Medicine Hat Mavericks Season Preview

The Medicine Hat Mavericks proved they had the horses last season.

The Mavs were such a stable force all summer – going 38-9 in the regular season – that it ultimately wasn’t a big surprise to see them claim the 2018 Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) title.

Technically, they won the Western Major Baseball League (WMBL) championship. With a new league name in 2019 and a different playoff format – best-of-five series have been replaced with best-of-three competitions – Medicine Hat goes into the history books as the last champions of the WMBL.

How The West Was Won

There are final outs and then there are final outs.

When Maverick centre fielder David Salgueiro caught a fly ball in the ninth inning of a game against the Regina Red Sox on Thursday, Aug. 16th at Athletic Park in Medicine Hat, it sealed an 8-2 win for the Mavs.

It was the final out of the deciding game of the series. It was also the final out of the last Western Major Baseball League (WMBL) game of 2018 and it marked the end of the league as we know it.

Medicine Hat Mavericks 2018 Season Preview

Medicine Hat’s sports community is always built on a foundation of partnerships and expectations of excellence.

We continue our series of previews of the WMBL’s Alberta teams with a visit to the Gas City and the Mavericks, who once again are looking to the playoffs and beyond.

The Snake Who Could Rake

They call him “The Bat from The Hat.”

And while baseball eventually delivered Drew Miller to Medicine Hat, he actually grew up in Schuler, a small town about 60 kilometres northeast of The Gas City.

Baseball fans in Calgary, meanwhile, are more likely to recognize Miller from his time with the Vipers, an independent league team that played out of Foothills Stadium between 2005 and 2011.

Crowning Achievement

It was a season fit for a king – it was so good that Greg Morrison took not one crown, but three from it.

During 69 games with the 1997 Medicine Hat Blue Jays, Morrison hit .448, swatted 23 home runs and drove in 88 runs on his way to the Pioneer League’s triple crown. The home run record still stands.

“It was a magical year,” Morrison told Alberta Dugout Stories.