Marlins part of Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame induction class

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/10/2017 (2360 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In 1995, a group of players left the Brandon Cloverleafs to form a new team to keep a floundering Manitoba Senior Baseball League alive.

The senior AAA circuit was down to three teams and people felt there were enough players in Brandon to form two squads. The Marlins took a beating for a few years and then blossomed, becoming a perennial contender and winning five titles between 1999 and 2008. The Marlins went to senior AAA nationals the following season after winning each of their league crowns.

On Monday, the Marlins were recognized again as they will enter the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame in the major team division in June. They will be joined by the 1993-2000 Morden Mohawks. The 1974-79 Warren Seniors will go in as a small community team, with the 1971-74 Carman Goldeye Juniors in a special category along with umpire Ron Shewchuk of Minnedosa.

Brandon’s Faron Asham and Reston’s Terry Mayert will go in as individuals along with Andrew Collier and Doug Freeth of Winnipeg, Troy Fortin of Lundar, Jason Mateychuk of Dominion City and Trevor Proctor of Woodlands.

Nate Andrews was one of the players who left the Cloverleafs to form the Marlins and appreciated the recognition and being part of the 2018 induction class.

“It’s a huge honour,” he said. “Over the years I’ve seen lots of different teams and players that I know, there’s such a good complement of guys that are going into this that I played with and against. I think it will be a lot of fun to bring that group of guys back together that started this and realize what we did.

“I think we took it for granted. We just played ball and went to quite a few nationals. You take it for granted a bit, but you sit back and take a look at it from 30,000 feet, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Winning the league titles in 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2008 as well as playing at nationals in Brandon in 2006 were among the highlights for the team, but there’s a much deeper connection there for Andrews.

His late father Neil coached the team in its early years and he said the players just had a bond that seems to last forever.

“We grew up with my dad coaching us and he put a lot of values inside of us that carried forth into people’s business lives and family lives,” Andrews said. “It was just the care that we all had for each other and we wanted to be at the ballpark.

“We didn’t have to be asked to come to practice. We looked for ways to get to the ballpark to hang out with each other and that was pretty special. It wasn’t a chore for us, it was something we looked forward to every day.”

Being a part of those teams is something that no one can take away from the players, and the special bond that it created.

That bond is what Andrews believes is so special about the group.

“Just the friendship and camaraderie,” he said. “… We took some lumps along the way. Playing the game was one thing but all the guys I can phone up and have not seen in 10 years and have a tight-knit conversation. It’s like you never leave anybody. The most important thing we got from this is the connections you got in life.”

The MSBL officially folded in 2017 after taking a year’s absence in 2016 due to a shortage of teams. The Marlins program still exists at the senior AA level and a junior AAA team with the same name was started in 2016.

Prior to this induction class, teams were limited to a six-year span in their nomination.

The Hall of Fame induction banquet will be held at the Morden Event Access Centre on Saturday, June 2 at 5 p.m. Tickets are $70 for adults and $20 for children. They may be purchased by contacting David Taylor of Neepawa at 204-476-3843, Jack Hrehirchuk of Dauphin at 204-638-6923 or Jow Wiwchar of Morden at 204-442-4636.

» cjaster@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @jasterch