ALTA NEWSPAPER GROUP PHOTO BY IAN MARTENS - Nolan Rattai, seen turning a double play Saturday in Lethbridge, has accepted a job as the Medicine Hat Mavericks' assistant general manager. The hometown player spent three seasons with the Mavs, including the 2018 season when the team won a title.
Nolan Rattai’s calm, businesslike demeanour was the perfect yin to some of the Medicine Hat Mavericks’ more extroverted yang teammates over the years.
He hopes he can keep getting it done for the team even though his playing days are over.
Rattai has signed on to be the Mavs’ assistant general manager for next season, following three standout seasons as the day-in, day-out second baseman.
“Just coming out of the game, I like to think I played with a lot of good players and had a lot of good coaches,” said Rattai, one of the most successful hometown products the team has ever seen on the field. “Hopefully those connections can help with the Mavs in the future.”
A league all-star each of the three years he played, Rattai hit .331 for his summer ball career, driving in 94 runs in 166 games. After taking 2017 off to coach with the local American Legion program, he helped Medicine Hat to its third Western Major Baseball League title in 2018 – easily the top memory of his time as a Maverick.
“The three years I played here meant so much to me, the community and how much support we had,” he said. “There’s so many memories I’ll never forget and it’s because of the community making it possible to have the team here, so I’m very thankful.”
He’s ineligible to return for a fourth season, as Western Canadian Baseball League rules only allow for players who were with a college team the previous season.
With team owner Greg Morrison still handling the general manager duties, Rattai figures to lessen the workload while adding depth to both off-field business and even recruiting. He finished a finance degree at Columbia College in Missouri.
Morrison wasted no time, offering him the job on the heels of the Mavericks’ Game 3 playoff loss in Lethbridge Saturday night.
“Great guy who works hard,” Morrison wrote about Rattai in a text message to the News. “He does all the little things right as a player and will carry over that same attention to details as a coach and office executive.
“I’m also very excited to have him part of our movement to teach youth baseball players. His mentorship will be appreciated by parents and players.”
Rattai isn’t the first and won’t be the last Mavericks player to go straight into a non-playing role after graduating. Jared Libke did it this summer after being the go-to guy on the pitching staff, now the team’s pitching coach.
Asked whether that move can be a template of sorts for his own new role, Rattai agreed.
“(Libke) did a great job of being mature about it, transitioning from being a player to a coach. I definitely learned a lot from him for sure,” said Rattai. “Helping grow the Mavs as much as I can, helping grow the family and the community. Medicine Hat is such a great support with the Mavs, I want to help out with everything.”
