Summer Collegiate

Stories with Gorm — on the A’s, Charlie Hustle, and the MLB playoffs

Published

11 months ago

October 15, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

To think that only Boston’s fabled Fenway Park and Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City remain of the fields Gorm pitched at, is a sign of time marching on — new parks host baseball now in Baltimore, where he made his MLB debut, and other American League (no interleague game at that time, folks) stops he made in places like Minnesota, Toronto, Detroit, and even a new Yankee Stadium.

Gorm threw his final MLB pitch at Fenway — quite a tale on its own, a grand slam given up to Hall of Fame outfielder Jim Rice after an error by Morgan helped load the bases.

“I was 27 years old when I got to the big leagues and in Kangaroo Court in the locker room there I was fined by the team for taking too long to get to the majors,” Gorm said, laughing.

“For me, it was a dream come true and I was blessed and lucky to realize my dream, and then to get into coaching like I have — I never thought of it.”

Then, there’s Charlie Hustle. The recent passing of Pete Rose took the baseball world by surprise.

“I never met Pete but I got to know his son (Pete Jr.) in the Phillies organization,” said Gorm, of the younger Rose who played in just 11 MLB games and collected two hits for the Cincinnati Reds — 4,254 fewer than his father did in setting the all-time MLB record.

“I saw Pete play in person many times at Dodger Stadium, he came up in 1963, and the first thing that comes to mind with Pete Rose was him running hard, sprinting, to first base on a walk. The head first slide — we all did that because of him. He played it hard, with such passion,” said Gorm, clearly showing admiration for players who give that all-out effort.

Pete Rose Jr. was with Gorm in Double-A with the Reading Phillies in 2001 — the manager was Gary Varsho, and his son Daulton Varsho was the team’s batboy. Of course, the younger Varsho is now a Blue Jays star outfielder.

Heimueller spent time coaching or coordinating in the Twins, Dodgers, Phillies and Padres organizations, earning World Series rings with the Twins and Phillies. He spent the most years with the Phillies.

“My time with Philadelphia, the closest thing to Pete Rose was Chase Utley, he also played the game hard. Pete wasn’t the most talented player, and they made a big deal about him being the first singles hitter to make $100,000. I never played against Pete, he was in the National League when I was in the American League with Oakland.

“Pete Jr. was in AA, and that was my first or second year coordinating back then, got to know him a little bit and obviously you knew who he was. He got a bit of time in the majors (11 games in 1997). I know Pete (Sr.) would sign every autograph ever asked of him and one time I got to sit with Larry Bowa and Pete Vukovich and most of what they talked about, I was in earshot, was about horse racing,” he laughed.

Now, it’s about watching the players who made it to The Show and smile when he hears a name or sees a player he may have spent even a moment or two working with during their ascension through the minors. Gorm’s last pro job before joining the NightOwls was as co-minor league pitching coordinator with the Padres organization.

Those he has watched just in the playoffs alone:

Cleveland Guardians — Emmanuel Clase, Erik Sabrowski (who hails from the Edmonton area), Joey Cantillo
New York Mets — Phil Maton (former Kelowna Falcons, WCL)
Philadelphia Phillies — Matt Strahm, Tanner Banks, Jose Ruiz
San Diego Padres — Adrian Morejon, Jason Adam

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Where are they now?…2025 Alumni update

Published

1 day ago

August 26, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

2017 HarbourCat Shane McGuire (above) has recently been promoted to AAA Las Vegas in the A’s system (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

32 former HarbourCats were active in affiliated pro ball in 2025

August 22, 2025

VICTORIA, BC – With the recent news that 2024 HarbourCat Lucas Ramirez had been promoted to “High A” ball in the Los Angeles Angels organization, we felt it was time to give a quick run down on some of our former HarbourCats and where they are now in their pro careers.

In total, 32 former players were active in affiliated professional baseball in 2025, from Rookie ball right up to the MLB level.

MLB

Notable among the 32 players are our currently active MLB guys, including Nick Pivetta (2013)(San Diego), Nathan Lukes (2014) (Toronto), Andrew Vaughn (2017) (White Sox and Milwaukee), Cade Smith (2019)(Cleveland), and Chase Meidroth (2019)(White Sox).

Meidroth is our most recent MLB player, receiving a call up to the Chicago parent club earlier this season and briefly appearing in the same lineup a few times with Andrew Vaughn, before Vaughn was traded to the Brewers.

2019 HarbourCat Chase Meidroth is now with the WhiteSox, having been called up to the big leagues in early 2025 (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

BEEN THERE DONE THAT….TRYING TO DO IT AGAIN!

In addition to our five active MLB players, three more have had their cup of coffee and are grinding away at the AAA level hoping to get there again. This includes Davis Wendzel (2017) who made his MLB debut in 2024 with Texas but is now with AAA Louisville in the Reds organization, Jack Neely (2019) who appeared for the Cubs in 2024 and is now at AAA Iowa, and finally Mr. HarbourCat himself Alex De Goti (2013-2015), who debuted in 2021 with Houston, but is now with AAA Round Rock in the Texas Rangers system.

