Summer Collegiate

Former impact player for HarbourCats and Dawgs calls it a career

Published

5 years ago

March 7, 2021

Jason Peters

Photography by Christian J. Stewart

***

It wasn’t one of those lightning-bolt moments.

Michael Gretler’s decision to retire from professional baseball was more of an ongoing process. The former Pittsburgh Pirates prospect, who spent two formative summers playing on Canadian soil, listened to what his mind and body were telling him.

As hard as it was, he listened.

“It was definitely a decision I did not take lightly,” the 25-year-old said from his home in Seattle, just a short, scenic ferry ride away from Victoria, where he spent the 2015 summer season as a gem of a third baseman for the HarbourCats of the West Coast League. The following year, he took his talents to the Western Canadian Baseball League, where he claimed the most outstanding player award with the Okotoks Dawgs.

Michael Gretler was a standout third baseman for the Victoria HarbourCats in the summer of 2015.

“Baseball has done so much for me and it’s going to continue to be a part of my life but there are things in the working world and business world that I want to do and want to put on my resume as time goes on,” Gretler added. “And then – really – playing in the minor leagues, it’s a grind, man. It’s not a lot of pay, long bus rides, being away from your family and friends for an extended period of time. All those factors played a role (in my decision to retire) and I think it kind of boils down to the fact that if you’re not fully committed to something, and your heart and your passion isn’t fully there… it’s a grind as it is but then you lay those factors on top of that grind and it becomes much more difficult.”

Gretler officially hung up his spikes on Feb. 11, 2020. As a member of the Pirates organization he played two seasons in the minors, his last team the single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers of the South Atlantic League. Gretler also toiled for the West Virginia Black Bears and Bradenton Marauders.

The Pirates thought so highly of Gretler that they chose him twice in the MLB draft – in the 39th round in 2017 and the 10th round in 2018. They gave him a spring training call-up in March of 2019.

A product of Bonney Lake High School in the Greater Seattle area, Gretler was such a sizzling baseball commodity that he was actually drafted three times. The Boston Red Sox were the first MLB team to lay claim when they picked him in the 39th round in 2014. Gretler deferred the first two times in favour of attending, and then remaining at, Oregon State University, where he was a beloved member of the OSU Beavers from 2014 to 2018.

During his time with Victoria, Gretler would appear in 32 games, hitting .236, with one home run and 12 RBI, but also walking 23 times and scoring 20 runs.

When Gretler reflects on his career, he has no trouble picking out his highlight: going out as a champion in his final game with the Beavers. In that 2018 NCAA Division 1 season, OSU advanced all the way to the College World Series in Nebraska and eventually defeated the University of Arkansas Razorbacks in a best-of-three final that went the distance. Arkansas prevailed 4-1 in the opener, Oregon State stayed alive with a 5-3 extra-innings victory in Game 2 and then won 5-0 in the clincher.

“Obviously the individual accolades of playing college baseball or being drafted are great but that team camaraderie – as much time as you spend with those guys, you form some really special bonds that are going to go on for the rest of our lives – and being able to experience winning the College World Series with them was kind of like the perfect mountaintop for my career,” said Gretler, who was OSU’s starter at third base. “And it happened to be the last game of my college career so it was the cherry on top of what’s been a really, really exciting career.”

Gretler made his playing debut with the Beavers in February of 2015 and, later that year, arrived in Victoria for his first crack at baseball north of the border. While he’d been to Victoria a couple times before, the notion of living and playing in Canada left him feeling a little uneasy. But joining the HarbourCats, he quickly discovered, was the closest thing to professional baseball he had yet tasted. His nervousness evaporated and he made the absolute most of his opportunity.

Gretler at OSU, with the HarbourCats in 2015 and with his last pro team, the Greensboro Grashoppers, in 2019

“I remember it being the first experience of that challenge of playing baseball every single day,” he said. “Because in college, you play a weekend series, you get a couple days off, you might have a midweek (game) and another day off, and you might practice here and there. But the game every single day is why baseball is such a grind and such a challenge – the mental side of that and the physical side of that where you’re playing 16 games in a row before you get an off-day and your body is hurting after Day 8 and you’ve still got eight more games to go. It was a great introduction. And what I think is so great about the league, it gives guys that experience at a younger age that can then prepare them for hopefully a career in the minor leagues.”

