BY TRUMAN BARTMAN ON AUGUST 12TH, 2024. THEMAVERICKS.CA
Well, we’ve reached the point in each season that every person dreads—the end. For the Mavericks, it feels like the end came way too soon. However, the toughest thing about baseball is that only one team gets to win a championship each year, so the WCBL 11 teams will end each season disappointed. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, they’re a part of that group.
Despite the outcome being far from what the Mavs imagined, plenty remained to celebrate throughout the 2024 season.
Many members of this team put their names into the Maverick’s history books, with three members breaking single-season records and many others making their way into the top 5 spots in the ranks.
Jordan Phillips tied the all-time Mavericks doubles in a season record with 19 while also finishing second in RBIs in a season by just one. The player who overtook the record for most RBIs in a season was Nick Thibodeau, smashing in 63. He also tied the home run record with 11 in a season, meeting the mark that Alex Alders set in 2016.
As a team, the Mavericks once again reached the playoffs, grabbing the second seed early on during their 2024 campaign and holding it until the end of the regular season.
Their final record sat at 33-23, which is their best regular season record since 2018 when they won the WCBL championship.
Stats, it was an impressive showing from the Mavericks in 2024, but numbers don’t make memories that are determined by the plays made on the field, and the Mavericks had some spectacular ones throughout the year.
If there’s anything that Mavericks fans can take with them from this season, it has to be the crazy comeback victories that this team pulled off. There is one, however, that took place at Athletic Park that stands out above all others.
It was another Saturday night in Medicine Hat, and the Moose Jaw Miller Express were in town for a rematch of the 2023 East Division finals. These two have had their fair share of battles over the last few years, but this one for the Mavericks at least was special.
Earlier in the year, Medicine Hat came back from being down 9-1 to beat the Express 10-9, but this comeback was twice as epic as that one.
The Mavericks found themselves down by 6 runs in the 4th inning. After overcoming that deficit, they fell back down by 6 in the 7th inning.
A herotic effort highlighted by a Marshall Burke bases-clearing single helped the Mavs crawl back once again from 6 down to tie it and eventually push the game into extra innings.
It was there that Johnny Vulcano would send a sacrifice fly to the moon and score Jaden Babiuk from 3rd, capping off one of the most improbable comebacks of the season.
Although come playoff time the Mavericks were unable to turn their clutch gene back on they still battled until the very end against the Saskatoon Berries.
Josh Landry put together a performance for the books on the road with his team’s season on the line by striking out 12 batters, allowing just 5 hits, and most importantly, dragging the Berries back to Alberta for a do-or-die game 3.
Despite falling in that third game, the Mavs hung around and didn’t take their foot off the gas. Unfortunately for them, your tank is bound to run out of gas at some point, and for the Mavs, game 3 was the end of their playoff journey.
You can look at this season and question what may have gone wrong or what could have been, but when you look at the journey from afar, it is clear that this Mavericks team had regret.
A season can throw injuries, slumps, and unforseen circumstances a team’s way, but what makes certain teams stand out is their ability to move forward regardless of the situation.
If there is anything that this Mavs team taught us in 2024, it is that one, no lead is ever safe when you are facing off against the boys in red and white, and two, no matter the weather, if you continue to battle, there is so much you can achieve, even if there isn’t a trophy to show for it.