Little time for new Bulls to adjust to a new city, country
BULLS OPEN WMBL SEASON IN EDMONTON TONIGHT
Grant Schmidt is a first-time flyer and a first time visitor to Lethbridge and Canada.
For local baseball fans, he’s also a first-year member of the Lethbridge Bulls.
With another Western Major Baseball League season ready to step up to the plate, the new and returning Bulls took the field at the renovated Spitz Stadium Wednesday night for the Seventh annual Tanner Craswell and Mitch MacLean Benefit Game against the Vauxhall Spurs.
Like the rest of his American teammates joining the Bulls, who begin league play tonight in Edmonton against the Prospects, it’s been a whirlwind couple of days for Schmidt.
“This is the first time I’ve flown and been out of the country, so far I’ve loved it here. It’s a beautiful place, beautiful country,” said the outfielder who hails from Hastings, Neb., and went to school at Cloud County Community College in Concordia, Kan., two hours from his hometown. “I drove five hours to Denver and then I had a two-hour flight to Calgary and then a two-hour drive to Lethbridge. It’s been kind of hectic at times, but I finally got settled down with my host family. My dad and brother are here, too, so I’ve got everything settled down and just had a relaxing time these past two days before things get hectic.”
The prospect of coming north of the border to an unfamiliar baseball program was a bit unnerving for the newest Bull, but Schmidt received a glowing endorsement from former Bull Eric Dorton, now a coach at Cloud County.
“He said it was a great experience and he thought coming up here would be a good experience for me and to enjoy it, a new country, new faces, have fun and play the game you love,” said Schmidt. “I’m just looking forward to having a good summer.”
Schmidt joins a healthy mix of new players and returnees from last year’s team.
“There are seven or eight returnees and some new faces and then some new faces from the Prairie Baseball Academy,” said Bulls coach Jesse Sawyer. “So we’ve got a good mix this year. We had a practice yesterday and a little workout earlier today and that’s kind of all you get. Most of them came in on Monday, we get a little practice in and then get right to it. I like the roster and I like what we have. What I’ve seen so far, you can’t really tell until we actually get out there but I think we’re excited.”
The minimal time between the arrival of the new players and the start of the season always presents a challenge, but Sawyer noted every team in the WMBL deals with the same timeline.
“I don’t know all the players that well, I know some of them, but some of them I’ve met on Monday for the first time in person,” he said. “It is a bit of a challenge, but that’s kind of the way the wind blows. Every team has it that way and that’s kind of the exciting part. You recruit your team and on paper you try to build as good of a team as you can, but once they get here sometimes they’re better than you thought and sometimes they’re a little worse. But it’s fun and it’s exciting and I think everyone is ready to go.
“We get the Americans in here and it’s nice. They come in and they have a beautiful locker room and this brand new grandstand. They’re coming in saying ‘Holy, I didn’t come to a nothing program, these guys are serious.’ We’re going to hit the road tomorrow and it’s go, go, go from there. There are one or two days off a week and that’s it.”
Among the returning players is Edmonton product and outfielder Brett Semeniuk.
As a returnee and someone who spent the spring playing at the PBA, the season hasn’t quite snuck up on Semeniuk as perhaps some of the out-of-country players.
“It’s a challenge for some guys here, coming in and being there first time, but for the returning guys we know how it’s done and everyone’s been at school all year long and playing games, so it’s nothing new for us. It’s just back to business for us.”
Fittingly, the Bulls six-game road swing to start the season starts in Semeniuk’s home town against the Prospects tonight.
“It’s really exciting,” he said. “Especially for me, being from Edmonton and going to open up in my hometown, it should be really fun. I have a lot of people coming out to watch and for everyone else, there is some good competition.”
But Wednesday night was all about playing the annual benefit game and checking out the Spitz Stadium renovations.
“It looks great,” said Semeniuk . “Compared to last year, it’s a huge difference. That second concourse up there, we have the elevator in and it should be fine. I think fans will really enjoy it this year.”
Having just arrived, Schmidt will get a tour of the northern part of the province as the Bulls head up to Fort McMurray for a three-game set against the Giants Friday through Sunday.
The team then heads to Brooks Tuesday to take on the Bombers and are in Medicine Hat to face the Mavericks Wednesday.
After that, it’s back to Spitz Stadium for the home-opener against the Okotoks Dawgs June 8.
“I’m really excited,” said Schmidt. “I haven’t played ball in a few weeks, so I’m excited to get back out there in against a good team like Edmonton. I know a few guys there who I played college ball with and I’m just excited to play ball again and see some friends and new faces.”