Playing with and against such high calibre players is another thing Gretler remembers about his stint with the HarbourCats. And then there was the buzz of home games, routinely held in front of packed stands at Royal Athletic Park.

A very popular HarbourCat, one of Gretler’s images has adorned the front windows of the HarbourCats offices since late 2015.

“You hear you’re going to British Columbia and you’re like, ‘They play baseball up there?’ It’s just not the first thing that comes to mind,” Gretler said with a grin. “Us dumb Americans think of the hockey and the other sports so I didn’t really know what to expect – if they were big baseball fans. I knew, growing up, when the Blue Jays would come to play the Mariners, there was always a big presence of Canadian fans that would come down for those games but I really didn’t know what to expect from a college baseball standpoint. But it was unbelievable.

“I think the first game that I showed up was a sellout and you’re like, ‘Wow, this is not really what I was expecting for college baseball in Victoria.’”

HarbourCats fans immediately loved Gretler for his honest, hardworking approach to the game. That – combined with his athleticism, skill and professional demeanour on and off the field – will undoubtedly leave him as one of the favourite HCats of all time.

“He was probably the nicest kid we’ve ever had play for us – just really personable, a really engaging young man,” said Jim Swanson, general manager of the HarbourCats. “He played almost all third base for us and he was outstanding. Glovework doesn’t go into slumps, right?

“At the plate, he struggled, and struggled in the fact that he was really a guy getting his first real solid look at college pitching. Our league is a pretty good league – guys are going from here to pro baseball. But he worked hard, he was a battler that way.”

The next summer, 2016, Gretler put it all together with Okotoks. As the team’s most valuable player, his defensive game was as spotless as ever. And, with a bat in his hands, he was a beast (34 games played, .331 average, 45 hits, 11 doubles, four home runs, 36 RBIs). He also picked up 18 walks and swiped two bases.

While Gretler is giving up the hot corner to focus on his career in the biopharmaceutical industry and to his upcoming wedding in October, he is thankful for his time in Victoria, Okotoks and the pros and hopes to give back to the game someday, perhaps at the coaching level.

For Gretler, the stops in Victoria and Okotoks were all part of the journey and he’s thankful for those experiences and memories. With professional baseball now behind him, he has turned his attention to building a career. He now works in the biopharmaceutical industry as a sales representative for AbbVie. On a more personal level, he got engaged to high school sweetheart Emily last July, with the wedding planned for October in Seattle.

“We’ve been dating since my senior year of high school,” Gretler said. “I was getting a lot of pressure – everyone that I knew was like, ‘When’re you gonna ask? When’re you gonna ask?’ So we’re excited. We’re hoping the pandemic is behind us. It’s going to be a big baseball reunion, that’s for sure.”

Gretler certainly isn’t done with the game that has given him so much. He plans to get into coaching, and he’ll always be a fan.

In the near future, hopefully this summer, he’ll head down to the Seattle waterfront and jump on the Victoria Clipper ferry for a ride north and a HarbourCats game.

If there’s ever a Michael Gretler bobblehead night at Royal Athletic Park, he’ll be there for sure.

“It would be the first time ever I’d have my own bobblehead,” he said with a chuckle. “I’d definitely have to make my way up there for that.”

Jason Peters is a freelance writer and editor based in Prince George, British Columbia. Visit his website at www.frontpagepublications.net.

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Drop Series Opener to NorthPaws

Published

12 hours ago

July 25, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats ran out of time to complete their comeback in a Friday night matchup against the Kamloops NorthPaws, falling 9-5 to the visitors.

