The Chatham Barnstormers will no longer be playing in the Intercounty Baseball League (IBL), instead, they'll compete in the Canadian Baseball League (CBL).
The IBL announced its name change on Monday, following a record-breaking season which saw nearly 250,000 people fill stands across Ontario.
“Fan interest in our League has exploded to historic levels. The quality of baseball has always been top-rate, with players drawn from across Canada, Latin America, and Japan," said CBL Commissioner Ted Kalnins.
The 2025 season saw 64 players with either MLB or Minor League Baseball experience. The most notable player would be Fernando Rodney, who pitched for 11 MLB teams over his 17-year career.
The league's name isn't the only thing that's changing. Starting in 2026, the regular season will be 48 games. This is up from the 42 games each team played in each of the last four seasons.
Only five teams will make the playoffs moving forward. The fourth and fifth place teams will play a one game playoff to see who'll advance to the semi-finals.
This change to the playoff format wouldn't have affected the Barnstormers in their first two seasons. The team finished fifth in the regular season in 2024 and fourth last season.
"The Canadian Baseball League is ready to write the next chapter in the Canadian baseball story – one that will create an even better, more engaging, more memorable experience for our players, our communities, and most of all, our fans," added Kalnins.
Additional changes will be announced in the coming weeks.
There will be some changes when it comes to viewing CBL games, though they'll continue to be live-streamed on YouTube. Moving forward, they'll now be available on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, iOS, and Android.
