Joel Dinda / CC
The Moncton Fisher Cats’ home opener will see them take the field against the Chatham Ironmen on Sunday afternoon.
Head Coach Greg Hickox says there will be even more excitement this year with a return to five teams.
“Last year, we played the same two teams for almost the entire summer until the end when Chatham came back for the playoffs,” he says. “We missed going to Fredericton on Friday nights. It was kind of a good trip because you don’t work the next day.”
Teams from Moncton, Fredericton, Chatham, Saint John and Charlottetown will fill the rosters this season.
“Depth is the word that is going to best describe this version of the Fisher Cats this season. We’ve had some people come back that had played for us years gone by and we’ve really got a great number of arms. So this year, we’ll have a great number of people in the bullpen as well as the starters,” Hickox says.
Forty-three year old Mike Ivey is one of several returning players. He’ll be back behind the plate this season, but Hickox says he is a great help in the dugout as well.
Hickox was named Head Coach for the team in March, but he is no stranger to the world of baseball.
“I was a player starting in 1989 and this will be my 33rd year of Senior baseball,” he says.
The previous Head Coach, Patrick Tardif, resigned in January.
Last year, the Fisher Cats fell just short of a Championship win, losing in game seven to the Charlottetown Islanders.
“We were really disappointed last year, and we really want to make an effort to win it all this year, that’s for sure,” Hickox stressed.
Fans are expected to pack Kiwanis Park starting at 2pm on Sunday, as the Fisher Cats load the bases.
“It’ll be a different opening day starter than we’ve had in some years,” she says. “Chris Leger will be the opening day starter and there will be a lot of new faces, so we’re hoping the crowd will enjoy the new talent that we have on the field.”
