The Vancouver Canadians had the hottest ticket in town this weekend.
For a record number of games during the C's final home stand of the 2011 season, the baseball club sold-out Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium. Attendance was at capacity with 5,157 spectators in the stands.
A first in franchise history, the single-A C's sold out eight consecutive games-a record that smashes the former benchmark of three successive sell-outs in 2009.
"It is really exciting to be around there these days," said George Bowering, a writer, literary critic and perhaps the unofficial poet laureate of baseball in Vancouver who has attended games at the Nat for decades.
Call the atmosphere electric. It's the accolade of choice, according to Alex Anthopoulos, general manager with the Blue Jays, the Canadians Major League affiliate.
"Every person that's come through here from our operation is just jaw-dropping, raving about the atmosphere, the fans," he said Sunday. "Electric is the word I always hear. It's a great place to be."
In an effort to return the Toronto club to prominence across the country, the Blue Jays are in their first year of a partnership with the Canadians.
"I love the fact that our players get a chance to experience Canada here," Anthopoulos told reporters before the home team lost 6-4 to the Tri-City Dust Devils. "Talking to some of the players who have been through here, I see how excited they are about the experience."
The Jays' GM heaped praise on the C's owners Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney and the club's president Andy Dunn.
The C's were in a position to sweep the Dust Devils in five games, but squandered a 4-2 lead in the final two innings Sunday afternoon.
The sell-out home stand caps off a season that saw more fans attend regular season games than ever before. Attendance in 2011 hit more than 162,000, an increase of nearly 8,000 individual ticket sales that surpassed the high-water mark established only last year. In 2010 an attendance record was set at 154,592.
"We are extremely proud to be able to call this one of the toughest tickets in town," said Canadians general manager Jason Takefman in a prepared statement.
A dedicated and enamoured student of the sport known as the gentleman's game, Vancouver's Bowering hasn't been swept into the love affair with the Blue Jays, as has much of the city's baseball fans.
He says higher scores, more hitting and entertaining home runs are features of the C's crowd-pleasing offense that's developing in partnership with Canada's only Major League team, "The Toronto Blue. whatever they are. Jays-is that it?"
"I'd rather have a National League team, but I guess it's OK," conceded the playful wordsmith. "It seems like they're really committed and they wanted to see something happen here."
Bowering, a writer, literary critic and officer of the Order of Canada who can be found at Nat Bailey in his seat above third base, heckling, cat calling and analyzing, said the team has changed drastically.
In Saturday's 9-4 win over the Dust Devils, Bowering was hit in the side of the head with an errant, ricocheting foul ball.
With a right-handed batter at the plate, Bowering knew chances were slim any foul ball would drive so hard to the left. Plus, the batter wore Bowering's favourite No. 27. "I thought that was a good omen," he said.
The foul ball flew into the stands and bounced off concrete to hit Bowering in the ear with no harm or damage caused.
An exciting day at the ballpark. Bowering kept the ball.
The C's finish the season on the road in Boise, Idaho.
With files from Postmedia News.
Twitter: @MHStewart
