NEWS FILE PHOTO Medicine Hat Mavericks starting pitcher Garrett Nicholson throws against the Yorkton Cardinals July 1, 2019 at Athletic Park.
The Medicine Hat Mavericks will open the 2020 season much the way they did in 2019, though with a move to the Eastern Division the lineup of opponents will take some getting used to.
The Western Canadian Baseball League revealed its schedule Monday, with the Mavs hosting the Swift Current 57’s on Thursday, May 28 at Athletic Park.
The early home date is followed by a season-long six-game road trip, identical to what they did in the first week of June this past season. But with teams in Melville and Yorkton taking leaves of absence, the Mavs will see a lot more of new division rivals Swift Current, Regina, Moose Jaw and Weyburn and a little less of Okotoks, Edmonton, Fort McMurray and Brooks as part of their 56-game regular season.
There are eight games against the 57’s, for example, but only four against the reigning league champion Dawgs. Traditional rival Lethbridge, though in a different division for the first time, still meets up with Medicine Hat six times.
The league all-star game, brought back this past season, returns to Edmonton July 19. The Prospects also open the regular season first with home dates against Brooks May 23 and 24.
As for special dates, the Mavs haven’t set any in stone but there are a couple they’ll have a hard time revisiting. For the first time in nine years there’s no Canada Day matchup at Athletic Park, with the Mavs instead visiting Moose Jaw July 1. They’re also in Moose Jaw for July 4, which featured special American jerseys to celebrate the U.S.’ Independence Day this past season.
Head coach and assistant Mavs general manager Nolan Rattai said he’s got 20 players lined up, including an impressive nine returnees in the typically high-turnover wood bat college league. He and pitching coach Jared Libke aren’t included in that number, both ex-players ineligible to take the field. But Libke’s brother Bryce will be back, along with pitchers Flynn Ridley and Owen Steele.
“I think it’s going pretty well,” said Rattai. “We seem to add one more guy every week or two, when it comes to pitchers we’re trying to be picky about it, make sure we get strike throwers this year, doing our due diligence.”
Last year saw the WCBL transition to eight more regular season games and shorter, best-of-three playoff series. The extra arms are certainly needed, but so too are everyday position players replacing beloved regulars including Rattai, Sal Rodriguez and Colton Wright.
The team finished 30-26, then lost a first-round series to Lethbridge.
Rattai is in the team office from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. this week, no doubt hoping for an influx of early ticket package buyers.
Mavericks schedule
Medicine Hat Mavericks 2020 schedule (times not yet determined):
May 28 vs. Swift Current
May 30 at Brooks
May 31 at Swift Current
June 2 at Fort McMurray
June 3 at Fort McMurray
June 4 at Edmonton
June 5 at Edmonton
June 6 vs. Regina
June 7 vs. Regina
June 9 vs. Brooks
June 10 at Swift Current
June 11 at Swift Current
June 12 vs. Fort McMurray
June 13 vs. Fort McMurray
June 14 at Okotoks
June 16 at Weyburn
June 17 at Weyburn
June 18 vs. Weyburn
June 19 vs. Weyburn
June 20 at Swift Current
June 21 vs. Swift Current
June 23 vs. Moose Jaw
June 24 at Regina
June 25 at Weyburn
June 26 at Weyburn
June 27 at Regina
June 28 vs. Lethbridge
June 30 at Moose Jaw
July 1 at Moose Jaw
July 2 at Moose Jaw
July 3 vs. Okotoks
July 4 at Moose Jaw
July 5 vs. Lethbridge
July 6 vs. Edmonton
July 8 vs. Swift Current
July 9 at Regina
July 10 at Regina
July 11 vs. Moose Jaw
July 12 vs. Moose Jaw
July 15 vs. Okotoks
July 16 vs. Regina
July 17 vs. Regina
July 21 vs. Lethbridge
July 22 at Lethbridge
July 23 vs. Edmonton
July 24 at Brooks
July 25 vs. Weyburn
July 26 vs. Weyburn
July 29 vs. Swift Current
July 30 at Lethbridge
July 31 vs. Moose Jaw
Aug. 1 at Okotoks
Aug. 2 vs. Brooks
Aug. 3 at Lethbridge
Aug. 5 vs. Brooks
Aug. 6 at Brooks
