Albers’ next chapter

Pro-pitcher brings end to playing days to focus on coaching

By Darren Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex

Andrew Albers, right, gives a pointer to a player.

Andrew Albers said his arm was telling him his pitching days were near an end.

The left-hander from North Battleford, Sask., represented Canada at the World Baseball Classic this past March and the Pan Am Games Qualifier this past June. At the World Baseball Classic, Canada posted a 2-2 record playing all its contests in Phoenix, Arizona, and didn’t advance out of pool play.

At the Pan Am Games Qualifier in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Canada posted a 3-1 record, but didn’t make the tournament final coming up short in the Team Quality Balance tiebreaker. Panama, who Canada beat 6-5 in eight innings in preliminary round play, won the final and earned the last berth to the Pan Am Games, which wrapped up on November 5.

With Canada being unable to advance to the Pan Am Games, the Pan Am Games Qualifier turned out to be Albers final event as a player, which brought an end to a career that spanned 15 years as a professional including stops in the MLB with the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners from 2013 to 2021.

“I think the career is pretty much over,” said Albers, who turned 38-years-old on October 6. “I was able to get the arm going for a couple of tournaments with the national team.

“Unfortunately after those tournaments, I was a little bit sore. I kind of figured it was probably about time to hang them up. It seemed like kind of a logical progression kind of going through it.

“Some opportunities came up with Going Yard here and then with the (Western Canadian Baseball League’s Saskatoon) Berries. It definitely seemed like good opportunities for me to kind stay in the game, and hopefully, pass on some knowledge that I’ve gained over the years.”

With that, Albers decided to leave his playing days behind and focus on becoming a full-time coach. During the off-seasons in the later part of his career, Albers sharpened his craft at the Going Yard Training Centre, which ultimately led to him helping coach all the other pitchers at Going Yard. He also got out fairly frequently to help out players coming up in province’s minor baseball system in various training sessions.

Andrew Albers, left, enjoys working with player at Going Yard.

On October 12, Going Yard announced Albers had come on board as a full-time coach. Before that announcement, the Berries announced on September 12 that Albers joined the club as a pitching coach on head coach Joe Carnahan’s staff as the club embarks on its inaugural campaign in 2024 playing home games out of Cairns Field.

Albers found he always enjoyed helping young players, so he was thankful to get the coaching opportunities with Going Yard and the Berries.

“I think the best thing is just working with the kids,” said Albers, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 200 pounds. “You’re trying to work with kids who are trying to realize their own personal dreams going through this game.

“Just seeing them progress. If you can give them a tip here or there that you hope helps them progress in their journey, I think that is the rewarding part about coaching in general. That is kind of why you do it.

“You try to have an impact on some kids. If you can manage to do that with a few of them, you feel like you’ve done a decent job.”

Albers said the crew at Going Yard had planted the idea in his head about coming on board in a full-time capacity when his playing days were done. The North Battleford, Sask., product felt like he found a home at Going Yard and at the facilities on the Gordie Howe Sports Complex grounds.

“Jordan (Draeger) had talked to me a couple of the past off-seasons, when the baseball season was over or the baseball career was over to talk to him about it,” said Albers. “You know, it was an opportunity where it just seemed kind of natural.

“Having been here the last couple of years kind of working out in the facility with the kids and hanging around them and things like that, it was a place I felt comfortable coming and being apart of. I know Jordan (Draeger), Matty (Kosteniuk) and Marshall (Dean), they’ve done a great job here developing the brand. I feel like they do things the right way and do a great job with their kids teaching the game of baseball.

Andrew Albers will work the Berries as a pitching coach.

“Again, it was a pretty comfortable transition, and I felt good about doing it.”

Albers said the opportunity to join the Berries was a cool surprise. Way back in 2004, he played with Saskatoon’s previous WCBL team, the Yellow Jackets, when the circuit was known as the Western Major Baseball League. 

