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.

The Road Warrior

Far away from home, 17-year-old Guillermo Quiroz arrived in Medicine Hat in 1999 to play for the Blue Jays.

What later transpired was a 17-year pro career with a lot of stops and stories.

He recently shared some of them in an episode of the ADS Podcast.

Last Of The Baby Jays

Erik Kratz represents the end of an Alberta era. He is the last active player in Major League Baseball who spent time with the Medicine Hat Blue Jays.

He was part of the last Pioneer League team to come through Athletic Park in 2002.

We caught up with his old manager Rolando Pino to talk about Kratz and his improbable journey to baseball folk hero.

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.