Josh Tucker is the founder of a new club in the Western Canadian Baseball League.
The Sylvan Lake Gulls pitcher already had his named etched in the summer circuit’s history books after an outstanding 2022 season, where he set the regular season record for strikeouts with 91.
He put an exclamation point on his brilliant WCBL career by notching his 300th career (regular season and playoffs) punchout three years later in an 8-0 victory over the Lethbridge Bulls to open up the 2025 playoffs.
Admittedly, it was something the Spokane, Washington native knew might be coming, but he wasn’t focused on it in the moment.
“In that game, I was only thinking about winning,” Tucker told Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast.
“I didn’t really worry about the number – it’s cool but, in a playoff game, you can’t think about it.”
He finished the year with 311 to set a new standard across the WCBL during a senior season filled with highs and lows for the hurler and his team.
EARLY AND OFTEN
Tucker arrived in Sylvan Lake with an instant bang.
Making the start against the Lethbridge Bulls on May 27, 2022, the left-hander struck out both Tyler Vivier and Nick Gravel before getting Roger Riley to ground out to end a flawless first inning.
He finished the game with 10 K’s in seven innings of work as the Gulls came away with an 11-8 victory.
Tucker hit double digits in strikeouts five times during the season en route to setting the single-season mark while being named the WCBL Pitcher of the Year as he amassed a 6-0 record and 2.23 earned run average in 10 appearances.
He followed that up with another outstanding season in 2023, going 4-4 with a 3.05 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 10 games, losing out on his second WCBL Pitcher of the Year award to teammate Tyler Boudreau.
While his strikeout numbers weren’t eye-popping in 2024, he still racked up 38 in nine starts to go along with a 3-3 record and 1.51 ERA.
Those, along with his 42 strikeouts in five postseason games, had him paying attention to his totals heading into this past summer.
CLOSING IN ON HISTORY
With 241 strikeouts under his belt, Tucker says he knew it might be close heading into the season.
Battling through some early injuries, it wasn’t until after a July 18 start against Fort McMurray where he sat down 12 batters that it came back to his mind.
“My billet came up to me and said, ‘You know you’re like 26 strikeouts away from 300, right?’” Tucker said. “Then I started doing the math in my head and got thinking about when I might be able to get it.”
He put a good dent towards the milestone in his next start, which also happened against the Giants on July 27, picking up another 14.
Against Lethbridge on August 1st, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound lefthander inched closer with another eight strikeouts.
Getting the start in the best-of-three first-round series opener against the Lethbridge Bulls, Tucker needed just four strikeouts to reach the target.
And as he had time and time again during his illustrious career, it all started right off the hop when he got leadoff hitter and regular season batting champ Bernie Socarros to chase a third strike.
In the second inning, Tucker got Stevyn Andrachick and J.C. Spinosa out on strikes, then it was just a matter of time before he would find his 300th strikeout victim.
Tucker found him with Jack Kalisky in the third inning, throwing a 2-2 breaking ball that froze the Bulls star.
From there, Tucker and the Gulls cruised to the aforementioned 8-0 and eventual series sweep of Lethbridge.
TAMING THE DAWGS
More important to Tucker than the record and the milestone was finally getting Sylvan Lake to the WCBL championship.
For the previous three seasons, the Okotoks Dawgs had their way with the Gulls, beating them in the West Division finals en route to three-peating as league champions.
When the Dawgs swept the Brooks Bombers in their opening-round match-up, it set the stage for a fourth-straight dance between the two rivals.
For Tucker, he wanted to wipe his own slate clean against the southern counterparts.
As the ace of the pitching staff, Tucker was called upon in big moments against the Dawgs, only to have things unravel on him.
“Year one (2022), I kind of blew it for us as I got the loss in game two against those guys,” he said in looking back on a 4-3 setback in Sylvan Lake.
“In year two, I didn’t pitch at all against them, then last year, I started game three and I kind of fell apart and lost again.”
In that game, Tucker didn’t escape the fourth inning after allowed six runs on nine hits and just two strikeouts in a 10-4 loss.
This postseason, he watched as the Gulls went into Seaman Stadium on August 10th and captured a 7-3 victory before coming back home to double-up the Gulls 8-4 to complete the sweep.
While he didn’t see any action in either game, Tucker was warming up in the bullpen during the finale just in case he was needed to shut the door.
“We scored a lot of runs, took care of business and it was a couple of very commanding wins,” he said. “I’m just relieved to finally be on top of those guys.”
Tucker says the key for the team was being more confident and not tensing up against a team known for its success.
ONE LAST HURRAH
With the Dawgs silenced, it was onto the Gulls’ first-ever WCBL championship and a date with the Regina Red Sox, who upset both the Medicine Hat Mavericks and record-setting Saskatoon Berries to get into the dance.
For his part, Tucker was well-rested after not appearing in the Okotoks series, calling it “the worst-kept secret in Sylvan” that he’d be getting the series-opening start at Currie Field in Regina.
As he had time and time again, he was outstanding in allowing just two runs on eight hits and four walks while striking out seven in six innings of work.
In a game that mirrored how the entire series would play out, it was a neck-and-neck battle that ended in extra innings when Michael Quick stole home as the Gulls took the 3-2 decision.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be for the Gulls as they fell 10-7 in game two and 5-4 in the championship-clinching game three.
Right until the end, Tucker was ready to come back out one more time, even warming up in the bullpen if the Gulls needed someone to lock things down in the final couple of innings.
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
While his WCBL career didn’t end the way he would have wanted with a championship ring, Tucker says the last four years have meant the world to him.
He says he’s battled mental health and other obstacles in his life, so coming back to Sylvan Lake was “the best thing that always helped me.”
Tucker says his teammates and coaches were like brothers, heaping praise particularly towards pitching coach Matt Hape.
“We’ve really grown a bond where I see him as my older brother and someone I can confide in,” Tucker said.
“He has always gotten me right and playing my best, whether I was dealing with an injury or just didn’t have a feel for it.”
The soft-spoken moundsman saves some of his nicest words for his billet family.
“They were always great to me and they are truly a second family,” he says.
“I’m looking forward to seeing them again in the future when I inevitably come up to visit or when they come to the U.S. for my wedding.”
Whatever comes next for Tucker, in baseball and in life, he says he will always remember his time in the WCBL as he says it made him a better person.
Fans around the league won’t soon forget the young man who set a spectacular standard on bump in Sylvan Lake.
A special shout-out to Blair Takahashi for supplying us with the main image for this story. Make sure to check out his work on Instagram as well.
