The players on the Regina Red Sox had motivation leading into this year's Western Canadian Baseball League playoffs.
"A big thing coming into the playoffs, especially that Berry series, we really wanted to honour Jesse Lubiniecki, who unfortunately passed away right before the season," Red Sox catcher Brady Bye said on the SportsCage. "We knew that he was up in the sky watching down on us, taking care of us. That gave us another sense of hope and some more motivation to be able to go and do that."
Lubiniecki unfortunately died in a single-vehicle rollover on his way back to the team in Rosebud County, Montana on May 30 at 22 years old.
When the Red Sox faced off against the Saskatoon Berries in the WCBL East Final, Regina won the best-of-three series 2-1. Before the playoffs, the Berries led the WCBL East Division with a 46-9 record compared to the Red Sox who finished third with a 29-27 record.
The Red Sox played the Sylvan Lake Gulls in the WCBL Final and won by defeating them 2-1 in their best-of-three series. Bye was awarded the WCBL playoff MVP award. That marked the third time in Red Sox history Regina won the WCBL championship, the last time the Red Sox won was when they claimed back-to-back titles in 2011 and in 2012.
Bye is from Regina, Saskatchewan and is in his third season with the team after joining in 2022. This season, Bye suited up 45 times for the Red Sox, his batting average was .333 with nine home runs, 39 runs batted in and he also scored 35 runs.
Overall, the Red Sox faced adversity this year because they lost 14 players who either returned to school or agreed to play for another pro team. This situation meant players on the team needed to get acquainted with each other quickly.
"We lost some big tools, some great locker room guys, that was tough. We weren't really sure what to expect with some new guys coming in, but the new guys we had come in were awesome," Bye explained. "They meshed super well with us; it took us a little while to click. We had all the tools all year long, and then that last week of the season we really figured it out."
According to Bye, the whole team has a ton of respect for their head coach, Rye Pothakos.
"He's always taking care of us, we call him uncle Rye, he's sort of a dad to all of us to some extent," Bye said. "He's always making sure that we're getting taken care of. He wants everyone to make sure, before baseball, that they're good and then the baseball comes next for him. I think that's what makes him so special."
