After 25 years of owning the Kelowna Falcons, the passion and exuberance of baseball should be seeping through Dan Nonis' veins.
Except those adjectives would be better described for his wife, Karen.
"I didn't know a thing about baseball, but my wife loved the sport," Nonis told 乌鸦传媒 about his decision to purchase the beleaguered team in 2000. "I was told they owed everyone money, and it wasn't a good decision, but I did it anyway."
Previously named the Kelowna Grizzlies, the team was founded in 1993 and was a member of the Pacific International League. In 1998, financial difficulties led the team to shutter operations. It took until 2000 for the franchise to be revived, and Nonis was persuaded to be "their guardian angel" for just one summer. Now, 25 years later, and at the age of 77, he still finds himself rolling out of bed every morning and heading to Elks Stadium for work.
According to Nonis, the team loses money every year. But profit wasn't a priority; it was the drive to do good in the community that had made him a successful businessman.
"I own a lot of businesses, and this was my giveback to the community," he said. "For my wife and me, it is like a family at the ballpark."
The Falcons-- a name in which Nonis admitted he didn't know why he named it that, just that Major League Baseball teams were named after birds and he liked it-- play in the West Coast League, among squads in Oregon, B.C., Washington and Alberta. The schedule is fast and furious, with 54 games being played in just 69 days, with rosters made up of collegiate players all looking to improve their play and eventually hear their name called in the Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft.
The team has never won the WCL Championship, coming close most recently in 2018, but to Nonis, winning isn't the goal.
"It is all about development," he said. "If I can help someone get drafted, I would rather see that."
There have been 14 Falcons players who have suited up for MLB clubs, including retired star Chris Davis.
"When I had him in 2005, the (Texas) Rangers drafted him the next year and he couldn't hit a lick," laughed Nonis. "Then, the (Baltimore) Orioles traded for him, adjusted a couple of dials and all of a sudden, he was an amazing hitter."
Davis finished his MLB career with over 1,160 hits, 780 RBI, and 295 home runs. Other Falcons alumni to make the jump to the big leagues include James Paxton, Connor Joe, Andre Jackson and Phil Maton.
"When some of my players come back with their families and they introduce them to us and come way out of their way to do this," said Nonis. "To me, that is one of the top things that can happen."
Loyal fans keep coming back to games based mainly on the familial aspect the ballpark provides them, and the smiling faces of the workers around the park give them.
"The former players come back and they see my wife in the concession helping out and tell her thanks," said Nonis. "They tell her and me that if it wasn't for the opportunity to play, they wouldn't have met their wife or friends in this community."