KNOCKING ON THE DOOR

A few players have advanced to the AAA level this season and are knocking on the door and hoping for their MLB shot. This includes recently promoted Shane McGuire (2017) who is with AAA Las Vegas in the A’s system, Harrison Spohn (2018-2019) who is with Jacksonville in the Miami Marlins system and Carter Loewen (2018) who is with El Paso in the Padres system.

AJ Lewis (2018) had also advance to AAA Albuquerque in the Rockies’ system, but moved into a front office position with the Chicago Cubs in 2025.

GRINDING AWAY IN DOUBLE A

Players working hard and climbing the ladder at the AA level include AJ Block (2017) and Joe Redfield (2022) who are both with Rocket City in the Los Angeles Angels system, Travis Kuhn (2017) who is with Erie in the Tiger’s system, Indigo Diaz (2017) with Somerset in the Yankees system, Wyatt Young (2016) with Binghamton in the Mets system, and Caleb Ricketts (2018) with Reading in the Phillies system.

Rowdy Jordan (2018) had also advanced to AA Corpus Christi in the Mets system but announced his retirement in 2025. Adam McKillican is also with AA Hartford in the Rockies system but was on full season IR in 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery.

2024 HarbourCat Lucas Ramirez was recently moved to High A Tri-City in the Angels system after time in Rookie ball and with Team Brazil (Photo: Christian J. Stewart).

THE ‘A’s” ARE JUST GETTING STARTED

Ten former players spent time in single A ball this season (either short-season A or high A), the most notable among these being Dakota Hawkins (2019) who finished the year with Brooklyn, but also had stints at the AA and AAA level in the Met’s system. Another 2023 free agent Noah Takacs (2022) is with Bradenton in the Pirates system.

Headlining our 2024 draft class is the aforementioned Ramirez, who is now with High A Tri-City in the Angels organization. Ryan Magdic (2023) is with High A Lansing in the A’s system, Hunter Omlid (2019) is with High A Spokane in the Rockies system, Sean Heppner (2023) is with Lynchburg in the Guardians system, Connor Dykstra (2024) is with Modesto in the Mariners system, and Jesse Brown (2022-2023) is with Jupiter in the Marlin’s system.

From our 2025 draft class, Nick Dumesnil (2023) has been assigned to Lakeland in the Tigers system, while Dallas Macias (2023) is with Augusta in the Braves system.

HEY ROOKIE!

Also just starting their path on the pro ladder and still with their Rookie League teams are Jagger Beck (2024) with the Florida Complex League Astros and Carson Latimer (2023) with the Arizona Complex League Reds.

MOVING ON

In addition to Rowdey Jordan and AJ Lewis who hung up their pro cleats in 2025, a number of other former HarbourCats enjoyed a few years of affiliated minor-pro ball before recently moving on to other things. Here are a few notables:

Nick Meyer (2015) – played six seasons in NY Mets and Tampa Bay organizations, making it to AAA before being released in 2024.

Jack Owen (2017) – The 2017 WCL Pitcher of the Year, played four seasons most with the Lansing Lugnuts before retiring in 2024.

Matt Clayton (2018-2019) – A 2023 free agent signing by Minnesota, played two seasons, all at the A/A+ level.

Dillon Larsen (2019) – Signed by Arizona as a free agent in 2022, played three seasons making it to AA Amarillo before being released.

Josh Gessner (2019) – Signed by the Phillies as a free agent in 2019, moved to Rangers organization where he went to High A Hickory in 2024 before retiring.

Luke Boyd (2017) – Drafted in 2021, played parts of three seasons in Padres system before moving to independent pro ball where he was still pitching for Winnipeg in 2025.

Kekai Rios (2017) – Drafted by Milwaukee in 2018, traded to Dodgers, then Blue Jays where he advanced to AAA Buffalo before being released in 2024.

Joe Record (2013) – perhaps our longest grinding minor leaguer, Record was drafted in 2017 by the Twins and eventually rose to AAA with Houston and ultimately Tampa in 2024 before moving to independent ball where he is still going, having pitched in the Mexican leagues in 2025.

Ready to see what HarbourCat may have their shot at pro ball? Season tickets and 10-game flex packs are now on sale for the 2026 season at http://harbourcats.com/tickets. Lock in your season tickets today to get first right of refusal on your seats for the 2026 WCL All-Star game that will be played here in Victoria.

