<h1><span lang=""style="font-size:34pt;">Home grown from small town Saskatchewan</span></h1>

Road to WCBL started in Carnduff for Berries’ star Beck

By Darren Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex

Carter Beck hits a triple to complete the cycle on August 11, 2024.

Saskatoon Berries star Carter Beck had a beginning in baseball that was made in small town Saskatchewan.

Growing up in Carnduff, which is a town with a population around 1,200 located in the southeast corner of the province, Beck’s introduction to the game came from watching his father, Blair, play senior baseball. At a very young age, there were signs baseball might be a big part of Carter’s life.

“When I was three-years-old, I was already attracted to being a bat boy,” said Beck. “I don’t think I could carry a baseball back then, but I was trying to be the bat boy.

“I went and watched like pretty much every senior baseball game he played in Carnduff on the Astros when I was younger. I can remember when I was 13-years-old I got on the lineup, because they had nine guys.

“In case someone got hurt, I was sitting (in the dugout). I was ready to go. I was pretty excited.”

Other memories from those days watching Blair play senior baseball saw a youth aged Carter running around to collect foul balls to get 25 cents for each ball he returned to the scorers table. He would gather up enough foul balls to buy a Freezee at the end of the night.

He also had fun playing catch with his father’s teammates. The baseball games also provided cherished time for Carter to be with his grandpa.

“I just loved being around the ball field watching it, playing it and getting serious with the guys,” said Beck. “It really brought me close to baseball when I was younger.”

Beck grew up playing minor baseball in Carnduff and would end up suiting up for the South East Twins baseball program that plays games out of Estevan, Weyburn and Alameda. Playing for the Twins under-18 AAA team, Beck took part in Baseball Saskatchewan’s provincial championship tournaments that were held at Cairns Field on the Gordie Howe Sports Complex grounds in July of 2022 and 2023. In 2023, Beck was named the most valuable player for the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League’s under-18 AAA level.

Carter Beck (#20) has great speed on the base paths for the Berries.

During his journey up the minor baseball system as a player, Beck often had Blair as one of the coaches of the teams he would play on including the Twins. Those years allowed Carter to become a player that excelled in the outfield mainly at centre-field and at the plate.

Beck suited up for the Berries as a rookie in their inaugural campaign in 2024. It ended up being a spectacular campaign for Beck.

In 51 regular season games with the Berries, he posted a .374 batting average, 11 home runs, 38 runs batted in and 53 runs scored. Beck claimed awards from the WCBL as the circuit’s Rookie of the Year and Most Outstanding Canadian.

Leading up to his second season with the Berries, Beck is currently playing in the NCAA Division I ranks with the Indiana State University Sycamores Baseball Team as a sophomore.

Beck was honoured to take home a pair of league awards in his first campaign with the Berries.

“It was really cool,” said Beck. “I think I was in my eighth or ninth grade when I saw they did a top Canadian award in the WCBL.

“I said to my dad, “That would be pretty cool to get one day.” Sure enough, last year being able to do it was pretty cool. It just kind of happened with the season I had going well for me all year.

“Getting some acknowledgement, I guess for a good season, that was really cool. It is good to have a small-town Sask kid get those awards in that league too being a Saskatchewan/Alberta league.”

During his final season with the Twins in 2023, the idea of playing in the WCBL in Saskatoon popped into Beck’s head. On March 29, 2023, the Sask Entertainment Group (SEG) and the WCBL announced during a press event at the Indoor Training Centre that Saskatoon was granted a WCBL expansion franchise to begin play in May of 2024.

Carter Beck hit .374 for the Berries in the 2024 regular season.

SEG would own the team that would be dubbed the Berries after a contest was held to name the club. Along with owning the Berries, SEG also owns and operates the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades and the NLL’s Saskatchewan Rush.

On July 5, 2023, the new baseball team announced that Joe Carnahan would be the club’s first head coach. He built a legacy in the WCBL in Swift Current playing for league championship teams in 2001, 2005 and 2006. Carnahan became the team’s head coach and guided them to league titles in 2010, 2016 and 2017.

When Carnahan came calling on the recruiting trail, Beck answered.

“Being in the first year definitely played a role,” said Beck. “I thought it was going to be a really cool experience.

