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Victoria HarbourCats GM Holly Jones quits baseball club for personal reasons

Victoria HarbourCats general manager Holly Jones, who was named 2013 West Coast League executive of the year, has left the team. The reason cited by the club was that Jones wished to return to her home and family in Oregon.
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After just one season, Holly Jones has stepped down as general manager of the HarbourCats.

Victoria HarbourCats general manager Holly Jones, who was named 2013 West Coast League executive of the year, has left the team.

The reason cited by the club was that Jones wished to return to her home and family in Oregon.

She was the first female to be named WCL executive of the year in the nine-year history of the league.

Jones headed the off-field operations for the baseball club, which was second in league attendance behind only Bend, Ore., with a 1,437 per-game average in its inaugural season at Royal Athletic Park.

Not counted in that total was the single-game league attendance record of 4,210 for the 2013 WCL all-star game held at Royal Athletic.

“Holly left an incredible stamp on the team and community and laid the foundation for the future,” said HarbourCats owner John McLean.

“She will be sorely missed.”

McLean said he expects to name a replacement for Jones by mid-November.

Jones could not be reached for comment.

Field manager Dennis Rogers handled the baseball-related operations for the HarbourCats in the first season. The status of Rogers for 2014 and the rest of the coaching staff will also be announced in mid-November, said McLean.

The WCL is an amateur summer league for top U.S. collegiate NCAA players. A total of 57 players who played in the WCL were selected in the 2013 MLB draft. As an indication of the alumni list some WCL teams have, 2007 Kelowna Falcons pitcher James Paxton made his MLB debut for the Seattle Mariners last month, while 2005 Falcons slugger Chris Davis is now a star with the Baltimore Orioles.

McLean said the HarbourCats have not been idle since the inaugural season ended.

“We have three-quarters of our roster for 2014 already signed,” he said.

“Word got out to the various colleges that the first summer in Victoria was tremendous, and that has really helped in our recruiting.”

The HarbourCats were 22-32 in 2013.

“The emphasis for 2014 will be on-field and to assemble the kind of talent that will push for a playoff berth,” said McLean, who is a Vancouver private equity investor.

cdheensaw@timescolonist.com