Cochrane Minor Ball has been hitting it out of the park when it comes to popularity among Cochrane youth.

Over 200 more ball players are hitting the diamonds since 2015 and while the 'Blue Jays Bump" has played a big part in its growing popularity, Paul Vaillancourt, vice-president of the Cochrane Minor Ball Association, believes there are several other good reasons.

In 2015, registration for minor ball was 284. That exploded to 403 the next season, a 43 per cent climb. This year it climbed another 18 per cent and now stands at 476.

"Pretty much all associations in Canada saw a big increase from 2015 to 2016  and that was because of the success of the Blue Jays. We call that the 'Blue Jays Bump'," says Vaillancourt..

But the reasons go beyond this; you might call the 'Academic Curve'.

"I know Canada's a hockey nation, but a young kid playing sports in Canada has a much greater of percentage of pursing his academic career and getting a scholarship by playing baseball or football than playing hockey. There's a lot of football schools and baseball schools, not only in Canada but in the the US as well. So I think that word is getting out."

And then there's the addictive natural of the game and its attributes as a sport

"It's such a thinking game, such a mental game, and that's what I like about it. It's a complementary to guys playing hockey or football or basketball or any other individual sport as well. I'm just a big fan of baseball. it's fun to be outside during the summer months as well."

With this growth there's a growing pressure on local diamonds but Vaillancourt says the town has been working to address the needs of minor ball. While there are a number of diamonds in town, many were simply not properly equipped to facilitate minor ball.

"We do have constraints with diamonds, obviously, but we're working really well with the Town of Cochrane, now, better than ever, to ensure that that are diamonds have fencing, have dug outs, the proper base anchors, the proper distance pitching plates, that whole thing. There's been a closer collaboration. We got organized and and we've lobbied the town and they've reacted positively to that."

 Cochrane offersa full range of options for players, everything from developmental games like tee-ball and coach pitch totheir Cochrane Crush travelling teams.

There are seven travelling teams, each carrying 12 players: national, major, three intermediate teams and both a junior and senior team.

While diamond conditions continue to improve, there is always room to dream for more.

"Our objective would be to get a quad diamond and then you can host tournaments and be a fun place for the community to meet," says Vaillancourt. "We've started talking to the town about that and I think they're very receptive."