Medicine Hat Mavericks pitching coach Jared Libke watches Liam Cunningham throw during a lesson at Athletic Park on Tuesday.--NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
There’s no banter in the dugout and no celebrations in the stands, but the Medicine Hat Mavericks coaching staff is still keeping baseball alive this summer.
Offering private lessons in small groups with plans to expand as provincial guidelines allow, Mavericks owner and general manager Greg Morrison admits it isn’t the same type of management his coaching staff was expecting heading into the 2020 season – but with no Western Canadian Baseball League action this summer, it’s a welcome substitute.
“Not having a ball season has been tough on everybody, but at least we’re down here. We’re at the ball park, we’re looking after the field, throwing batting practice,” said Morrison. “As the season goes on here with these guys, maybe we’ll be doing intrasquads here in a few weeks. We’re just trying to take it slowly and keep enough coaches on the field.”
The Mavericks opened their private lessons in late May, offering small groups the opportunity to work one-on-one with field manager Nolan Rattai and pitching coach Jared Libke – both former Mavericks players themselves.
“To have both these guys in town is just amazing,” said Morrison. “Coach Libke, he moved here kind of inconsequentially to what we were doing, just to move to Medicine Hat, and the timing was awesome.”
The duo spent Tuesday working on pitching with a few up-and-coming prospects, with Libke running through various drills, fine-tuning movement and balance, and practising specific pitch types. Morrison added Rattai takes over for infield and hitting.
It may not provide the same thrill of a game, but Morrison says the lessons focus on areas of development that aren’t always covered in an average nine innings.
“There’s development that happens in games, but baseball is a very individual sport. When you’re hitting, it’s you that’s hitting. When you’re throwing, it’s you that’s throwing. We’re working in some ground balls, double-play flips, things like that, but these are all things that, in a season, a lot of young kids don’t work on them,” said Morrison, who spent 12 seasons as a professional player in MiLB. “We like to break it down and work on the fundamentals, almost like you do in a professional minor league spring training setting. We would literally practice, then play an intrasquad, then maybe play an exhibition game against the Mets when you’re the Blue Jays, or against the Phillies. A lot of that development that happens is before the games, or instead of the games.”
With Father’s Day around the corner, the Mavericks also made a point of keeping their annual Wear Plaid for Dad initiative going by selling special jerseys in honour of long-time fan Bob Will, with proceeds going to the Medicine Hat and District Health Foundation. Will – who helped start the Plaid for Dad golf tournament in 2016 – passed away in December.
“We’ve sold them all,” said Morrison. “It was great to tip our hats to Bob – having his number on the back, his Boston Bruins colours and his name bar on it. He’ll be remembered with us forever, and every time you see those, it’ll remind you of him a little bit.”
For more information on private and small group lessons with the Mavericks, email office@themavericks.ca.
