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The Incredible Stories of Gorm Heimueller

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1 month ago

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There may only be one man alive who, in the span of four minutes, can weave a story that includes the best basketball player of all time, a sure-fire hall-of-fame Major League manager, the legendary captain of the Yankees, two all-star catchers, and an accused killer.

Yes, a tale capped with an alleged murderer.
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Gorm Heimueller, now the pitching coach of the Nanaimo NightOwls of the West Coast League, is that guy. (Writer’s recommendation — buy Gorm dinner any chance you have, and sit back and listen to the stories. Worth every penny from a guy whose first spring training managers were Frank Robinson and Billy Martin.)
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This story — well, it’s worth the read for sure.
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Heimueller, a former MLB pitcher with nearly 50 years in the game (should it be mentioned that his college shortstop at Cal Poly was Ozzie Smith?), has World Series rings from developing pitchers for the Twins and Phillies, but his true wealth is the stories he can tell about the people he’s met. (His true wealth aside from his lovely wife LeeAnn, of course. You can’t forget LeeAnn, the Finnish Canadian.)

Gorm (it should be mentioned he once struck out Reggie Jackson, twice, and Rod Carew in a game in the Bigs) heard the news of the recent arrest of ex-Twins lefty Dan Serafini (more on that later) and was left recalling his fall in the fairly-new Arizona Fall League in 1994, sent by the Twins to help the Chandler Diamondbacks, playing games at the archaic former Brewers spring stadium.

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Ah, yes, 1994 — no October MLB playoffs due to the August walkout and players strike that surely kept the Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays from their collision course in an all-Canadian World Series. (We all know the Expos would have needed six games to halt the Blue Jays’ run of World Series titles at two, right? Right.)

“We were the only baseball around, there was a lot of attention on us and that was fun,” said Gorm.

Gorm’s team’s catchers were Charles Johnson and Jason Kendall, who would go on to all-star status at the MLB level. A player in the league that fall was none other than Michael Jordan, who for still mysterious reasons abruptly left the Chicago Bulls in the midst of their dynasty to strike out a lot with the Birmingham Barons, AA affiliate of the White Sox. Ex-Expo Terry Francona, surely headed to the Hall of Fame as a manager, had Jordan on his teams both in Arizona and Birmingham — where Jordan famously bought a tricked-out bus for the team’s travel comfort.

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Gorm’s fall league shortstop? Gangly, barely 20 years old, defensively inconsistent at the time but taken sixth overall in 1992 by the Yankees — Derek Jeter.

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“Jeter and Serafini attended my son’s fifth birthday party that fall. I saw Jeter a few years later and, I hated doing this, but I wanted to get something signed so I went up to him — he said ‘Hey, Gorm! How are you’,” said Heimueller. “I was shocked he remembered me. And he was glad to sign some things for me.”

Actually a Jeter connection is why Heimueller is coaching for the NightOwls in the first place. His good friend in the game, legendary scout Marti Wolever, who was scouting supervisor for the Yankees when Jeter was drafted, worked with Gorm in the Phillies organization and they are close friends to this day.

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The classy Wolever, a member of the Professional Scouts Hall of Fame and a former minor league outfielder, was a top scout with the Detroit Tigers in 2016 when Jim Swanson, now GM of the NightOwls, was added as an Associate Scout by the Tigers. Wolever connected Swanson and Heimueller for the pitching coach opening in Nanaimo, putting NightOwls history in motion.

This whole story germinated from news that Serafini, who pitched for four MLB teams over an 11-year span, was arrested for murder and attempted murder tied to an attack in 2021 in the Lake Tahoe area.
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“I remember him well — he gave me a gift at the end of that fall season to thank me for putting up with him being such a pain in the ass,” said Gorm, laughing.
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“I liked him, and he went on to pitch for us with the Twins. But I guess with all those names it just shows you never know what’s going to become of people, right?” he added.

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Summer Collegiate

Strong returning core taking shape for NightOwls for 2024

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4 days ago

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November 28, 2023

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Easter, Fleury, Buchan and Waters excited to be back in Nanaimo

Building a team is also about building a culture, with character people who have leadership skills — and that culture is important.

The Nanaimo NightOwls are pleased to announce the return of four key players from the 2023 team, the second season of WCL baseball at historic Serauxmen Stadium, and it’s a group of four that especially has veteran pitching coach Gorm Heimueller smiling.

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Two quality arms, a big bat and a second-team All-WCL catcher will be back in the navy and yellow — Michael Easter behind the dish, part of the catching crew that will receive pitches again from Nathan Buchan and Jake Fleury, along with a strong hitter in Wylie Waters. They join local infielder Aaron Marsh, last year’s co-player-of-the-year, as the first group confirmed for 2024.

Nathan Buchan, LHP, University of Redlands, from Mercer Island, WA

Jake Fleury, RHP, Skagit Valley College, from Burlington, WA

Wylie Waters, IF, South Mountain CC, from West Vancouver, BC

Michael Easter, C, Azuza Pacific, from Arcadia, CA

The WCL schedule was announced earlier this month — the regular season home opener for Head Coach Greg Frady and the NightOwls is Tuesday, June 4 against the Cowlitz Black Bears.

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Easter, who has moved from East LA CC to D-1 Azuza Pacific, was part of a strong catching core in 2023, walking more times than he struck out (26BB, 18K) and hitting .315 (16th in the WCL in average) with 21 runs driven in. His nine doubles tied for third on the team.

