Majors’ 2024 schedule released
The London Majors will play a 42-game schedule in 2024. Friday night home games remain the highlight, as well as Father’s Day and Canada Day festivities. Meanwhile, the Chatham-Kent Barnstomers make their IBL debut.
(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).
* * *
It’s not going to reduce the chill outside, but it might warm a few hearts to know the exact date the London Majors will take the field for the 2024 Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) season.
The Majors open up the 105th IBL season – and the 99th season in the Forest City – on Sunday, May 12, with a visit to Christie Pits to face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs, league officials announced on Wednesday.
The local Boys of Summer return to Labatt Park for the home opener on Friday, May 17, against the defending champion Welland Jackfish. It looks like the Forks of the Thames will be the place to be for summer holidays this season, with Majors home games set for: Father’s Day, June 16, against the Hamilton Cardinals; Canada Day, July 1, against the Barrie Baycats; and Civic Holiday, Aug. 5, against the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers.
That’s no accident, league officials said, as they have strategically arranged the schedule for 93% of its games to occur from Thursday to Monday, including holiday Mondays, thereby significantly reducing the number of games on notoriously low-draw Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
To that point, London plays only three games outside that window, all on a Tuesday.
In 2024, each team will play a 42-game schedule. With Chatham-Kent debuting, the league introduces an unbalanced schedule, where teams will play against each other either five or six times, differing from the even matchups of previous years. The schedule will reverse in the 2025 season.
For example, London plays the Barnstormers six times in the new franchise’s debut season, including the Majors’ first-ever matchup and visit to Fergie Jenkins Field on Tuesday, May 21.
The IBL All-Star Game is set for July 20 in Welland.
To view the full schedule, visit the London Majors website.
There are some familiar faces, but there’s a sense of renewal in London as the Lightning embark on a new season. With a new coach and several new players, is a new era upon us? What to expect in 2024-25 …