BOX SCORE

Contrary to how things have been going lately for the HarbourCats, it took until the fifth inning for either team to make their mark on the scoreboard. In what was otherwise an airtight start through the first four frames by Quincey Brown (UCSD), a single and two walks loaded the bases for Kamloops in the fifth. Brown plunked a batter to bring in the first run, and a single after that cleared the bases to put the NorthPaws out in front with a four-run lead.

The Cats struck back in the home half of the inning, sparked by a leadoff walk from Riley Kwak (Bossier Parish). A couple of groundouts moved Kwak over to third and Logan Shepherd (Mercer) came up with a two-out base hit to score Victoria’s first run of the game and cut into the Kamloops lead.

Cats starter Quincey Brown saw five innings of work in which he gave up four runs on three hits with four strikeouts. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Taylor Franklin (George Fox) stepped in as Brown’s replacement on the rubber, coming in for the top of the sixth and allowing an RBI double to restore a four-run lead for the NorthPaws. Franklin was back for the seventh and got to two outs before an error at first base allowed two more runs for Kamloops. The NorthPaws followed that up with the first homer of the night, a two-run bomb to left-centre that widened the lead to 9-1.

Victoria mounted the beginnings of a comeback in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases with nobody out for Home Run Derby champion Logan Shepherd. Shepherd popped a ball up that miraculously dropped just fair in a sea of NorthPaws to drive in a run, and Dillon Lopez (St. Mary’s) notched a sacrifice fly soon after.

Hawaii Pacific reliever Flynn Warren took the mound in the top of the eighth and worked quickly en route to a clean inning. The bottom of the eighth brought the return of David Krahn (UBC), who wasted no time rattling off a solo moonshot to deep left to chip away at the deficit.

Victoria loaded the bases again in the bottom of the ninth, but ran out of chances before any real damage could be done. In the end, the comeback fell short and the NorthPaws come out on top in game one by a score of 9-5.

WCL STANDINGS

The HarbourCats and NorthPaws will continue to duke it out throughout the weekend, hitting the field again for game two on Saturday night.

There are only six home games remaining in the 2026 regular season including our final weekend homestand of the year against Kamloops this weekend and then a mid-week set against the Port Angeles Lefties next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday! Then on August 3rd, we end the season with a bang! Our final fireworks show and Fan Appreciation Night! Don’t miss your chance to catch a game in 2026! Get your tickets now at http://Harbourcats.com/tickets.

ATTENTION VOUCHER HOLDERS: Just a reminder that all ticket vouchers must be exchanged for one of our remaining regular season games! They are not eligible for playoffs, nor can they be carried over to 2027.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Stomp Owls to Sweep Series

Published

2 days ago

July 24, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Nanaimo, B.C. – The HarbourCats faced the Nanaimo NightOwls for the third game of the series and erupted for 18 runs, finishing off the sweep.

In a fascinating case of déjà vu, the HarbourCats dealt some serious damage to their up-island hosts in the very first inning. After two singles by Jacob Silva (UTSA) and Rohne Klein (San Jose State) helped to load the bases, a wild pitch, a walk, and a plunked batter brought home the first three Victoria runners on base. Michael Rodda (Palomar) laced a base hit up the middle to bring home two more, and a Riley Kwak (Bossier Parish) single capped off the inning. Three outs, eleven batters, and six runs by the end of the top of the first.

BOX SCORE

Things went from bad to worse for the NightOwls and from good to better for the HarbourCats in the second inning! Once again, the bases found themselves full and, once again, Victoria put six runs on the board. Walks drawn by Aidan Rice (Portland) and Cameron Chee-Aloy (Illinois) pushed the first two to the plate. Then, with the pond full of ducks, Riley Kwak stepped up and hammered a baseball into the stratosphere for a grand slam, bringing the score to a nice even dozen.

The offence relented until the fifth, when a Rohne Klein solo homer added on further. Shortly after in the top of the sixth, the Cats loaded the bases and cashed in two runs by way of a Logan Shepherd (Mercer) double. A sacrifice fly provided the final word on inning number six, leaving Victoria holding a respectable 17-1 lead with three more innings to go.