“Just knowing like what they’ve done with the (WHL’s Saskatoon) Blades and the (NLL’s Saskatchewan) Rush and that it is all the same organization, that got me pretty excited. I just thought with the new team, there would be a lot of fans out there, and I knew they would do it right. I just wanted to play somewhere where I knew it was going to be a lot of fun and hopefully get some big crowds.

“They seemed to be the best fit.”

When Carnahan was recruiting Beck, the veteran coach knew the skill player developed a good reputation of being spectacular both at the baseball diamond and away from the game. Carnahan appreciated what Beck brought to the baseball park.

“I like just the way he plays the game,” said Carnahan. “He plays the game hard.

“He wants to win, and his skill set was very good too. The way he plays the game, he plays the game hard every pitch.”

Carter Beck takes questions during a post-game interview.

Carnahan said he got a better appreciation for how spectacular Beck was away from the diamond when the two dealt with each other on a daily basis with the Berries. Carnahan said the Berries aim to interact and be involved with the community. He was impressed with how well Beck interacted with people outside of the team and the community at large.

“He has been great,” said Carnahan. “That is exactly what we want with our organization.

“We want to have guys who are not only good players but good people. He represents our organization well, the city of Saskatoon well, his family well and now Indiana State well. He is a good ambassador for all that.

“We’re very happy to have him. He is one of a kind.”

Carnahan added that the first season Beck had with the Berries was pretty special.

“I thought he had a very good season especially for being a freshman to come in and not only contribute, but to be an impact guy defensively, offensively and with some power,” said Carnahan. “He did a great job for us all year.”

As an expansion team in 2024, the Berries went through their bumps. They started out 3-8 and improved rapidly to finish with a 31-26 record to place sixth overall on the 12-team circuit. The Berries packed Cairns Field attracting an average of 1,931 spectators for their 26 regular season home dates.

In the post-season, the Berries prevailed in a best-of-three East Division semifinal series 2-1 over the Medicine Hat Mavericks, who are annually one of the circuit’s toughest teams.

Game 1 of the best-of-three East Division Championship Series saw Beck deliver the most memorable moment in the team’s short history. In a 14-1 romp over the Moose Jaw Miller Express at Cairns Field on August 11, Beck hit for the cycle going 4-for-5 at the plate with three runs batted in.

Carter Beck signs autographs for some young Berries fans.

That meant Beck hit a single, a double, a triple and a home run all in the same game. Hitting for the cycle is one of the most difficult statistical feats to accomplish in Baseball.

With the single, double and home run under his belt, Beck came up to bat in the bottom of the seventh with a man on looking for the triple. He ultimately completed a feat that will always be a career highlight.

“My fifth at bat I came up with like we were up by 10 runs,” said Beck. “I looked at the outfield.

“I might as well try and hit the triple is what I thought. I looked at the outfield and saw that my place spot was in left field. I got a fastball away that I was able to hit over there.

“I think the left-fielder might have done a little bit of a circle to get to it. I’m sliding into third, and I’m almost over sliding the bag. Sliding into third, getting up and seeing everybody on their feet celebrating, it was really cool.”

The set with the Miller Express went to a series deciding Game 3 on August 13 at Cairns Field. The Berries season came to an end after they fell in a tight contest 5-3. They gave the fans a final salute before departing the field.

Last January 6, the Berries announced Beck as their first returnee for the 2025 campaign. The Berries open the season on Thursday, May 29 traveling to Weyburn to take on the Beavers at 7 p.m. at Tom Laing Park. They open their home schedule on Saturday, May 31 at 4 p.m. taking on the Regina Red Sox at Cairns Field.

During the 2024 campaign, Beck enjoyed having numerous family members come out to his games in Saskatoon and when the Berries played on the road against the circuit’s other Saskatchewan member teams. While 2024 was great, Beck is looking forward to a thrilling second campaign with the Berries in 2025.

“It is going to be super exciting,” said Beck. “I think people know what they are going to get now when they come to games too.

Carter Beck (#20) looks forward to the 2025 season with the Berries.

“I think everybody I talked to anyways had fun coming to those games. I know we are going to bring back some guys, and we’re going to bring back an even better team. We’re going to be really good this year, and it should be a whole lot of fun to watch seeing some of the guys we have coming this year.

“It should be a lot of fun again.”

For more information about the Saskatoon Berries and their upcoming WCBL season, feel free to check their website at www.saskatoonberriesbaseballclub.ca.