It was like no other regular season before it. After losing all of 2020 due to COVID-19 – save for the ‘Legacy Classic,’ an exhibition contest to keep alive Labatt Park’s streak as the oldest continuously operating baseball grounds in the world – the London Majors returned in July 2021 for a compressed regular season, a 30-game schedule that ran for two months into early September.
And they came out on top.
By late August, the Majors had clinched the Intercounty Baseball League pennant, guaranteeing themselves the first-place bye in the playoffs. It was the third time the team had finished first in the regular season since 2008, with 2016 being the last time.
“It always feels good to win a pennant,” said manager Roop Chanderdat, who viewed the season in two halves – one before import players arrived (when the Canada-U.S. border opened up) and one after. “We started out really strong, and then we continued to play well in the second half.”
And they did it with a combination of hitting and a stellar one-two punch at the top of their starting rotation. Pitchers Owen Boon and Pedro De Los Santos dominated during the regular season. At the time of this writing, they were 1-2 in the league in ERA and strikeouts, and both had earned seven wins – which tied for most among IBL pitchers. After their star starters, it was Majors veteran Braeden Ferrington who stepped up and enjoyed a stellar season out of the bullpen.
On offense, Byron Reichstein led the way, batting over .400 for most of the year. Catcher Hayden Jaco was also a revelation – at the plate and behind the dish as the team’s starting catcher. But the offense didn’t end there. Chris McQueen, Carlos Arteaga, Adam Filmon, Keith Kandel and Austin Wilkie all had batting averages over .300 entering the final weekend of the season. And, of course, long-time veteran Cleveland Brownlee was also a force at the plate, having swatted five home runs with 18 RBIs with two games remaining on the schedule.
With first place wrapped up early, the Majors made sure to get their own import players – including pitchers Luke Kelley and Eduardo Perez – as well as Nick Carrell enough action to qualify for the playoffs. With the first-place bye, the Majors earned a trip straight to the semis (this year, a best-of-three series). At print time, their opponent was not yet known. If successful in the semis, the Majors would play a best-of-five series for the IBL championship – something the club hasn’t achieved since 1975.
In other words, they’re not satisfied simply by finishing first in the regular season …
“A pennant is great,” Chanderdat said, “but our goal is to win a championship.”
Contributions by London Majors and photos by Matt Hiscox Photography
