The Brooks Bombers have a popular catch in Zander Bretza.
The Santa Ana, California native and avid fisherman burst onto the Western Canadian Baseball League scene in 2023, where he hit .303 in 55 games with six home runs and 38 runs batted in.
He also made four appearances out of the bullpen, picking up one save and striking out five to go along with a 3.86 earned-run average as he was named to the WCBL All-Star Game.
Bretza then suited up for the University of Nevada Las Vegas, where he didn’t pick up a bat but made seven more relief appearances.
The 6-foot, 170-pound utilityman has entered the transfer portal, hoping to find a school that likes what it sees out of his performance this summer in the WCBL, where he’s hitting .364 with six homers and 16 RBI in 20 games.
He was a guest on a recent episode of Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast, leading to our latest installment of 7th Inning Stretch.
1. Let’s start by talking about that wild, wind-fuelled 31-26 game against Lethbridge. What was it like being a part of something crazy like that?
Man, like you always hear that baseball is a crazy game. You never know what you’re going to see out there. That was definitely something I’ve never seen before. It was definitely wild.
2. What was it like being in the dugout while you’re watching this all unfold?
It was kind of back-and-forth and back-and-forth. It was a long game, so we were kind of like, “Dang, two hours have gone by and we’re only in the second inning” it felt like. It was definitely back-and-forth the whole game. We were down by double-digits I believe at one point. I know most teams that I’ve been on, they would just throw in the towel and wouldn’t have had as much life as our team had. So I’m glad to see that this team can really fight and not give up.
3. Looking at the season as a whole, how happy are you with your performance?
I’m feeling pretty great. Back at school, I was a pitcher only so I came out here hoping to do something like I did last year. I hit pretty well last year and I think I put up 70 hits last summer in this league and I’m looking to do something pretty similar this summer. Coming off a season where I was just a pitcher, I feel like I’m doing pretty well out here.
4. You’re coming off an All-Star season in Brooks. Did you have any goals or expectations of yourself coming into this summer?
Of course, I’m going to have high expectations but, at the same time, I didn’t know what it would be like coming off a year of not seeing live pitching and all that. But I put in the grind upstairs, in the batting cages and all that, I had coaches come in and throw to me at school in my off-time. It’s obviously working and I’m starting to see it pay off.
5. As someone who is born and raised in California, did it take you by surprise to see the baseball scene as it is in Western Canada?
When I was coming up to the border, I actually drove up with my teammate Evan (Leibl). I texted him on Twitter and I was like, “Hey dude, you’re on my team, I see you live about 20 minutes away from me and was wondering if you wanted to drive up to Canada with me.” So we met that morning, drove up together, took two days and when we got to the border, they stopped us and the lady working there was just so confused about two guys from southern California who just met like two days ago and they’re coming out to play baseball in Brooks, Alberta. She just couldn’t put it together, so it was kind of funny.
I mean, this town loves sports and they don’t get baseball year-round. Hockey is out here. The host families billet hockey and then right after that, baseball comes in for the next couple of months and then they get their hockey players back. It’s fun to be a part of.
6. If you weren’t playing baseball, what would you likely be pursuing?
Probably fishing. I would probably be fishing on a collegiate team somewhere. Back home, I help run fishing charters for bluefin tuna. A lot of my time that I’m not on the field or in the gym, I’m out fishing.
7. What’s your go-to piece of advice or those words of wisdom you like to pass along to young ball players just starting out on their journeys?
Don’t take the little things for granted and I think a big one is don’t get too down on yourself. Never get too high and never get too low. I’ve heard that many times and I feel like sometimes you might overlook it but now looking back, I wish I could relive some of the cool moments that I’ve had in the past.
Awesome interview.