Trying to make a miracle happen

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This article was published 16/08/2021 (1519 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Goldeyes have every excuse to be having a terrible season.

They lost three of their most important pitchers right before opening day, star shortstop Wes Darvill missed the beginning of the season playing in an Olympic qualifier for Team Canada, they played the first half of the season based out of Jackson, Tenn., and when they returned to play in Winnipeg two weeks ago, they had to let go several key players and their hitting coach, as they’re not vaccinated.

This season has been a gong show to say the least.

Yet, with 22 games left in the campaign, the Goldeyes are somehow in the playoff race, going 8-2 in their past 10 to give them a 41-37 record. They trail the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (47-34) for the third and final playoff spot in the North Division.

“It has not been easy, that’s for sure,” Darvill told the Free Press on the team’s day off on Monday.

“…No offence to Jackson, it was a great place and they took care of us really well, but it’s nothing like Winnipeg and playing in front of your home fans. Yeah, it’s been tough, but that’s just how baseball goes. You kind of go up and down throughout the course of the season but you sort of just stay the course and just worry about controlling what you can and playing hard every day.”

The Fish have gone 6-0 since returning to their downtown ballpark, sweeping the Sioux City Explorers and Milwaukee Milkmen before going 3-2 on the road last week. The Goldeyes welcome the Gary SouthShore Railcats to town for a three-game series starting tonight.

Visiting teams typically enjoy making the trip to Shaw Park.

It’s a beautiful ballpark, there’s usually a decent turnout, and unlike some towns in the world of independent baseball, Winnipeg has a lot to offer away from the diamond.

But coming to Winnipeg has been more of a headache for the opposition this month. Teams with low vaccination rates have been forced to scramble to put rosters as players and coaches are required to be vaccinated in order to cross the border. Sioux City had it the worst as they only had one player vaccinated, forcing the team to sign 24 bodies at the last minute and trot out Winnipegger Marc-Andre Habeck as their starting pitcher one night.

The requirements have also made pitchers Danny Taggart and Jonathan Vance very popular as they suited up for Sioux City, Milwaukee and will also be playing for Gary this week.Taggart is a 24-year-old from New York who found himself out of the Atlantic League as he had a 10.87 ERA after 12 games. Vance, who’s also 24 and hails from California, started two games in the Frontier League this summer and left with a 7.20 ERA.

The Goldeyes have faced some inferior talent at home, but manager Rick Forney said it hasn’t been a competitive advantage for his team.

“They’ve all known about this. It wasn’t a secret. There was a good chance they were coming to Winnipeg and you needed to have vaccinated players and they chose not to get them. That was Sioux City’s problem,” Forney said.

Forney believes the squad needs to win at least nine of their next 11 games to give them a real strong chance at claiming a postseason berth. Things will likely get interesting at the end as their final four games come against Fargo at home.

So, with all the obstacles that have been thrown at the Fish this year, and the year before, what would it mean to sneak into the playoffs?

“It would be a miracle…I would’ve been happy just being a .500 team… but we’re keeping ourselves in the mix,” said Forney.” It’d certainly be a miracle if we do make it. Miracles do happen from time to time.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31