Josh Kabayama has seen it all with the Lethbridge Bulls.
He helped the club claim the Western Canadian Baseball League championship during the COVID-abbreviated 2021 season which was his first with the hometown team.
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound outfielder has also seen the team miss the playoffs in 2022 and get swept by the Sylvan Lake Gulls in 2023.
Returning for his fourth summer, Kabayama has one goal in mind: finish his WCBL career the way it started with the Harry Hallis Trophy in hand.
He’s coming off a great spring at Mount Olive University, where he hit .307 with 32 runs batted in and 10 stolen bases in 40 games for the Trojoans.
The son of former Medicine Hat Tigers forward Matt Kabayama is off to a stellar start with the Bulls this summer, sporting a .327 batting average to go along with seven RBI and five stolen bases.
He joined us recently for an episode of Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast, where we talked about something he hadn’t seen until this season: a 57-run game where the Bulls outlasted the Brooks Bombers 31-26 on June 4.
1. What was it like being in the dugout for that game in Brooks with the wind blowing and that short porch at Elks Field?
It’s just something that doesn’t happen. You’re kind of in the moment, looking around at the other guys and you almost have to laugh at some point when there’s literally three zeroes on the board and anything that’s hit in the air seems to be leaving the ballpark. It was just a crazy game.
2. Being an outfielder, how tough was it to see almost every baseball hit go over your head?
Usually, I really enjoy that part of the game. Tracking down the ball, getting my jumps. I feel like that’s where I excel out on the field. It almost felt like I was a little bit helpless. It just goes up then all of a sudden, you’re turning your neck. I mean, I didn’t really think there was much our pitchers and guys could do. It was really just a matter of if the other guys could get underneath one, it would just go. So, it was a crazy game. Those runs scored just doesn’t really happen unless something crazy like that is going on. Especially because they already have a small ballpark to begin with. You almost feel like you’re on an island and it was so windy and so cold. There really wasn’t much you could do.
3. What was the vibe in the dugout while you’re all watching this game unfold?
It was definitely quite strange. We had a few new faces that just joined us. That was their first game. Our leadoff guy Tyler (Monroe) and our four-hole guy there, Ryan David, both of them, I don’t think they really knew what to expect going in. None of us did, actually, for that game. So it was a nice welcome to the WCBL for them. We had to tell them that not every game is like this. It was a lot of laughs. Guys had fun, but at the same time, it kind of gets to a point where you’re wondering how many runs are going to get scored in this game and is this ever going to end? We did all have fun and we are a close, tight-knit group so, at the end of the day, the vibes are high all the time.
4. How are you feeling about your performance so far this season?
Going into this summer, I’ve played here for four years. The group of guys here, we’ve all kinda been together, we all kinda grew up together playing ball. It’s really just about having fun. Considering this might be my last summer playing ball, so I’m honestly just going to soak it all in and have fun all summer. The results are one thing, but it’d be really cool to go out on a high note with us finding a way to win this thing. I’m just excited. I just have fun with this group. It’s a great group, great coaching staff. We’re just going to have fun all summer and hope that we end up on the right end every game. Hopefully I continue to play well and help my team win. But in the end, it’s really just about having fun.
5. You’re a Lethbridge guy and played at Prairie Baseball Academy for a couple of seasons as well. What did that program mean to you as a player and as a human being?
It means a lot. I’ve played under Coach (Todd) Hubka ever since I was 12. I grew up with his kids. He’s been amazing to me. That whole coaching staff has been amazing to me. That program has taught me a lot. I grew up a lot while I was there. I really wasn’t planning on staying there as long as I did. But with COVID, I did stay for my two college years and I think that probably was the best thing for me, to be honest with you. I grew immensely and, you know what, not just on the ball field and physically. They taught me a lot so I’m really happy with my time there and those people there are great people.
6. What’s your walk-up tune right now?
I have kind of bounced around. When I was 16 playing with the junior varsity college guys, they made fun of me. I can’t even remember what my walk-up was initially. It was some Drake song and they didn’t like it at all. So one game, we had our guys in the PA booth playing tunes and they turned on “Man I Feel Like A Woman” by Shania Twain for me.
I think I proceeded to go 3-for-4 with two doubles in that game, so I was like “okay, we’re going to run with this” and I think I rocked that for probably four years. And now, I’ve kind of bounced around. I think I have a Kanye song right now or something. But yeah, that will forever be my favourite walk-up I ever had.
7. What would it mean to you to bring a championship back to Lethbridge?
The 2021 year was my first year and that was a lot of fun. It was basically an all-Canadian league because of COVID it was a little bit of a mess. Winning that thing was awesome. I would gladly win another one here hopefully with the guys. As I said, we’re all really close and really tight-knit. We all play together, we’re all bought in and we have a lot of fun. I would love to have another championship here in Lethbridge. I know the fans and everybody in Lethbridge would be backing us so hopefully we can make that happen.
