Albers hopes road from Saskatchewan to MLB can set an example
Minnesota Twins pitcher Andrew Albers from North Battleford, Sask., poses for a photo with fans before a recent game at Roger Centre in Toronto. PHOTO CREDIT: CLAIRE SENKO
By: J.P. Antonacci
Canadian Baseball Network
In his major league debut on August 6, 2013, Andrew Albers stymied the Kansas City Royals over 8.1 shutout innings, scattering four hits and a walk to earn the win.
Six days later, the left-hander again led his Minnesota Twins to victory, coasting to a complete game two-hit shutout over the Cleveland Indians.
Albers was making it look easy. But his road from central Saskatchewan to the big leagues was anything but.
“As a kid, you’re pretty naïve. And even in college or the low minors, you’re pretty naïve as to how hard the journey actually is,” the 30-year-old said before a recent game at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
“Everyone who gets drafted thinks they’re going to play in the big leagues one day. And you have to have that thought, or else it’s never going to happen. But it’s a long journey.”
Albers’ journey began in North Battleford, a small city about 150 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon. He played baseball as a kid and at John Paul II Collegiate, but the major leagues seemed out of reach.
“Unless you knew them personally, you didn’t hear of many guys playing minor league baseball,” Albers said.
In terms of role models for young Saskatchewan baseball players, there was outfielder Terry Puhl from nearby Melville, who played 15 MLB seasons and was an all-star with the Houston Astros.
But Puhl retired in 1991, when Albers was just six. He said it was watching Canadian-born stars like Larry Walker and Paul Quantrill that planted the idea of a future in the game.
“You have that dream in the back of your head, and you just pursue it as far as you can,” Albers said. “You never know where it will take you.”
His dream first took him to the University of Kentucky after he declined to sign a contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, who selected him in the 12th round of the 2004 MLB draft.
Albers showed enough promise pitching against NCAA Division I opponents to be drafted in the tenth round of the 2008 draft by the San Diego Padres.
His elation was short-lived, however, as he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow the following spring. He was ticketed for Tommy John surgery, and the Padres released him.
“That was kind of a dream-crusher right there,” Albers said. “But at the same time, those hurdles give you a different perspective and help you carry on through some tough times that you’re going to run into in this game.”
Not willing to give up on his dream, and curious to find out how his arm would rebound after surgery, Albers latched on with the Quebec Capitales of the independent Can-Am Association in 2010. He pitched to a sparkling 1.40 earned run average, but big league teams didn’t come calling.
“I didn’t realize how hard it would be to get back into the affiliated game from independent ball,” he said. “Again, you’re pretty naïve. You think ‘if I have a good year, I’ll be out of here in a month.’ That doesn’t always happen.”
So the following spring he headed south to Florida and Arizona, determined to show major league clubs what he had left in the tank.
Minnesota took a flier on the finesse lefty, signing him to a minor-league deal. It was with the Class-A Advanced Fort Myers Miracle that Albers had another reality check.
“You see all the players that are so talented, and you start to realize what you’re up against. Especially for a guy like me who isn’t necessarily the most talented guy out there,” he said. “But it was just a matter of believing in yourself and picking up a thing or two that’ll change your game a little bit.”
Albers assumed he would fit best as a lefty specialist out of the bullpen, but Fort Myers pitching coach Steve Mintz taught him a cutter-slider that suddenly made him viable as a starter.
In the summer of 2013, he was leading the International League in strikeouts with an ERA under three when the Twins called him up to make his major league debut at Kauffman Stadium.
It was a more seasoned pitcher who toed the rubber that day than the naïve Prairie kid who first dreamed of baseball stardom. Along with hard-won lessons from the bumps in the road, Albers could draw on two unforgettable experiences taking on the world while wearing the maple leaf.
He won a bronze medal with Team Canada at the 2011 Baseball World Cup, and pitched 6.2 innings in the gold medal game to lead Canada to victory against the United States at the Pan Am Games.
Four years later, Albers and Team Canada again topped the Americans to win Pan Am gold on home soil.
Albers said playing for Team Canada has been “phenomenal for me. (Director of national teams) Greg Hamilton does such a tremendous job putting those teams together and making those experiences so enjoyable.”
While winning, especially in dramatic fashion against the rival U.S., made those tournaments even sweeter, Albers said the team dynamic is what impressed him most.
“The nice thing you get from our group, more than other countries, is that it’s the same guys over and over again. You get those high-quality guys back, and everybody else sees how it’s supposed to be done,” he said.
“There’s been some tremendous leaders on those teams – guys like Pete Orr, Chris Robinson, Scott Richmond, Shawn Hill. You put tremendous characters like that together and then you put your country across your chest, and things fall into place pretty quick.”
Albers is grateful for the opportunities he’s enjoyed through Baseball Canada, crediting Hamilton with assembling talented teams full of “character guys” like Jeff Francis Rene Tosoni who carry themselves with class on and off the field.
“It’s been a lot of fun to play with those guys and learn from them, and hopefully, I’ll get a few more opportunities to do that,” Albers said.
After closing out the 2013 season with a 4.05 ERA over 60 innings, striking out a modest 25 but only walking seven, Albers’ baseball journey took a turn eastward. The Twins released him the following January and he spent the year in Korea with the Hanwha Eagles.
Last year he pitched for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, making one appearance with the Toronto Blue Jays in May before being sent down the next day.
Now Albers is back with Minnesota for his second stint in the big leagues this season. Though he has scuffled in his return to the rotation, failing to make it through five innings in two straight starts, Albers says the hardships he has experienced along the way make him appreciate even more the chance wear a major league uniform.
“Coming to a big league stadium, playing in front of lots of fans – it’s all about having fun,” he said.
“If you can’t have fun playing the game, you’re not going anywhere. It’s gonna get you. It doesn’t matter where you play. It’s a long season. If you can’t go out and enjoy the baseball games themselves, you’re not going to last very long.”
As just the eighth Saskatchewan native to play in the major leagues, Albers hopes his journey will inspire young ballplayers in his home province to go after their baseball dreams.
“There’s a lot of kids back there who are probably a lot more talented than I was growing up,” he said.
“Seeing a few guys (from Saskatchewan) come up here – (Detroit Tigers pitcher) Dustin Molleken, myself – kids see that and it gives them something to strive for, and hopefully lets them know that it’s possible.”