With 18 runs in this ballgame, the Cats tied their 2026 season-high. (Photo by JPM Photography)

As he so often does, WCL All-Star Jeremiah Arnett (Rice) put together an excellent start. The Waco, Texas-born righty gave up a lone run in his six-inning outing, allowing four hits and earning three strikeouts. Carson Ackermann (Tacoma) was his successor, and he whipped his way through a clean seventh inning with two strikeouts and a popup.

The NightOwls made an effort in the bottom of the eighth, putting up four runs on Ackermann, and the right-hander continued to slip in the ninth. With the bases loaded and two outs, local catcher Jai Berezowski (Collegiate Cats) took the mound to finish it off, securing a flyout on three pitches to close out the series sweep on an 18-7 win.

WCL STANDINGS

There are only seven home games remaining in the 2026 regular season including our final weekend homestand of the year against Kamloops this Friday, Saturday and Sunday and then a mid-week set against the Port Angeles Lefties next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday! Then on August 3rd, we end the season with a bang! Our final fireworks show and Fan Appreciation Night! Don’t miss your chance to catch a game in 2026! Get your tickets now at http://Harbourcats.com/tickets.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Win Island Cup with Thorough 16-6 Victory

Published

3 days ago

July 23, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

An explosive first inning paved the way for Victoria to cruise to a win. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Nanaimo, B.C. – The HarbourCats showed up in a big way with a chance to lock down a series win on Wednesday night, thrashing the Nanaimo NightOwls 16-6.

With the victory on Tuesday, the HarbourCats were looking to hit the ground running in game two, and boy, did they ever. After Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD) kicked off the game with a single to centre field, the Cats simply kept the line moving around and around the bases, scoring seven runs by the time the inning came to an end.

BOX SCORE

A hit by pitch and a walk followed the Bradshaw single, loading the bases with nobody out for Rohne Klein (San Jose State), who legged out an infield hit to score Bradshaw from third. A sacrifice fly by Dillon Lopez (St. Mary’s) brought home Jacob Silva (UTSA), and Logan Shepherd (Mercer) scored from third soon after on a pitch in the dirt that got by the catcher. Michael Rodda (Palomar) got the next kick at the can and laced another single through the infield to bring in Klein. The NightOwls starter wasn’t doing himself any favours either, as a pickoff attempt that sailed over the head of the third baseman let another HarbourCat cross the plate, and a grounder back to the mound that was bafflingly thrown to third brought home run number seven. Nanaimo finally buckled down and secured the last two outs, but not before Victoria took a commanding lead with eight and a half innings still yet to come.

Though not quite at the intensity of the first inning, Victoria continued to put up runs throughout the middle innings. Riley Kwak (Bossier Parish) had an RBI single in the third to drive in the eighth run of the game, and Logan Shepherd blasted a three-run bomb in the fifth, his fourth of the summer to make it an 11-0 lead.

Shepherd’s fifth-inning homer strengthened the lead. (Photo by JPM Photography)

While the offence was doing their thing, Cats pitcher Spencer Kratt (San Jose State) put together a solid outing of his own. Kratt allowed no runs on two hits across his four innings, striking out five NightOwls before giving way to Tate Collins (Arkansas State) in the fifth. The NightOwls rallied to score their first two runs of the ballgame off of Collins in the sixth inning, although with a nine-run deficit staring them down, they had just reached the base camp of a long climb.

Victoria continued to add on after Nanaimo’s resurgence, pushing the score to 13-2 on an error and a groundout before the NightOwls responded by knocking in another run on back-to-back doubles.

A fielder’s choice, an error, and a sacrifice fly led to three more runs in the top of the eighth to increase the HarbourCats’ buffer in the late stages, just in case of emergency. Hunter Daniels (Phoenix) appeared to pitch the bottom of the ninth, giving up three runs but ultimately closing out a 16-6 thrashing to win the 2026 Island Cup.

WCL STANDINGS

With the series win secured, the Cats will go for the sweep on Thursday night before returning to Victoria.

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