Family ties aid Redfield in sizzling summer season with HarbourCats
Like father, like son. Thirty-four years after former MLB player Joe Redfield played a season of baseball in 1988 for the Edmonton Trappers, his son Joseph Redfield is doing the same north of the border for the Victoria HarbourCats.
“It’s a whole other world up here,” said the younger Redfield, who hails from Texas, and homered in Victoria’s 9-6 West Coast League loss to the Bellingham Bells on Tuesday night at Royal Athletic Park.
It’s part of the journey. His dad’s route took the elder Redfield from NCAA Div. 1 UC-Santa Barbara through the minor-pros from Little Falls, New York, Jackson, Mississippi, Lynchburg and Tidewater, Virginia, Midland, Texas, Scranton, Pennsylvania, and to Triple-A in Denver and Edmonton. It led, in 11 pro seasons, to 12 games in the majors, one with the California Angels in 1988 and 11 with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1991.
The younger Redfield is in summer collegiate ball in Victoria and headed in the fall to NCAA Div. 1 Sam Houston State. Joseph Redfield is learning from somebody who has been through the grind to the top level as a solid pro third-baseman.
“My dad took a long road to get to where he got,” said Joseph Redfield.
With many lessons learned along the way, which are being imparted from father to son.
“It’s just tidbits but we talk every day and I learn something from my dad every day,” said the younger Redfield.
Usually it’s done online following games but this week it’s in person as Joseph’s dad Joe and mom Leslie are on hand watching their son and his HarbourCats teammates play Bellingham in a three-game WCL set at Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP.
“My dad’s love for the game is still there,” said Joseph Redfield.
Whatever tips the father has told the son, it’s working, as Joseph Redfield is hitting .320 for the HarbourCats with three homers, six doubles, three triples and a team-leading 27 RBIs in 39 games.
“Maybe the biggest lesson I learned from my dad is to keep it simple,” said Joseph.
“He says to just make contact with the inside part of the ball or top of the ball and get steady line drives and everything else falls into place.”
That it has this summer for Joseph Redfield: “I am getting more consistent reps in Victoria and that has given me the opportunity to find my swing. I used to have an issue pulling the ball but now I am finding the oppositefield gap.”
This was a big week for WCL alumni with infielder Brooks Lee, who led the Corvallis Knights past Victoria in the 2019 WCL final, selected eighth overall by the Minnesota Twins and former Bellingham pitcher Gabriel Hughes 10th overall by the Colorado Rockies in the first round of the 2022 MLB draft on Sunday.
It is the sixth consecutive draft in which a former WCL player has been selected in the first round. Eleven more WCL alumni were selected Monday in rounds two through 10, including former HarbourCats players Chase Meidroth in the fourth round to the Boston Red Sox and Caleb Ricketts in the seventh round to the Philadelphia Phillies. The MLB draft was set to conclude Tuesday with rounds 11 to 20.
“It’s exciting to know you are in a league in which you are following in the footsteps of drafted players,” said Joseph Redfield.
ON THE DIAMOND: The HarbourCats (7-7 in the second half and 18-22 overall) opened the first of three games against the North Division first-half champion Bells (5-5 and 24-12) with the loss on Tuesday at RAP. The teams meet again tonight and Thursday night.
The Nanaimo NightOwls (2-9 and 14-23), meanwhile, were blanked 8-0 by the Yakima Valley Pippins (9-5 and 18-23) in WCL play on Monday night at Serauxmen Stadium in the Harbour City. The NightOwls got their revenge on Tuesday night, beating the Pippins 10-2.