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7th Inning Stretch: Flynn Ridley

Coming off of a Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC) title win, Flynn Ridley set his sights on a summer season in the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL).

When it came time for the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) pitcher to find a team to play for, another championship squad – the Medicine Hat Mavericks – seemed like a perfect fit.

In his first season in the WCBL, the right-handed reliever from Vancouver has delivered an effective campaign thus far. The 18-year-old has a 3-1 record, two saves, a 2.49 earned run average (ERA) and 17 strikeouts through 21.2 innings pitched.

We spoke with the 6-foot-4 mound manager as part of our 7th Inning Stretch series.

The Pioneers: Medicine Hat A’s

When the Pioneer League looked at expansion in 1975, they began looking at Medicine Hat.

It wouldn’t happen until 1977, but the love affair ended up lasting 25 years.

In the second of our three-part series, we look back at the Medicine Hat A’s and Blue Jays with a man familiar with sports in the city: Bob Ridley.

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.