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Buchan, the opening day starter in 2023, is a warrior and a throwback, often going deep in games and going 3-3 with a 4.09 ERA over nine starts — a pitcher’s pitcher who struck out 32 batters in 37.1 innings.

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Potent hitter Waters, who played some infield, some outfield and DH in 2023 for Coach Greg Frady, is at South Mountain CC in Arizona, and had a strong summer in the WCL in which he hit .317 (14th in the WCL) with two home runs, 21 RBIs and 10 doubles, second on the NightOwls, in 42 games. He struck out just 22 times, matching his total of 22 combined base on balls (17) and hit by pitch (5).

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats add to 2024 roster, some names familiar to fans

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4 days ago

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November 28, 2023

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November 28, 2023

VICTORIA, B.C. — The season may feel far away, just over six months to be exact, but plans are well underway for filling Head Coach Todd Haney’s 2024 Victoria HarbourCats roster.

ALERT!  2024 SINGLE GAME TICKETS GO ON-SALE, Friday, December 1, 2023 at 9:00AM

Included are returning pitchers, and local products via the Victoria Eagles program, Sam Jordan and Ryder Green, along with the next Magdic (mag-DEECH) power-hitting prospect.

  • Kyle Magdic, IF, Lincoln, ON, 6-3/230, Marshalltown CC
  • Brooks Brewster, RHP, Carthage, TX, 6-2/205, Paris JC (Texas)
  • Wyatt Anderson, RHP, Cochrane, AB, 6-3/205, Hill JC (Texas)
  • Kade Douglas, RHP, Trinidad, CO, 6-2/185, CSU Pueblo
  • Ryder Green, RHP, Victoria, BC, 6-0/185, Park-Gilbert (AZ)
  • Sam Jordan, RHP, Victoria, BC, 6-3/190, Trinidad State (CO)

Magdic is the younger brother of 2023 fan favourite Ryan Magdic, a big corner infielder with huge power potential. Anderson is a power pitcher who will benefit from working with HarbourCats pitching coach Scott Anderson (no relation) and the staff.

Brewster is yet another Texas recruit by Haney, with a fastball in the low 90s, a college freshman who had great success at the top high school level in a very competitive state.

Douglas, a lanky right-hander with swing-miss stuff, pitched in the Northwoods League and WCBL, advancing from Allen CC to CSU-Pueblo. Green, who has been around the team for many years including being a batboy many moons ago, is in the midst of his freshman NAIA season in Arizona and returns for a second season working with Anderson.

Jordan returns for a second season, this time after spending a year at Trinidad State in Colorado (previously at Thompson Rivers in Kamloops). He made six appearances including two starts for the HarbourCats in 2023, going 2-0 with a 2.76 ERA and walking only four hitters.

Now that the 2024 HarbourCats schedule has been released, HarbourCats staff are very busy behind the scenes getting ready for the upcoming year.  Season Tickets are now on sale, as are 10-Game Flex packs and SINGLE GAME TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON-LINE starting THIS Friday December 1st, 2023 at 9:00 AM.

As always, single game tickets will be available through our one and only ticketing partner Select Your Tickets at http://harbourcats.com/tickets.

SINGLE GAME TICKET PRE-SALE SPECIAL!
Fans who want to get a jump on their single game ticket purchases may do so by dropping into the HarbourCats office on Wednesday or Thursday November 29th and 30th between Noon and 7PM as the HarbourCats are holding their annual Christmas Open House at the office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.

Other Christmas Open House specials include season ticket renewals or new purchases at 2023 pricing (a savings of $20-25 per seat) plus 20% off all in store merchandise!  Food and beverage will also be provided.

 

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Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Annual Christmas Open House Nov. 29th and 30th!

Published

2 weeks ago

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November 17, 2023

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YOU ARE INVITED!
Please mark your calendars and join us, as we usher in the 2023-2024 Holiday season with our annual HarbourCats Christmas Open House, this year expanded over a two day period!

November 29th and 30th, 2023
12 Noon to 7:00 pm both days
at the HarbourCats office
101-1814 Vancouver Street (just around the corner from the park!)

We will have our usual assortment of treats and holiday beverages on hand, plus plenty of great deals on tickets and merchandise for the baseball fan on your Christmas list.  Come on in and take advantage of the following offers:

15% off ALL in store merchandise
including new 2023 North Division Champion shirts, game worn jerseys, new kids apparel and plenty more!

2024 Single Game Ticket Pre-Buy
Be the first to get your single-game tickets for 2024 before they go on sale on-line and to the general public on Friday December 1st!

2024 Voucher Exchanges 
If you have ticket vouchers, be first to exchange them for your preferred seats before single game tickets go on sale to the general public!

Early Bird Season Ticket Pricing! 
Even though our Early Bird deadline on Season Tickets has passed, come in either day to renew your 2023 seats or set up new season tickets and we will give you those at our 2023 pricing!

Get a 2024 Schedule
Pick up a copy of our 2024 Schedule, one that includes 32 home games, 4 fireworks nights and all the excitement of another West Coast League season!  Home Opener, Friday, June 7, 2024 6:35 pm against the Wenatchee AppleSox

We will look forward to seeing you on the 29th and 30th!

Stay tuned to all of our social media for updates and more details as they become available.

Web: www.harbourcats.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harbourcats
Facebook Fan Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/harbourcats
Twitter: https://twitter.com/harbourcats
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harbourcats

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