It’s a moment he won’t soon forget.
With Team Alberta down 6-5 in the bronze medal game to New Brunswick at the Baseball Canada Cup, Mac Warawa stood on second base representing the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Tyler Diprose hit a single up the middle and Warawa was off to the races.
His teammate, Bo Anderson, came into score then started screaming at the utilityman to hit the deck for a close play at the plate.
The Innisfail native and Red Deer Minor Baseball alum slid in safely to score the winning run, ending Alberta’s 12-year medal drought at the event.
Warawa was a force all tournament long, hitting .263 with a double, home run and three runs batted in while posting a 2.42 earned run average and striking out nine in 8.2 innings of work over two games on the hill.
Thanks to his performances throughout the year, the current Webber Academy Wildcat was announced as one of several Albertans invited to the Blue Jays Academy Canadian Futures Showcase this fall in Vancouver.
We caught up with Warawa on a recent edition of Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast to talk about his journey in the game, which forms the basis of the return of our 1 Thru 9 series.
1. How excited are you for the opportunity to head to the Blue Jays Academy Canadian Futures Showcase?
It’s going to be awesome. It was something where I first heard about it last year and really became a goal of mine. Then to end up making it this year is something where I’m super-pumped to go compete against some of the other best guys in the country and to experience something that I haven’t before. It’s going to be awesome.
2. Do you have any goals or expectations going in?
Obviously, I think everyone in the showcase wants to hit well and field well, that sort of thing. I think as long as you’re putting good at-bats together, you’re showing off in your batting practice rounds. It’s not something where you’re just going through the motions. It’s something where you’re making sure that your focus is there on every pitch and you’re grabbing attention in ways that might go under the radar.
3. How much do you think will be about being where your feet are at and trying to treat like just another baseball game or another opportunity to throw or hit a ball?
It’s something where it’s easy to get caught up in the moment with all the scouts or college coaches there watching you. But I think the more you get caught up in that, the more you start to overthink things and the more you start to try forcing the results. I think the more you can understand that you need to go out there have the focus you need, you will have good days. And even if you may not have a good day, they still watch how you carry yourself and they still watch how you react to those failures, which is just as important as you go forward.
4. How much of it will be a learning experience for you as well?
Definitely. It’s something where, I’m fortunate at Webber to have Cole (Armstrong) and Chris (Reitsma), some big-league guys there, but just getting the opportunity to be around some more high-level coaching and maybe pick a few brains. You just try to gather all the information that you can. Once you have all that information, it’s up to you to sort through it all for the things you like, the things you don’t like, and ultimately use the stuff that’s going to benefit you the most.
5. You’re also fresh off capturing bronze at the Baseball Canada Cup. What’s it been like reflecting on that.
I mean, it’s pretty sweet. I think we all had an idea that Alberta hadn’t brought one home in a while – it was a bit of a stretch. So, to be the team to break that up and to hopefully build some momentum is pretty cool.
6. You scored the winning walk-off run. Walk us through that moment when you’re being sent home.
Yeah, Dippy (Tyler Diprose) was having good at-bats all week. He was drawing walks here and there and wasn’t swinging at bad pitches. So I had a feeling he was kind of due. I was looking around before the ball was hit and the outfield was playing shallow because they were trying to throw me out at the plate. Kurtus (Millar) loves to run aggressively, so as soon as Dippy hit it, I thought there was going to be a play at the plate. I’m doing everything I can to get there and, as I’m rounding third base, I kind of black out just trying to figure out where I should slide. The guy ends up short-hopping him at home and we end up scoring, the dogpile happens, and the boys are going crazy.
7. What was that dogpile like?
Man, it was one of those ones where you don’t really hear anyone actually saying anything. You just hear a bunch of guys yelling and stuff. You hear everyone going crazy. I mean, we had the lead for a while in the game then ended up losing it. It was one of those games where you felt the momentum kind of on New Brunswick’s side. So for Dippy to be able to do that with a little bit of the odds against him was so sweet.
8. What did that mean to you to bring home a medal?
Obviously, it’s some of our last times being able to wear the provincial jersey, so being able to end it on a walk-off in the bronze medal game and breaking the ice for Alberta teams to come, hopefully, really meant a lot. It was a lot of fun.
9. What does the game of baseball mean to you?
Oh, it means a lot. I mean, it’s my life, to be honest with you. There’s so much time put towards it and it’s taught me a lot about patience and to be okay with … not failing but … being okay with putting in all the work and sometimes not getting the outcome you have in mind. It’s a game of consistency. And it’s given me the chance to do things with my dad and my brother. It’s something we can bond over and have some quality time together while we do it. It’s awesome.
The Blue Jays Academy Canadian Futures Showcase is set for September 17-20 in Vancouver.
