Island WCL teams, CCBC's Golden Tide to be first Canadian teams outside Jays to employ Pitchcom

Photo: Victoria Golden Tide

April 3, 2024

Official Victoria Golden Tide News Release

The ownership group that oversees the two West Coast League teams on Vancouver Island -- along with the Victoria Golden Tide of the CCBC -- has added another key development tool to the programs of the Victoria HarbourCats and Nanaimo NightOwls.

The teams will become the first Canadian baseball teams aside from the MLB Toronto Blue Jays to employ the PitchCom system, a one-way device which allows the catcher to communicate signals to the pitcher without any concern of having those signals picked up by the other team.

PitchCom is the standard in this new technology area, used exclusively at the MLB level.

This move aligns with other leading technology that the HarbourCats, NightOwls and Golden Tide have employed ahead of other peer programs -- including digital-broadcast quality streaming game coverage, and AI and other aspects for platforms led by online director Chris Beveridge. The Golden Tide will be the first to use PitchCom, as the CCBC regular season started last weekend.

“The mandate of our programs is to develop players in a winning environment, and we are developing more players for the pro level than any other Island sports teams,” said Jim Swanson, a former coach and scout who oversees the programs, noting that five MLB players have been produced from nine seasons of HarbourCats baseball in the WCL.

“Everything we do is geared to preparing our exceptional college players for entry into the professional level — our coaching and front office personnel are dedicated to providing the pathway to those pro opportunities. We are proud to partner with PitchCom to help our catchers and pitchers in particular get ready for the technology at the pro level.”