Season tickets, 10-packs and team merchandise are also available at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street, Tuesday thru Friday, 10am-4pm.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Five HarbourCats selected to 2025 “All WCL” team

Published

1 week ago

August 20, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

Above: Logan Shepherd belts one of his eight home runs on the season against Wenatchee on July 27th. Shepherd earned All WCL first team honours for his play this season (Photo: Christian J. Stewart).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 19, 2025

Victoria, BC – The Victoria HarbourCats are extremely pleased to announce the following players have been named to the 2025 “All WCL” team:

Starting Pitcher, Tommy Bridges (First Team)
Designated Hitter, Logan Shepherd (First Team)
Shortstop, Tanner Beltowski (Honourable Mention)
Starting Pitcher, Logan Rumberg (Honourable Mention)
Relief Pitcher, Austin Lindsey (Honourable Mention).

The HarbourCats were among seven of the 17 WCL teams that had five or more players named to the First Team, Second Team and Honorable mentions, with the Portland Pickles leading the way with 11 players. Bellingham led the way in the North Division with eight players selected.

See full list of “All WCL” team selections HERE.

Bridges was lights out on the mound for the HarbourCats this season and was selected to the midseason All-Star Game thanks to his 1.83 ERA in his nine appearances, all starts. In that time, he pitched 39.1 innings, striking out 37 and walking only seven.

Tommy Bridges’ 1.83 ERA was good enough to earn him All WCL First Team honours for 2025 (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

Shepherd was an offensive catalyst in 2025, hitting .345 with 41 RBI and eight home runs, tying the HarbourCats franchise record. He also added 28 walks to the mix and had an OPS of 1.039.

Beltowski was a pleasant surprise for the HarbourCats, originally intended to be a start of the year fill-in player, but he earned himself a regular spot and an All-Star game selection thanks to his .303 batting average, 27 RBI, three home runs and 32 walks. He was also second on the team in runs scored with 44.

Tanner Beltowski earned an All WCL Team Honourable Mention for his solid play for the HarbourCats in 2025 (Photo: Justin Morash).

Rumberg made seven appearances on the season, all starts, and amassed a 2-3 record with a 3.64 ERA in 29.2 innings of work. He struck out 35 and walked only 11. His most notable appearance was his last, going seven complete innings in a 13-8 win over Wenatchee.

Lindsey was a consistent arm out of the bullpen for the ‘Cats, appearing in 13 games and earning a 2-1 record with two saves and a 4.12 ERA. He also pitched two innings of scoreless relief in Victoria’s 3-1 playoff win in Edmonton, striking out three to earn the save.

Season tickets and 10-game flex packs are now on sale for the 2026 season. Get yours now at http://harbourcats.com/tickets, or by calling the office at 778-265-0327. You may also drop in at 101-1814 Vancouver Street. Off-season hours are Tuesday – Friday, 10AM to 5PM.

Fans who renew or purchase new Season Ticket Memberships prior to tickets going on sale for the 2016 WCL All-Star game here in Victoria, will get first right of refusal to purchase their seats for that game and any other associated events. It is anticipated that All-Star tickets will be available in October, so lock your season seats in now!

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Thank you, Coach Anderson!

Published

2 weeks ago

August 15, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

August 15, 2025

For immediate release

VICTORIA, B.C. – Using his signature phrase of “figure it out,” the Victoria HarbourCats would like to thank coach Scott Anderson for his years as Pitching Coach of the West Coast League team. He has, indeed, figured out that he is saying a fond good-bye to the organization.

Anderson, a veteran baseball guy and a veteran of the league, will turn 70 in October — a very young 70 for all who know him! He has been a tremendous asset on and off the field in guiding the pitching staff and working so closely with Head Coach Todd Haney for three seasons — the HarbourCats have enjoyed every moment, and Scott will always be a part of the family.

“Scott has been tremendous in the role, his pitchers loved working with him,” said Managing Partner Jim Swanson. “He was the perfect addition for us three years ago and gave us every bit of his energy. Such a classy baseball gentleman — even when suggesting an umpire should maybe return to school,” Swanson joked. (Well, kinda…)

The HarbourCats made the WCL Playoffs all three years Anderson was pitching coach, including the run to the Championship Final in 2023. The Cats had a combined regular-season record of 100-62 in three years with Anderson on the coaching staff.

Countless pitchers who have played in Victoria and worked under Anderson have seen major improvements in their game. Right-handed pitchers Carson Cormier and Tommy Bridges were named to the WCL All-Star Games in 2024 and 2025 respectively. Anderson has also played a part in the development of recent MLB draftees such as Ryan Magdic, Sean Heppner, and Carson Latimer, who all played for the Cats in 2023.

2026 SEASON TICKETS – Season ticket renewals and sales are now on for the 2026 season! 10-Game Flex Packs are also on sale! Existing season ticket holders can log in to their Showpass account and navigate to the Memberships link, where they can easily renew their seats online. Members can also drop in or call the office at 778-265-0327, and we can process the renewal for them. New Season Ticket buyers can click HERE to purchase seats for 2026!

For more updates, be sure to follow @HarbourCats on all social channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

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