Ottawa Titans

Last updated

Ottawa Titans
Ottawa Titans logo.svg Ottawa Titans logo OT letter lockup.svg
Team logoCap insignia
Information
League Frontier League  (East Division)
Location Ottawa, Ontario
Ballpark Ottawa Stadium
Founded2020
ColoursRed, white, black
   
MascotCappy
Playoff berths
1
2022
Ownership Sam Katz, OSEG, Jacques J.M. Shore
ManagerBobby Brown
General ManagerMartin Boyce
PresidentRegan Katz
Media Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa Sun
CTV News
Le Droit
Radio-Canada
Sportsnet
TSN
TSN 1200
TVA Sports
RDS
Sports Illustrated
CKDJ-FM
FloSports
Website ottawatitans.com

The Ottawa Titans (French: Les Titans d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Titans Baseball Club (French: Club de baseball des Titans d'Ottawa) are a professional baseball team based in Ottawa. They compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the East Division. Since 2022, the Titans have played their home games at Ottawa Stadium, originally known as RCGT Park. The Titans mascot is Cappy.

Contents

Founded in 2020, the Titans played their inaugural season in 2022 due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario. They became the city's seventh professional baseball franchise succeeding the Eastern League's Ottawa Wanderers, the International League's Ottawa Giants, Ottawa Athletics and Ottawa Lynx, the Intercounty Baseball League's Ottawa Fat Cats, as well as the Can-Am League's Ottawa Rapidz and Ottawa Champions. The franchise is one of the expansion teams of the FL, following their merger with the Can-Am League in October 2019.

The Titans have made it to the playoffs in their inaugural season in 2022, but lost to the eventual champions, the Québec Capitales 2 games to 1 in the divisional series.

History

In September 2020, the ownership group led by former Winnipeg Mayor and the American Association's Winnipeg Goldeyes, Sam Katz, Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (who owns the Canadian Football League's Ottawa Redblacks and the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League), along with local lawyer Jacques J.M. Shore struck a deal with the city of Ottawa to bring the Frontier League and Titans to Ottawa for the 2021 season.

In December of 2020, following a name-the-team contest that saw over 1,200 entries and 700 unique names, the Ottawa Titans were born. The league considers this to be an expansion team and not to have any connection to the Champions.

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. In December 2020, Ottawa announced the team name as Ottawa Titans a result of a name-the-team contest, and the team colours in the tradition of Ottawa sports franchises such as the Ottawa Redblacks, Ottawa 67's, and Ottawa Senators. [1]

The continued closure of the Canada–United States border resulted in pushing the Titans’ first game to the 2022 season. Ottawa, Québec, and Trois-Rivières were replaced on the 2021 schedule by Équipe Québec. Équipe Québec used the Canadian players from the Capitales, Aigles, and Titans to craft the base of their roster and spent the first half of the season on the road, before returning to Canada in late July. Équipe Québec split home games between Stade Canac in Quebec City and Stade Quillorama in Trois-Rivières.

On July 30, 2021, 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. On September 12, 2021, Équipe Québec qualified for the playoffs. They faced the Washington Wild Things in the semi-finals and lost 4–0 in Game #5. The crowd of 3,751 gathered at Stade Canac during game #3 represented more than 900 spectators than the number allowed due to sanitary measures. Équipe Québec finished the season with a record of 52 wins and 44 losses with an average of 2,238 fans in 24 home games, including the playoffs.

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.

Season-by-season records

Ottawa Titans
SeasonW–L RecordWin %FinishPlayoffs
2022 56–39.5893rd in EastWon East Division Wild Card Game over New York Boulders 8-2
Lost Divisional Round to Québec Capitales 2-1
2023 48–48.5006th in EastDid not qualify

Ottawa Stadium

Ottawa Stadium during a Titans game OttawaBaseballPlayoff.jpg
Ottawa Stadium during a Titans game

Since 2022, the Titans play their home games at the 10,332-seat Ottawa Stadium just east of downtown Ottawa. 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, 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 (FloSports only). At many home games, the fans are entertained both outside and inside Ottawa Stadium with myriad entertainers – live music, DJs, 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 rosterCoaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 36 Chris Burica ‡
  • -- Damon Casetta-Stubbs ‡
  • 34 Matt Dallas
  • 30 Shane Gray
  • -- Evan Grills ‡
  • 35 McLain Harris
  • 14 Tyler Jandron
  • 40 Melvin Jimenez ‡
  • 20 Brelyn Jones
  • 51 Grant Larson
  • 44 Bryan Peña
  • 47 Erasmo Pinales
  • 32 Scott Prins
  • 38 Arlison Rodriguez ‡
  • 28 Matt Voelker
  •  4 Brooks Walton
  •  5 Kyle White


Utility players

  • 16 Michael Fuhrman
  • 12 Taylor Wright
 

Catchers

  • -- Erasmo Caballero ‡
  • 33 Victor Cerny
  • -- Sicnarf Loopstok ‡
  • 17 Yushin Ohta

Infielders

  •  2 Jason Dicochea
  • 13 Christian Ibarra
  • 41 Jamey Smart
  •  1 Jackie Urbaez
  •  7 AJ Wright

Outfielders

  • 15 Jake Guenther
  •  9 Jake Sanford
 

Manager

  • 25 Bobby Brown

Coaches

  •  8 Tom Carcione (pitching)
  • -- David Peterson (assistant)
  •    Spencer Segriff (clubhouse manager)
  •    Landon Veenstra (trainer)

Injury icon 2.svg Disabled list
‡ Inactive list
§ Suspended list

 updated May 29, 2024
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References

  1. 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.