Darvill brings bling to Goldeyes

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This article was published 09/05/2019 (2654 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Wes Darvill has more bling than a 1990s rapper, and the Winnipeg Goldeyes are hoping the third baseman will continue to add to his collection.

Darvill, a 27-year-old Langley, B.C., native, returns to the Fish after spending last season in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, where he predominantly played for their double-A affiliate, the Tulsa Drillers.

Darvill helped the Drillers win the Texas League championship, which gave him his fifth professional baseball title in six years. He now, literally, has a handful of championship rings. Darvill was a key contributor to the Goldeyes’ back-to-back American Association titles in 2016 and 2017. He also won a pair of single-A championships while with the Chicago Cubs organization. He won the Carolina League championship in 2015 with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and the Florida State League title with the Daytona Cubs in 2013.

“I put them on every once in a while,” Darvill said with a laugh before Thursday night’s exhibition game at Shaw Park against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks.

“Just looking back, I’ve been fortunate to be in great organizations. First off, being with the Cubs, then coming to Winnipeg obviously, and then with the Dodgers. They’re all first-class organizations and they do it right. That’s why they win.”

Darvill had a one-year deal with the Dodgers and they opted not to bring him back. In 49 games with Tulsa, Darvill hit .203 with two home runs and 13 RBIs. He also played five games for their triple-A affiliate, where he went 1-for-10 at the plate. Darvill struggled to get into a rhythm after missing two months of action due to a hyperextended knee.

“I was talking with (the Dodgers) all the way up until February. They were possibly trying to bring me back,” Darvill said.

“It’s just one of those things that’s a numbers game, really. They have a ton of great players, a ton of young players coming up. I think every team in the organization made the playoffs from rookie ball to the major leagues. So, it’s just one of those things that might work out at a later time when spots open up.”

The Goldeyes jumped at the chance to bring Darvill back into the fold to man the hot corner, signing him to a deal in January. In his last season with the Fish in 2017, Darvill was a mid-season and post-season league all-star. He played all 100 games that season, hitting .309 with four home runs and 49 RBIs. He also got the job done defensively with a .943 fielding percentage at third base. Fourth-year Goldeyes outfielder Josh Romanski said getting Darvill back will help the team mightily, as he was a key reason the Fish won league championships in 2016 and 2017.

“He was huge. Huge. You look at his numbers, especially in the playoffs. He hit, like, .380 in the playoffs in ’17. And in ’16, I know he had some huge hits down the stretch and in the playoffs,” said Romanski, the league’s player of the year in 2017.

“Wes is just one of those guys who’s a good clubhouse guy. He plays the game the right way. He plays the game hard. You know you’re going to get the maximum effort level from him, and when you got a guy like that, it’s easy to rally around him.”

Before joining the Fish for spring training, Darvill helped the Canadian national team qualify for this summer’s Pan Am Games in Peru. Darvill played alongside some major-league talent such as Dalton Pompey and Michael Saunders, as the red and white finished fourth at a qualifying tournament in Brazil in early February to earn a spot at the Games.

“We qualified, so we got the job done,” said Darvill, who’s unsure if he’ll be headed to Peru. “At this point, they haven’t picked the team. But, hopefully, I’ll get to wear the Team Canada uniform one more time.”

For now, Darvill will wear the red and white (and sometimes navy blue) for the Goldeyes. Despite already having more championships than most baseball players could dream of, Darvill has no plans to slow down.

“I think just love of the game and just trying to get better basically every day,” Darvill said of what motivates him to keep playing.

“You don’t play for 10 or 11 years or however long I’ve played if you don’t truly enjoy the game and enjoy the process. I enjoy the off-season workouts and enjoy the grind every day. That’s one thing, probably the love of the game. That keeps me coming back.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31