One of the Okotoks Dawgs’ top pitchers didn’t spend the winter hibernating, even though he was living in a much a colder climate than his native Kentucky.
Dawgs southpaw Ryan Rogers spent the winter in Okotoks teaching youngsters baseball and getting ready for the upcoming Western Major League Baseball season.
“I know it was a mild winter for up here,” Rogers said with chuckle. “But it was a lot colder than back home.”
Rogers decided to winter north of the 49th parallel after the Dawgs were beaten in the league final and he was released by Lindsey Wilson College in Kentucky. He ended up getting schooled in baseball during the winter in one of the finest facilities in Canada — the Dawgs Academy in Okotoks.
“We have nothing like this back home,” Rogers said of the Duvernay Fieldhouse. “I stuck around and helped coach the Dawgs Academy kids and I got help from guys like Jim Henderson and Emerson Frostad,” he said.
Henderson, a Dawgs alumnus, is knocking on the Milwaukee Brewers’ door while he is pitching for the Nashville Sound in Triple A ball. Frostad, an Okotoks resident, was a catcher with the Houston Astros’ organization before getting released in the spring.
“I think I will be a better pitcher this year,” Rogers said. “I’ve been working hard in the off season and I have developed a new pitch — a cutter, to go along with my fastball and curveball.”
It was a case of an old Dawg teaching some new tricks. Rogers was taught the cutter, a type of fastball which breaks away from the pitcher’s glove as it reaches the plate, by former Okotoks Dawg Jeff Duda.
Both are similar pitchers, other than the fact Duda is a right-hander and Rogers throws from the left. They both have pitching arms more durable than a Maytag washing machine.
Rogers led the Dawgs last season in innings pitched with 50 and had 61 strikeouts with a 2.16 ERA. However, he could have sued the Dawgs’ hitters for lack of support. He had a 4-4 record — the most losses on the staff — despite his impressive statistics.
“I don’t worry about it,” Rogers said. “All I am concerned about is going out there and doing my job.”
The baseball pundits in the WMBL certainly didn’t worry about the 4-4 record. Rogers was selected a first-team league all-star.
Although Dawgs fans will remember the hard-throwing Rogers, they will have to take a second glance when he goes to the mound. Rogers’ workout program in the off-season has resulted in him losing the baby fat he took to the mound last season.
“I feel stronger this year,” Rogers said. “Last year I seemed to be able to pitch maybe seven innings (a game). I would like to have more complete games.”
Dawgs Academy coach Tanner Osberg said he anticipates the burly
left-hander going deeper into games in 2012.
“I expect him to be a little more cleaned up this year. He worked hard in the weight room and he will be able to pitch more innings,” Osberg said. “He’s also worked on the mechanical side of it... I think he will be throwing harder and have a little more downhill action on his fastball.”
Osberg said Roger’s cutter is coming along nicely — although he doesn’t expect it to be his 3-2 pitch.
“Not yet anyway,” Osberg said. “Like any new pitch it’s inconsistent, but when he throws a good one, it’s really good.”
Rogers will not only be expected to lead from the pitcher’s mound, but also from the dugout. He’s an experienced Dawg and he wants to pass on his knowledge to the new players.
“The first thing I had to get used to was pitching in front of 3,000 people (at Seaman Stadium) — I never had anything like that at home. I will help the guys with that.”
The Dawgs lost in the WMBL final last year, losing to the Regina Red Sox in four games.
Rogers said he would like to win a league title in August before going back to school at Culver-Stockton College in Kentucky in the fall.
The Dawgs open the WMBL season on the road against the Medicine Hat Mavericks on June 1. The Dawgs’ first home game is June 6 when they take on the Lethbridge Bulls at 7 p.m. at Seaman Stadium.
Season tickets can now be picked up at Seaman Stadium office from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday.
As well, the Dawgs still need some billets to host a College Dawg for the summer. Anyone interested may call the Dawgs’ office at 403-262-3294(DAWG).
