(Submitted Photo/Baseball Canada)

By Martin Martinson

A new chapter

Albers joins Saskatoon Berries as pitching coach

Sep 15, 2023 | 6:00 AM

North Battleford’s Andrew Albers has signed on to be the new pitching coach for the Saskatoon Berries, the newest expansion franchise in the Western Canadian Baseball League.

Albers, who currently resides in Saskatoon, said the opportunity to get involved with the collegiate summer team in the coaching realm was something that came about pretty naturally and piqued his interest.

“The ownership group approached me and asked if I’d be interested in a position of that nature and kind of helping out with the expansion over here in Saskatoon and through talks with them, it just felt like a good fit,” he said.

“I’m just looking forward to being a part of this organization, they’re doing a great job over here, and hopefully we can get people excited about it and get a bunch of people out at these ball games.” – Andrew Albers

Joining the Berries serves as a “full circle” moment for Albers, who started his career out of high school, playing for the now-defunct Saskatoon Yellow Jackets, back when the WCBL was known as the Western Major Baseball League.

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Originally a 10th-round selection of the San Diego Padres in the 2008 MLB Amateur Draft, Albers’ professional pitching career has included Major League stints with the Minnesota Twins, the Toronto Blue Jays, and Seattle Mariners; in addition to over six years overseas in Korea and Japan, and a decorated resume on the international stage with Team Canada playing the World Baseball Classic, the Baseball World Cup and Pan Am Games.

Albers said while the transition from playing to coaching was never something he thought too much about for most of his career, now approaching his 38^th birthday, and still recovering from an upper-body injury, he knew he would be unlikely to play this year.

“The elbow just hasn’t been right,” he said. “I was able to get it going for a couple of International tournaments last year, but there aren’t any senior men’s international tournaments this year, so I don’t have any plans on playing this year much outside of maybe some men’s stuff in [Saskatoon] sometimes, but nothing past that I don’t think.”

This meant that the opportunity to jump on board with the expansion Berries made for a great fit. He said he’s looking forward to sharing his experience and working with the next generation of pitchers coming through the ranks.

“I’ve been fortunate to have some opportunities that not a lot many people in this province have had, and to be able to come back and share some of that wisdom and insight into the things that I’ve experienced,” he said. “You just hope you can help some guys who are trying to make their own way.”

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1