For the love of the game

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/02/2022 (1663 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Randy Horel is a lot of fun to talk to. He loves sports and, holy smackers, does he ever have a lot of great sports stories.

As an adult, the two sports Randy has dedicated most of his time to are hockey and fastball. About eight years ago Randy tore his rotator cuff, which put hockey on pause for a bit while and brought an end to pitching in fastball.

Despite the injury, Randy loves fastball and he still wanted to be involved in fastball.

“I then became an umpire. I have been umping now for eight or nine years. It’s my little way to give back to the game,” he said.

Randy played in, and is now an empire with the Crestview Men’s Fastball League, which has been around for 57 years.

“After hardball, if you don’t want to go to softball, our league is a great alternative,” he said.

“We have players from all around the province and we play Tuesday and Thursday nights. We had nine teams, (but) now with all the COVID stuff, we are down to six teams. The environment is great for families, it’s great to just come out, play some fastball, and after the games enjoy the beer garden.”

Randy is 62 and lives in Charleswood, which comes in handy for the games he umps at Assiniboia West Community Club.

I asked Randy if the boys take it easy on him when he’s behind the plate.
“Ha! Yes, for the most part the boys are pretty good,” he said. “I might miss a call here and there. When it happens most the boys just give me a look and tell me I owe them one.”

The Crestview Men’s Fastball League is important to Randy and he wants to do all he can to make sure the league stays healthy.

“It is such a great league and a great alternative to softball if you want to keep playing competitively. We are the only league of our kind in the province.”

If you are looking to play or have a team you would like to bring to the league, call Ross Hoople at 204-330-4412 for more information.