It’s opening day across Major League Baseball and there are four former Kelowna Falcons that will appear on rosters.

Lefthander James Paxton (pictured) appears on his fourth Major League opening day roster as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Back in 2007 the “Big Maple” appeared in 11 games for the Falcons fanning 62 batters over the course of 70.1 innings and collected a 2.74 ERA.

Connor Joe is on the Pittsburgh Pirates opening day roster for the second consecutive season. He has spent time with the Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies in his Major League career. He was a Falcon just out of high school in 2011 hitting .273 with our ballclub and had six RBIs.

The only former Falcon to win a World Series ring has been righthander Phil Maton who begins a new chapter in his MLB career as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays after spending several winning seasons with the Houston Astros. In 2012 Maton made 11 appearances with the Falcons striking out 42 batters in 39.1 innings.

In 2014 righty Riley O’Brien made one appearance for our ballclub. We can still call him one of our own, now appearing on the St. Louis Cardinals opening day roster after a tremendous spring training allowing just one run and recorded a save over his 10 innings of work.

We are just over two months away from opening our 2024 season. Circle your calendar for May 31st as we open the new campaign at Elks Stadium when the Nanaimo NightOwls come to town. Book your summer office parties at the ballpark and let us take care of everything for you! Email Alex Draper at adraper29@shaw.ca to book your date.