Still, he wasn’t sure what the Berries’ plans were.

“That one wasn’t quite as clear cut,” said Albers. “(President of Baseball Operations) Steve (Hildebrand) approached me when he had mentioned that they were bringing the team back here and asked if I might be interested in helping out in some way shape or form.

“I was more than happy to be apart of that. The coaching side seemed logical and seemed like a pretty obvious progression. Obviously, Joe (Carnahan) is going to be the manager there, and he has a great background with that league being a player and former coach that has won it both ways.

“It is going to be exciting working with him. Certainly, the ownership group that is behind them it is going to be a lot of fun. From my own personal standpoint, getting to work a little bit higher level with college players, collegiate players coming over and playing in that league, I’m looking forward to that as well.”

While Albers has transitioned to the coaching side of his baseball life, he admits his competitive side left him feeling he wanted to obtain more accomplishments in his playing career like staying in the MLB a little bit longer.

After taking time to look at things from a different lens, Albers will leave behind his playing days with no regrets.

“You always felt like you could have done a little bit better,” said Albers.“When I look back on it objectively and think about what I had from a talent standpoint and the gifts that I had, I do feel like I overachieved, so at the end of the day, I feel pretty content with the career I had.

Andrew Albers, right, grins at something a player tells him.

“I was very fortunate. I got to do it a lot longer than most guys and got to meet a lot of great people and had a lot of great experiences a long the way. As far as that goes, you get paid to play a game.

“I was fortunate to do it for about 15 years. It doesn’t really get much better than that at the end of the day. Am I content? Sure. Would I have wanted more? Absolutely.”

For more information on the Going Yard Training Centre, feel free to check out their website at www.gyba.ca. For more information on the Saskatoon Berries Baseball Club, feel free to check out their website at www.saskatoonberriesbaseballclub.ca.

Albers thankful for return to AAA ball and “the Show”

By Darren Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex

Andrew Albers sets to throw a pitch in January 2020.

For Andrew Albers, it was a blessing to get another season under the sun playing AAA and Major League Baseball when you are an older pitcher.

When you are a veteran left-handed hurler that hasn’t played at those levels for three seasons, it is even more of a blessing.

After finishing the 2017 season with the MLB’s Seattle Mariners, Albers, who is from North Battleford, Sask., played three seasons in Japan’s top professional league for the Orix Buffaloes from 2018 to 2020.

This past February at age 35, Albers signed a minor league contract with the MLB’s Minnesota Twins that included an invitation to Spring Training. Things took off from there resulting in a spot with the AAA St. Paul Saints and a return to playing games in the MLB this past August.

“They offered me a position out of spring kind of as a depth guy in AAA,” said Albers, who spends his off-seasons back in Saskatchewan. “Obviously, they had a lot of injuries to their pitching staff this year, and I was able to put together a good couple of months.

“I was thankful for the opportunity they gave me. I was able to go out and have a couple of good outings (with the Twins). I probably had possibly the worst start of my career in Tampa. Unfortunately, that is just kind of how things go.

“After that, I was a little bit rough just kind of going up and down and pitching on short notice and some things like that. Again, when you are in my situation, it was all I could ask for. They gave me an opportunity, and I was really thankful for that.”

At the AAA level, Albers was a starter and saw action in 18 total games posting an 8-4 record, a 3.88 earned-run average, 88 strikeouts and 11 walks.

On Aug. 19, Albers, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 200 pounds, made his first appearance of the season at the big league level at Yankee Stadium. He threw four innings of relief for the Twins in their 7-5 loss striking out four batters giving up two hits including a solo home run and one walk.

Andrew Albers unloads a pitch in January of 2020.

Albers got his first start of the season for the Twins at home on Aug. 27. He threw five-and-a-third innings striking out two, while giving up three hits and one walk picking up the pitching win in a 2-0 victory.

In total this past season, Albers made five appearances for the Twins posting a 1-2 record, a 7.58 ERA, 12 strikeouts and nine walks.

