A ballplayer has to have plenty of true grit to promote a t-shirt stating he sucks.
Okotoks Dawg Austin Voros is the team’s 2011 True Grit Award winner. This from a guy whose name was on a t-shirt at the Dawgs souvenir shop that read simply: “Voros Sucks.”
“Good things came out of having my name on a t-shirt,” Voros said with a laugh. “It was a team joke. On the bus the guys would start chanting when I walked on the bus or if something went wrong like the DVD didn’t work, they would chant: ‘Voros Sucks’.” “So I told Pablo (Pablo Forno who runs the souvenir shop) he should make a t-shirt out if it.”
It won’t suck for Voros on Jan. 21 when he receives his award at the Okotoks Dawgs’ fifth annual awards banquet at the Foothills Centennial Centre in Okotoks.
As for the “Voros Sucks” stuff, it was all part of some good team ribbing and keeping a team loose in the midst of the Dawgs’ run for the Western Major Baseball League title — the kind of thing a guy with true grit can put up with.
“To me it is an award which is a leadership award,” the second-year Dawg said. “I try to remind the guys to do their jobs, whether it is cleaning up the field after the game or a little pep talk that someone needs.
“I think it’s pretty cool. It’s the biggest accomplishment in my career.”
He also led on the field with some impressive stats.
Voros hit .287 last season with four home runs and 13 RBI for the Dawgs. He was willing to do whatever Dawgs’ coach Brandon Newell needed.
“I played a little bit of right field and I DH’d the majority of the time, and I pinch hit some,” Voros said from school at Laredo, Texas where he is attending university. “I am happy to take whatever role the Dawgs need me to take. Last summer I didn’t play as much in the field because we had guys out there who were unreal athletes. I just accepted my role and was happy to play with those guys.
“Hopefully, when I come back this summer, I will be able to play a more defensive role with the team.”
He said his experience with the Dawgs in 2010 made him a better player when he returned for college ball. He expects similar results this spring when he plays university ball.
Voros played 44 games with the Texas A&M International Dustdevils in the spring of 2011, where he hit .373 with a team high 12 doubles.
“The Dawgs coaching staff and their players taught me so much,” said Voros, who will turn 22 on Jan. 22. “They made me more of a student of the game and I attribute that to the Dawgs’ organization.”
Voros often came up with some key hits for the Okotoks Dawgs in their quest for their fourth WMBL championship in five years.
He hit a monstrous home run in the top of the fifth inning of Game 4 to give the Dawgs’ a brief 1-0 lead over the Regina Red Sox of the Western Major Baseball League final. The Dawgs went on to lose the game 7-3 to give the Red Sox their first title.
As a result, Voros has some unfinished business to attend to this summer when he returns to Okotoks for his third season with the Dawgs.
“I will be back,” Voros said. “For me it’s the atmosphere. Will (Dawgs’ master of ceremonies William Gardner) always says they are the best fans in baseball. I have played in college and nothing has compared to playing at Seaman Stadium… I also want a get a (championship) ring with the Dawgs.”
Voros plans to show the fans at the Dawgs banquet the respect the event deserves — he’ll have a conservative haircut.
Voros had a variety of hairstyles last summer at Seaman Stadium.
“I had a normal buzz cut, a Mohawk, I dyed it black, a bunch of different stuff,” Voros said with a chuckle. “I will just have a normal haircut at the banquet.”
As for the “Voros Sucks” t-shirts, maybe the Dawgs should auction one off at the banquet. It might bring in a lot of bucks.
“It sold very, very, very well — it was one of our most popular t-shirts,” Forno said. “Austin is a popular player.”
The other recipients at the banquet include Tyler Hollick, Rookie of the Year; Jared Rogers, Pitcher of the Year; and Kasey Coffman, Most Valuable Player.
Hollick and Voros are expected to attend the banquet.
Banquet highlights
The guest speaker at the Dawgs banquet will be University of Calgary Dinos football coach Blake Nill, who played offensive line with the Montreal Concorde, Hamilton Ti-Cats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Nill has led the Calgary Dinos to the last two Vanier Cup games, the championship game for Canadian Interuniversity Football.
Some of the items on the auction block at the banquet include two tickets to anywhere West Jet flies, a weekend’s stay at the luxurious Poet’s Cove Resort just off Vancouver Island and a Team Canada package with signed baseballs from 1997 NL MVP Larry Walker, 2010 NL MVP Joey Votto and Toronto Blue Jay phenom Brett Lawrie as well as a jacket and home and away jerseys from Team Canada which won the Pan Am Games gold medal.
Tickets for the banquet are available by calling the Dawgs at 403-262-DAWG (3294) or 403-995-
1280.
