PORT ANGELES — The next Chris Davis or Matt Duffy could be swinging at 90-plus mph fastballs thrown from the mound at Civic Field next summer.

The West Coast League is close to opening a baseball franchise in Port Angeles in 2017.

“Port Angeles really comes in as one of the best markets you could be in,” Matt Acker said.

Acker would be the owner and general manager of the Port Angeles team.

He is intimately familiar with the West Coast League. He is on the board of directors and is the owner and general manager of the league’s Kitsap BlueJackets. He also was the BlueJackets’ head coach from 2005-2011.

Acker says the importance of tourism in Port Angeles as well as its location and the city’s blue-collar industries, such as timber, combine to make it such a good fit for the league.

The wood bat league, which currently has 11 teams, gives college players the chance to continue to play during the offseason while receiving professional instruction.

Basically, it helps college players with professional potential keep up with those already drafted players who spend summers working their way through the minor league system.

“Kids who go off to college to play, they need to stay at the same level as their counterparts,” Acker said.

And many do end up on Major League Baseball rosters.

In 2015, there were 25 former West Coast League players who appeared on big league teams, including Davis, a slugger for the Baltimore Orioles, and Duffy, the San Francisco Giants infielder who finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.

Other former West Coast Leaguers include Mariners pitcher James Paxton and New York Yankees outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury.

Former North Olympic Peninsula high school baseball standouts such as Landon Cray, Eric Lane and Chad Wagner played in the league.

Port Angeles Parks and Recreation Director Corey Delikat has been leading the city’s side of the process.

That includes meetings in Port Angeles last week with Acker that included Mayor Patrick Downie and Jim Swanson, one of the owners of the league’s Victoria HarbourCats.

Wilder Baseball, a Senior Babe Ruth baseball team based in Port Angeles, also has been involved.

“Overall, everybody would be totally excited to have the West Coast League come to Port Angeles,” Delikat said.

“It’s kind of an exciting thing that could happen to a community.

“Baseball has a huge history in Port Angeles. It’s at a down-peak, but I think it’s time for it to come back.”

The unnamed Port Angeles franchise isn’t a done deal yet, though.

Delikat said the idea still needs to be officially brought before the parks commission. That will happened at its next meeting, which Acker will attend, Thursday, May 19.

There also has to be more discussions regarding a facility-use contract for Civic Field between Acker and the city. That contract would then need to be approved by the city council.

“There’s a few more steps, but I feel very confident that this is going to take place,” Delikat said.

Acker said he would need to know by the end of May if Port Angeles is on board. Delikat said that with the way everything is lining up, that shouldn’t be a problem.

“I don’t think there is anything that could hamper them being here,” Delikat said.

One thing that doesn’t appear to be the obstacle Delikat and Acker anticipated is getting approval to sell alcohol at Civic Field.

“I thought it might be, but I don’t think so far we’ve had anybody had even blink an eye,” Delikat said.

The city also has been mindful of Wilder Baseball throughout the process.

“We just want to make sure that a team that’s been here since 1979 doesn’t feel like it’s being kicked to the curb,” Delikat said.

“From all the conversations with Matt, he just wants to make sure that [the teams] coexist.”

Wilder coach Mike Politika said he would like to see the West Coast League come to Port Angeles.

“Well, I think we’re on board with the concept, for sure,” Politika said.

“I think it would be good for the community to have a high-level team come in, sort of a pro baseball team.

“The big challenge for us is dialling in the schedule right now.”

The West Coast League plays 64 games over 70 days from the beginning of June to the beginning of August. That means the Port Angeles team will have more than 30 home dates at Civic Field.

Wilder only plays between 10 and 20 homes games in the summer, so the main potential scheduling conflict is practice time for the two teams.

“’Can it work?’ was the main question,” Wilder coach Mike Politika said, “and the main response was, ‘Let’s see if it can.’

“We’ll put it on paper and see how it all plays out. Hopefully, in the end, something will work out.”

Acker is no stranger to scheduling multiple teams on one field.

He is the president of the Puget Sound Collegiate League in Lacey, where six teams play on one field. And the BlueJackets share the field at Kitsap County Fairgrounds in Bremerton, which, like Civic Field, has a grass surface, with three other teams.

It hasn’t been discussed yet, but Acker said there should be time for the Olympic Crosscutters, the North Olympic Peninsula’s second-year American Legion team, to also use Civic Field.

Acker’s background is in training young baseball players — he owns PSCL Baseball LCC and MACK Athletics, which create curriculums for teaching baseball — and he wants to bring more baseball opportunities to the Peninsula.

That includes making his team’s coaches and players available to help teach fundamentals to Wilder players and others.

He also wants to work with area businesses to set up camps and leagues for younger players to participate in following the conclusions of their current leagues’ seasons.

For instance, at the end of the Cal Ripken League season, a small fraction move on to play on all-star teams. That leaves a large majority without a baseball team for the remainder of the summer.

“People are worried we’re going to take kids out of Cal Ripken,” Acker said.

“No, no, no. Your season is over. We’ll keep it going.”

Acker also hopes to make the game cheaper for kids, with corporate sponsorships and using his contacts to purchase gear at a cheaper price.

“I’m just so worried about baseball becoming a country club sport,” Acker said.

“Instead of complain about it, I’ve come up with a model.”

For Port Angeles’ West Coast League team, Acker has a model he wants to follow: the Walla Walla Sweets, one of the league’s 11 franchises.

Like the Sweets, Acker wants to put in a storefront in downtown Port Angeles to sell team merchandise.

He also wants have a team name that identifies with Port Angeles and come up with a logo that will be associated with the city.

Walla Walla has done this and sold more than 9,000 hats, Acker said, and he has seen those hats throughout the Pacific Northwest.

“They’re really marketing the town,” Acker said.

“For whatever reason, there’s 9,000 hats, and I would say 90 percent of them didn’t go to a Walla Walla Sweets game.

“I want to form that kind of partnership with [Port Angeles] where we can help market the town.”

Acker said the team could boost tourism, bringing other teams and their fans to Port Angeles.

For instance, Acker said the Victoria HarbourCats are thrilled at the idea of a rivalry with Port Angeles. Hence Swanson’s attendance at last week’s meetings.

“They are so excited about it, it’s almost scary,” Acker said.

For Downie, the tourism boost is great, but the most important aspect of a West Coast League team is what it could bring to Port Angeles.

“I don’t consider this baseball team playing in the summer to be just a visitor thing,” Downie said.

“They could become part of the fabric of our community.”

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Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.