Stadium Journey's Intercounty Baseball League Rankings 2025
- Dave Cottenie
- Sep 16
- 7 min read
The Intercounty Baseball League has grown in popularity since returning after the COVID shutdown. In 2025, they reported their third consecutive single-season attendance record with over 218,000 fans attending IBL games in the nine franchises. The IBL was founded in 1919 and features former MLB players, former professional minor league players, and NCAA athletes. There have been rumours in 2025 that the league will soon expand to ten teams.
In 2025, the Welland Jackfish dominated the regular season, compiling a 31-11 record and earning the regular season pennant. The Jackfish also boasted the welcoming of over 51,000 fans to Welland Stadium in 2025, averaging 2,450 per game. The Jackfish completed the trifecta with a convincing 4-1 series win over the Barrie Baycats to take the Dominico Cup as IBL Champions. Evan Morrison of the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers led the league in hitting with a sizzling .422 batting average. Jordan Castaldo of the Toronto Maple Leafs led the league with 12 home runs, and Christian Ortega of the Brantford Red Sox led with 42 RBIs. Owen Boon of the Hamilton Cardinals led the league with a 1.80 ERA, and Frank Garces of the Barrie Baycats tallied 116 strikeouts.
In 2025, Stadium Journey provided updated reviews for the London Majors and Hamilton Cardinals. The IBL rankings at Stadium Journey are based on the FANFARE metric used on the website, where writers assess the baseball experience based on the categories of Food, Atmosphere, Neighbourhood, Fans, Access, Return on Investment, and any extras that the writers experienced. The stakes are high, with an average grading of 3.14 being earned out of a possible perfect 5.0.
This list is an opinion, and may not be in agreement for all. Please let Stadium Journey know your opinions on our various Social Media outlets. How is your list different from ours? What do we have right? What do we have wrong?
Without further ado, Stadium Journey is proud to present the 2025 Rankings of the Intercounty Baseball League Experiences.
Dave Cottenie - Are they ripples, or are the Welland Jackfish making waves? A relative newcomer to the over 100-year-old Intercounty Baseball League, at just five years old, the Jackfish are bringing a different approach to the league and demonstrating its potential for success. After moving to the Niagara city of Welland from Burlington in 2019, the ownership triad of Ryan Harrison, Dan Pokoradi, and Jason McKay decided to take a page out of Jesse Cole’s Savannah Bananas book and build an IBL team differently. Using the facility to their advantage, arguably the best in the league, the Jackfish have responded with success on the field (2023 Dominico Cup Champions) and success at the turnstile. The home for the Jackfish is Welland Stadium. Part of the Welland Sports Complex, Welland Stadium has been home to the affiliated Welland Pirates of the New York-Penn League as well as several independent teams. Built in 1989, the City of Welland-owned stadium provides a backdrop for baseball that is consistent with what is found in the USA for the lower-tier affiliated Minor League teams. Nicknamed The Pond, Welland Stadium helps provide the Welland Jackfish with the best atmosphere in the IBL.
Dave Cottenie - Labatt Memorial Park in London, Ontario has the distinction of being the World’s Oldest Baseball Grounds. After a bit of an administrative battle with Guiness, the ballpark on the Thames River has had its status confirmed and is now in the Guiness Book of World Records. Tecumseh Park was built in 1877 for the London Tecumsehs, both named after Sawnee Chief Tecumseh. In 1877, the Tecumsehs played the Boston Red Stockings in London, who would go on to become the Boston Braves, and eventually the Atlanta Braves. After a major flood in 1936, Labatt Brewing donated $10,000 to renovate the park and acts as a memorial to the founder, originally John Labatt Memorial Athletic Park, which is why the Labatt name remains and has not been changed to the current parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev. The London Majors were founded in 1925 as the London Braves and found time over the years as the London Winery, London Silverwoods, London Army Team, London Diamonds, London Pontiacs, London Avcos, London E-Morocco Majors before settling permanently on the London Majors in 1975. The Majors are currently owned by Scott Dart and Roop Chanderdat and boast 14 IBL Championships, the most recent in 2022. Former Major League legends Denny McLain and Ferguson Jenkins pulled on a Majors uniform and took the field for a time.
Dave Cottenie - With the 2023 Intercounty Baseball League season, the Hamilton Cardinals began a new era. The purchase of the team by Eric Spearin and his group brought forth a ton of changes. First and foremost, the identity of the team saw a punch of the reset button with a new, modern logo, which strayed from the traditional St. Louis Cardinals type logo and embraced some of the local lore. The new hammer-wielding cardinal was not the only change. A new focus on the fan experience and promotions thrust the team out of the traditional “1919” era (the year that the league was formed). In 2025, the Cardinals also made a splash, signing 48-year-old, former Major League closer, Fernando Rodney. The Cardinals have come a long way since their original Hamilton Beaver days. The team was also known as the Red Wings, Marlins, Real McCoys, and Thunderbirds. Home for the Cardinals is CARSTAR Field @ Bernie Arbour Memorial Stadium. Bernie Arbour Stadium, the common reference for the home of the Cardinals, opened in 1970 and was a former home to Minor League Baseball with the Single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals calling Hamilton home from 1988 to 1992. The team was known as the Hamilton Redbirds and played in the New York-Penn League.
