January 31, 2024

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

If you look across Canada, you will see a wide array of teams from coast to coast — from travel ball teams such as the Ontario Blue Jays out to the prairies, where the Medicine Hat Mavericks suit up in the Western Canadian Baseball League.

For Kyle MacKinnon, these teams were just some of the organizations that were stepping stones for his newest opportunity. He was recently named the assistant hitting coach of the Columbia Fireflies, the single-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.

“I got to spend a few days at Kauffman Stadium with their new hire orientation and got to meet some of the new players from the 2023 MLB draft,” MacKinnon told the Canadian Baseball Network. “We really got to dive in and see what the organization is trying to preach across the different levels of the game, both on and off the field. I am excited and the Royals are a young team at the big league level and hopefully, we can continue to develop players that can keep climbing the ladder.”

For MacKinnon (Cheltenham, Ont.), his coaching days started with the Ontario Blue Jays when he was still in the midst of his playing career at Durham College. Once his playing days were over, he landed the head coaching job at George Brown College. MacKinnon later took his talents to McPherson College in McPherson, Kan., for six seasons, starting as the hitting coach in 2016 before taking over head coaching duties in 2022.

“For me, I knew that coaching full-time was going to be tough to do in Canada and I knew I wanted to make it my career, so I looked stateside,” said MacKinnon. “I applied to over 60 jobs and McPherson was one of the programs that called me back. It was a great setup for me, they were a solid program, and head coach Bryan Moses let me take complete control of hitting/offensive capacity right away which was great for a first-year coach such as myself. I learned a lot working as the hitting coach and I was fortunate enough to land the head coaching position when Moses left the program. It was a different experience compared to being just a hitting coach and I am incredibly grateful for my time in Kansas.”

With the Royals, MacKinnon joins a strong Canadian-influenced program that already boasts the likes of scouts minor league co ordinator Scott Thorman (Cambridge, Ont.) scouts Chris Reitsma (Calgary, Alta.) and Adam Stern (London, Ont.) as well Peter Berryman, who runs the Canadians in College master list for the Canadian Baseball Network, who was recently hired as a major league strategy analyst. Reflecting on his time coaching in Canada, specifically in the WCBL, MacKinnon noted the similarities between the collegiate leagues and the pro rankings.

“I think summer ball in general is modelled around the pro game, four-five-six days a week of playing games with long days of travel mixed in between,” said MacKinnon, speaking from his previous experience with Medicine Hat, Brooks, and Fort McMurray. “Compared to college ball, where you have more preparation time with there only being three games on the weekend, you can get your team ready and specifically prepared for your specific opponent, the pitching staff, and everything in between. With the WCBL, you go in every day with your plan but also battle with whatever is thrown your way.”

The route to the Columbia Fireflies was influenced by his first foray into pro ball last year when he secured a hitting coach position with the Arizona Diamondbacks development staff. The position was unfortunately short-lived due to work visa issues.

“There just was a time crunch between the current marriage visa I had and the working visa needed with working for the Diamondbacks that unfortunately, I had to forego this chance with Arizona,” explained MacKinnon.

Undeterred, he found an opportunity with the Houston Astros a couple of months later, working with the Florida Complex League team and finding his way down to West Palm Beach for the summer.

“I ended up landing on my feet with the Astros once the paperwork was clear,” laughed MacKinnon. “The talent was a step above with the Astros program and the club really believes in individual player development at the lower levels. We would get there early each and every day and basically our whole morning was spent trying to get hitters to perform better on the field. That was 2-to-3 hours in the cages, rotating through the different plans and players before mid-day game time. Then they took those things we practiced and executed on the field when playing other FCL programs. It was great to witness.”

Heading into the offseason, MacKinnon’s time with the Astros was over and he was in search of another opportunity.

“The apprentice role with the Astros ended earlier than most coaching contracts, and I got a head start with teams looking to find some coaches for 2024,” said the former Lords catcher. “Drew Saylor (Royals director of hitting) reached out the day after my contract ended and we probably had four or five conversations before there even were any posted vacancies. He really sold me on what he was trying to do from the hitting perspective and what the Royals are trying to accomplish across the game. Once coaching positions became available with Kansas City, I went through the process which was about four different interviews across different departments and was eventually successful with my current role with the Fireflies.”

Heading into 2024, the Kansas City Royals have another Canadian in their mix with MacKinnon, who has forged a path that hopefully shows other Canuck born baseball minds that coaching careers are within their grasp.

“Even this last round before joining the Royals, I was told ‘no’ by multiple organizations,” said MacKinnon, “so it’s definitely a rollercoaster out there sometimes, but it is doable, especially for talented Canadian minds looking to do this full-time.”