggest Tournament Accomplishment: Winning the 2005 Tournament Championship
How They’ve Done vs Teams in Tournament: 2-0 vs Talons. 2-1 vs D-Jacks. 1-1 vs Bulls. 1-0 vs Miss. Jays
How 2009 has gone for far: Regular season 3-11-2
The Clarington Cubs are third in overall tournament winning percentage. They have made the playoffs in each of their 4 OSBA tournament appearances. Despite a poor regular season record this perennial team always seems to find a way to win when it counts.
York Diamond Jacks
Years in Tournament: 2004-2008
Overall Tournament Record: 14-5-1 (11-3-1 Round Robin. 4-2 Playoffs)
League: OSBA
Biggest Tournament Accomplishment: Have made the playoffs in 3 of 5 years and in 2004 became the first ever tournament championship.
How They’ve Done vs Teams in Tournament: 3-0 vs Talons, 1-2 vs Cubs, 1-0 vs Jays, 0-1 vs Bulls, 0-2 vs Brooklin/Whitby
How 2009 has gone so far: 4-5-1 in OSBA. 5th place in Eastern Division.
The Diamond Jacks are one of 2 teams to have appeared in every single OSBA tournament. They are 4th all time in winning percentage and always a strong tournament team with good pitching depth and strong bats,
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