He said the biggest adjustment playing at the AAA and MLB levels in 2021 compared to 2017 was seeing how much analytics have changed the game. He noted starters rarely get to throw over 100 pitches in a game, see a batting order for a third time or go six or seven innings deep into a contest.

He had some discussions with pitching coaches and managers about getting an early hook at times this season. Albers added the middle relievers are better than at any other time he can remember in the game, so he understood the strategies there.

“It was really interesting,” said Albers. “For me in my entire career, I’ve been brought up and it was all throw the ball down at the knees with your fastball and work in and out.

“Coming to the analytics this year, it has gone a lot more to throwing the ball at the top of the zone and just working your breaking ball underneath the zone. For me, it was finding a way to incorporate some of those analytics, but then also go back to what I have been successful with. As long as you command the baseball and you throw the pitch where you want to and you have a plan of what you want to do with guys, you can still be successful.”

During the off-season, Albers returns home to Saskatchewan and gets out fairly frequently to help players coming up in the province’s minor baseball system in various training sessions. He has made regular appearances at the Indoor Training Centre on the Gordie Howe Sports Complex grounds the past two off-seasons.

Being based in Saskatoon for this off-season, Albers plans to made a few more appearances to help out.

“I enjoy doing it first of all,” said Albers. “I think second of all I really enjoyed growing up in Saskatchewan.

Andrew Albers demonstrates a pitching technique in Jan. 2020.

“I had a lot of people obviously put in a whole bunch of time and hours into my career and my development. I feel like for me going back and getting to work with some of the younger players I can maybe provide a little bit different perspective than what some other guys can.

“It is always nice to have somebody who has kind of gone through the process whether it is going through college or going through the professional game and things like that just to be able to bounce ideas off of or ask questions to or things like that.”

Albers, who is a graduate of North Battleford’s John Paul II Collegiate, remembers the work the various coaches in the province did with him and likes trying to help out those coaches.

“I had a lot of mentors who did that for me in the province guys like Greg Brons and Rob Cherepuschak who are still there,” said Albers, who played for the defunct Saskatoon Yellow Jackets of the Western Canadian Baseball League in 2004. “They are still doing a great job.

“To be able to give back a little bit in that way especially again in Saskatchewan when you don’t necessarily have everybody come back, for me that is important.”

At the Gordie Howe Sports Complex, Albers like working with Jordan Draeger and the rest of staff at the Going Yard Training Centre in developing young players.

Albers hopes that his presence does put the idea in the minds of young players that you can come from Saskatchewan and eventually play the game at a level as high as the MLB.

“The more of those guys you can see around and the more that you realize that it might be possible, maybe that motivates them a little bit,” said Albers. “They realize that even though it can be a tough and a long road it is possible, and that is what you hope just being able to see those pro guys come in.”

As for next season, Albers is currently a free agent and said at this point there isn’t much clarity as to where he will be. The collective bargaining agreement between the MLB and the MLB Players Association is set to expire on Dec. 1.

Albers, who turned 36-years-old on Oct. 6, believes there is a good chance there will be a little bit of a work stoppage. For someone his age, he would appreciate the chance to experience one more season under the sun.

Andrew Albers chats with some young players in Jan. 2020.

“I’m hoping to hopefully go back and play in AAA again next year in kind of a similar situation to this year,” said Albers. “We’ll see if I can find an opportunity to do that.

“Obviously you know, you start getting a little bit older, and you are not quite sure how many more opportunities you are going to have. I looked at the playoff rosters this year. If I were on them, I would have been the oldest on five out of the 10 (teams).

“I just think, ‘Holy smokes, that is kind of crazy.’ For me, I look at it as a guy like me to still be playing when the game has gotten very young very quick, I’ve just been very fortunate and blessed to play as long as I have. Hopefully, I can trick somebody into giving me one more shot next year, and then we’ll go from there.”