Medicine Hat Campout – Fair Trade

Some have said it’s the access to the players, while others love how close you get to the field.

Since the 1800’s, Canada has had an incredible relationship with minor league baseball.  Many future Hall of Famers got their start north of the border and during the early 1990’s, you could watch minor league baseball in ten cities across Canada.

By 1988, Toronto had two Canadian minor league affiliates (St. Catharines, Ontario and Medicine Hat, Alberta). That summer, the team in Medicine Hat were about to experience one of the worst seasons in minor league baseball history.

The team was terrible.  With a .171 winning percentage, Medicine Hat went 12-58 in the 1988 season.  Their attendance was the lowest amongst all 164 minor league teams and something needed to happen to draw fans to the ballpark.

After the teams eighth loss, the teams young General Manager decided to campout until they won.  The losing did not stop but the promotion for the team was winning.  This stunt made international headlines and was the lead story on local television, radio and newspapers.

After sixteen straight losses, Medicine Hat finally won a game!

The 1988 team sent one player to the major leagues.