Dave Cottenie - Taking the field for the first time in 1861 as the Guelph Maple Leafs, and can trace some ownership back to Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame member George Sleeman. Sleeman also founded Silver Creek Brewery, which was reincorporated by his grandson to become Sleeman Brewery, an iconic cornerstone in Guelph. In 1919, after a brief hiatus, the Maple Leafs would join the newly founded Intercounty Baseball League with Kitchener, Galt, and Stratford, and go on to win the first three league championships. After a few name changes, Guelph would settle on the Royals moniker in 1965. The Royals are currently owned by Shawn Fuller and boast nine league championships. The home of the Guelph Royals is currently David E. Hastings Stadium. Located at Exhibition Park, Guelph has played at this particular location since 1925. The current Hastings stadium has been refurbished numerous times, with the current grandstand opening in 1987.
Dave Cottenie - The city of Brantford, Ontario, is known for hockey and telephones. The home of both Wayne Gretzky and Alexander Graham Bell also boasts some baseball acumen. The Brantford Red Sox of the Intercounty Baseball League are not only the oldest team in the league, but they are also the most decorated. The Red Sox, which share the same name and look as the more famous Major League team, were founded in 1911, a few years before the beginning of the IBL. They would join the league in its third year in 1921. The Red Sox have been a staple in the Brantford community ever since and have rewarded their fans with fifteen league championships, including a record six in a row.
Dave Cottenie - On January 11, 2022, Toronto lost Jack Dominico after 82 years of life. Jack was a mainstay at Christie Pits, home of his beloved Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs were founded in 1969 by Dominico and Alan Stanley. Eventually, the team would be taken over by Jack and his wife, Lynne. The founding of the Maple Leafs was in response to the Toronto Maple Leafs of Minor League Baseball relocating to Louisville, Kentucky. Jack was the driving force behind the Maple Leafs, a truly unique experience in big city Toronto, which is a mainstay at Christie Pits Park. The ball club is a community team that does not sell tickets. It is free for fans to walk up and stay for a while. Sundays at 2 o’clock at Christie Pits was Jack’s time. The impact of Dominico on both the Leafs and the amateur Intercounty Baseball League is so significant that the field at Christie Pits bears his name, as does the league’s championship trophy.
Dave Cottenie - The Kitchener Panthers are one of the founding franchises in the Intercounty Baseball League, which services Southern Ontario. An amateur baseball league featuring collegiate and former professional baseball players, the Intercounty League has shown surprising staying power among the changing landscape of baseball in Canada. Kitchener originally began as the Panthers and played as the Legionnaires and Dutchmen before reverting to the Panthers as the moniker in 1960. Home for the Panthers is Jack Couch Baseball Park. Although not the flashiest of IBL stadiums, it has served its purpose since 1967 and sits on the grounds of the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex. The park is named after Jack Couch, who was involved with Kitchener baseball for over 40 years.
Dave Cottenie - On the doorstep of Ontario’s Cottage Country, the City of Barrie lays claim to the seven-time Intercounty Baseball League Champion, Barrie Baycats. An expansion team in 2001, the Baycats stormed the IBL and dominated, winning six championships in a row from 2014 to 2019. Relatively young compared to the majority of clubs in the Ontario amateur baseball league, the team has fit right in with the rest of the teams and remains competitive in its twentieth season as part of the league. The home for the Cats is located just outside of the city limits of Barrie in the town of Minesing at the Barrie Community Sports Complex. Athletic Kulture Stadium is part of the complex and is a fairly simple stadium.
Dave Cottenie - Chatham, Ontario, is the home of Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins. Arguably the greatest Canadian baseball player ever, Jenkins’ mark on his hometown is significant. His link to Chatham baseball is even deeper as his father played for the 1934 Chatham Coloured All-Stars, which became the first black baseball team to win the Ontario baseball championship. In 2024, baseball in Chatham kicked it up a notch with its entry into the Intercounty Baseball League; the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers. The name Barnstormers harkens back to the days of Babe Ruth, when the off-season of Major League Baseball saw the biggest stars go on “barnstorming” tours, bringing baseball to smaller towns throughout the country. Owned by Dom Dinelle and Matt Nahdee, the team has enjoyed success on and off the field in its first season.
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