2020 Vision

Despite a summer that pretty much didn’t happen weather-wise, the Western Canadian Baseball League is touting it as a success.

Now all eyes are on the future, starting with a 2020 season that will feature two fewer teams.

As league president Kevin Kvame told us, 2021 will also be a season of change with expansion coming to Alberta.

2019 WCBL Award Winners

The Western Canadian Baseball League recently announced their 2019 award winners and all-star teams.

Here’s a look at the people who were recognized for their outstanding achievements in the 12-team WCBL, which calls Alberta and Saskatchewan home.

Queen City Dreams

Matt Lloyd admits he waited a lot longer to get into professional baseball than he had hoped.

After finally getting drafted by the Cincinnati Reds this summer and spending time in Billings and Dayton, his eyes are now set on making up for lost time.

Now into his first offseason as a pro, we caught up with Lloyd to talk about the highs and lows of the last few months.

Eye of the Tiger

Cole MacLaren admits he didn’t know if his baseball career was going to continue after he graduated from the University of Pittsburgh.

But during his brother’s high school graduation, the Dawgs Academy grad got a phone call that changed his life.

And this summer, MacLaren made his professional debut with the Detroit Tigers organization as undrafted free agent.

Road To Recovery

Edmonton’s Erik Sabrowski was on the right path to professional baseball.

After lighting it up with the Edmonton Prospects and Cloud County Community College, he was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2018.

But shortly after reporting to the Padres in Arizona, the left-hander learned he would need Tommy John surgery.

We caught up with Sabrowski to walk through the recovery and what’s next on his journey back to baseball.

Black Sox Banishment

They went from big league ball players to big name barnstormers overnight, but not even a lifetime ban from Major League Baseball could keep them off the field.

The eight men ousted from the American League by the Black Sox Scandal were made unemployed by baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis when he issued the permanent MLB ban in early August of 1921, nearly two years after they were suspected of playing key roles in fixing the World Series.

No longer able to suit up for the Chicago White Sox, the disgraced players sought the refuge of whatever teams would take them.

Historic Performance

We are still buzzing from Calgarian Mike Soroka’s historic outing for the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the National League Division Series (NLDS) against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The former Calgary PBF Redbirds pupil pitched seven innings of one-run baseball, allowing just two hits and no walks. The 22-year-old also struck out seven batters and, while he didn’t personally get the win, Soroka set the table for a dramatic ninth-inning comeback that earned the Braves a 3-1 victory.

During the Busch Stadium performance, the righthander put himself in the record books for several reasons.

Mike Soroka’s Winning Ways

Calgarian Mike Soroka established himself as the ace of the Atlanta Braves starting rotation this year, and in so doing, inserted himself into the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year race AND the Cy Young Award discussion.

The 6-foot-5 righthander had a remarkable regular season, going 13-4, with a 2.68 earned run average (ERA) and 142 strikeouts over 174.2 innings pitched. The PBF Redbirds graduate also helped lead the Braves to the NL East Division title.

Since his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut against the New York Mets on May 1, 2018, Soroka has shown he has what it takes to win ball games.

To celebrate his successful 2019 campaign, we’ve assembled the video highlights of each one of his 15 career MLB victories. Enjoy!

Dedicated

It is unbelievably hard to keep secrets from people so deeply entrenched in their communities.

So organizers in St. Albert and Calgary had their hands full in putting together surprise celebrations for two staples in their respective baseball communities.

And even a couple months later, both Kurtus Millar and Glen Hansen have a hard time finding the words to describe having facilities named in their honour.

7th Inning Stretch: Max Hartman

One of the younger players from Alberta who attended the recent Tournament 12 (T12) in Toronto was Max Hartman.

The 15-year-old roamed the outfield at Rogers Centre for Team Navy during the showcase event, which was hosted by Blue Jays Baseball Academy and took place from Sept. 17-21.

We spoke with the Dawgs Academy product before and after the T12 to find out more about him and what it was like to be selected as one of Canada’s top 150 baseball prospects.

He answered the following seven questions for us for our 7th Inning Stretch profile.

TALES OF BASEBALL