Moose Jaw Diamond Dogs

The Moose Jaw Diamond Dogs were the first professional baseball team in Moose Jaw, SK in over seven decades. They joined the Prairie League in 1995 and went 44-28 under Mike Brocki. Two teams in the American Division had better marks but Moose Jaw had the top mark in the Canadian Division. They fell in the playoffs to the Regina Cyclones 2 games to 1. 3B Shawn Wooten and OF Brian Cornelius (.403, 20 HR, 23 SB, .666 slugging) made the league All-Star team while player-manager Brocki just lost the batting race to Cornelius; Brocki hit .402 and stole 33 bases.

The next year was a repeat - they won the first half and second half flags in the North Division with a 50-29 total record, but again dropped 2 of 3 in the opening round of the playoffs. The team drew 76,696 fans, more than double any other franchise. Darryl Robinson was the manager and the club included All-Stars at catcher (Kevin Schula - .325, .547 slugging), third base (Randy Kapano - .310, .757 slugging), relief pitcher (Mike Toney - 2-0, a league-high 17 saves, 2.95) and outfield (Cornelius, who won the MVP award with a .388 season with a .638 slugging. He finished second in the batting race.)

Things were much worse in the team's final year - attendance fell to 14,428. Scotty Douglas's team went 16-20 in the first half, third in the four-team north, and then started the second half 0-5. When the team did not pay the players, they refused to go on a 10-game road trip and the franchise folded. Cornelius again made the All-Star team after spending the second half with the Saskatoon Stallions.

Sources: 1996-1998 Baseball Almanacs