The number of kids hitting baseball fields here in Moose Jaw continues to rise.

Moose Jaw Little League has seen their registration numbers jump by over 50 kids this year to about 450 for the 2017 season.

“It’s quite a big difference from last season, so it’s good to see,” said Brett Payne, president of Moose Jaw Little League. “The more kids wanting to try ball, the better.”

The numbers for Little League in Moose Jaw had been on the decline just a few years ago, but the recent run of success by the MLB’s Toronto Blue Jays – who have made back-to-back appearances in the American League Championship Series – has turned the attention back to the sport across the country.

Moose Jaw has seen that attention turn into more kids wanting to try their hand at the same sport as the likes of Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Marcus Stroman.

“The last two seasons we’ve seen an increase in numbers and they’ve happened to have good seasons in the last two too, so I’m sure it has a lot to do with it,” said Payne.

While the growth is good for Moose Jaw Little League, it doesn’t come without its challenges.

More kids playing means for more teams and more games, but also the need for more diamonds, which the city doesn’t have.

Over the weekend, a slight controversy arose due to Moose Jaw Little League having to create a waiting list for players for the upcoming season. Payne issued a statement to help clarify the situation.

“MJLL will accommodate every player no matter what you may be hearing over social media,” the statement read. “In order to accommodate the influx of kids playing ball, MJLL has already changed our policies to accommodate 12 players per team in the T-ball/Minor level instead of the recommended 8-10 as per Little Leagues Canada.”

Payne said they’ve had to look at expanding the number of teams in each league and putting together a schedule that works across the board with the number of diamonds and umpires available.

“Diamonds are the biggest thing, we just don’t seem to have enough, we try to keep set schedules for the kids, but it just doesn’t seem to work out,” said Payne. “We’re working through it.

“We’re adding an extra day into our play or we’ll another team if we have an influx of kids, or add another player to each team if we have to,” he said.

The Little League season is scheduled to get underway on May 1 if weather permits.

“It’s a pretty quick season, it’s only an 8-9 week season, so it goes by really quick,” Payne said.

Moose Jaw Little League plans to host their opening weekend event that will see every team in every division out for a game on May 6.

If you would like to become involved in Moose Jaw Little League, check out their website for more details.