From On Field To Executive Decisions, Hamilton Cardinals GM Jeff Lounsbury Has Been There, Done That

With COVID-19 we are in the same situation as many. We have no idea if we will have a 2020 season. The IBL has played in over 100 seasons and played through WW2. We are hopeful for a modified 2020 season starting July 1 and are planning such but we will take our direction from health officials, city staff and Baseball Ontario.

My biggest responsibility is player acquisitions.

The IBL is such a unique league and there are many different player pools that you have to navigate each year. We are the best amateur league in Canada so we have college-age players and we are competing with college wood-bat leagues, we are allowed 4 imports so you are competing with independent pro leagues and then we have geographical issues within our league and you're competing within Ontario for the best players that have finished playing pro and wish to continue or guys who have just finished college.

Overseeing baseball operations at the park, ordering equipment making sure coaches and players have what they need every day and communicate these things with ownership while staying within budget. This past summer was very difficult since I was fighting Stage 3 Colon Cancer and was having treatments during the season but my Assistant GM Larry Wood did an outstanding job with game-day operations and picking up my slack.

Well, like most Canadians involved with sports at this level in Canada we are doing this for the love of the game and we have to navigate full-time jobs and families. Thus passion for the game and commitment to your team, players and owners are key. I spend much of my time working on depth charts and looking at transactions from other leagues, following players at college, following recruiting websites where players send out there resumes. There has been such an increase in these types of tools.

Watch YouTube videos of players and sending out emails to potential players that I think might fit here in Hamilton, Ontario and find out what their plans are for the summer. I am constantly looking at those charts and moving names around. I spent 20 years coaching one of the most successful Canadian University teams and it's exactly how I recruited back then.

The Hamilton Cardinals team ownership was calling it quits and the team was going to fold. A group of persons were working with Hamilton politicians and business people to see if they could save the team and find new ownership.

The first season in Hamilton in 2018. The team almost folds and was in last place in 2017 (9-27). We are starting from scratch and we are starting late. We go 15-21 move up to 6th place and win our first round of playoffs in 15 years. It was unbelievable seeing how excited the players were jumping all over each other. I tried to explain how difficult it is in this league to improve that much in one season and I knew we were onto something. Now, managing those expectations in year 2 is the challenge.

I think we did a great job moving up 3rd place winning 20 games for the first time in anyone’s memory and winning another round of playoffs. I think we were in a great position to take the next step but now with COVID-19 as we know, everyone’s priorities have changed and we have no idea what lies in store for 2020.

In Canada, how lucky you are if you're getting paid. Unpaid internships are everywhere. You do have to put some time in and learn but there are only so many GM jobs in MLB/NHL/NFL etc… So, you better have the passion to stick it out and be ready to move around.

Relationships are huge. I encourage everyone to know Alex Anthopoulos’ story or Kyle Dubas, GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Andrew Tinnish, Assistant GM of Toronto Blue Jays. What those guys did and where they came from, it did not just happen overnight.

1. Passion: you have to have passion for the sport/team/city/players/ownership that you get involved in. You are selling yourself and everyone you represent. If you're faking it, people will know.
2. Listen: You can learn something from anyone and everyone. You can learn from there experiences and use them to navigate your own similar experience someday.
3. Confidence: you will be wrong, you will screw up, you will make mistakes and you have to be humble enough to recognize them, learn from them, take responsibility for them and then have the confidence to move forward and continue to do your best.

Is time travel a superpower? [laughs]

I would love the chance to re-do some mistakes or say something to an athlete to help them more, or even to enjoy the moments I was having and did not realize it. When I knew I was retiring from Brock, those last 2 seasons were some of the most fun I had ever had at the park.

I also knew I missed being in uniform and helping young athletes which makes my return to OUA baseball as an assistant coach at Wilfred Laurier University so rewarding. And finally, going through cancer last year and seeing my wife Mary helping me get to the park, knowing that being there, was the best thing for my mental self.

Baseball has given me far more than I could ever give it.

Find what you love, and stick with it.