There’s a new Sherriff in town within the Red Deer Riggers organization.
Actually he’s only new when it comes to being the bench boss for the Senior men’s Baseball team.
Shortstop Jason Chatwood is taking over the reins from long time Rigger coach Curtis Bailey this year who is taking a step back but will still suit up as a player.
Chatwood, who played college ball at Gonzaga University in Spokane, has been a Rigger for the past nine seasons. Over the past few years he’s been helping more with the off-field operations of the Riggers and he was approached by Bailey to take on the job full time.
“Once the game starts I will try to help out as much as I can with whether it’s coming up with the lineup or getting things organized before the game and all that kind of stuff,” he said. “When the game starts I’m going to focus on playing.”
He says a committee of veterans on the team will help during the game to keep the players focussed on the field while looking after the hitters and the pitchers, he said. It’s a luxury of having such an experienced group with high baseball IQ’s.
“I would say almost everyone on our team has college level experience so everyone kind of knows the game and understands the game and I just want to make sure we have good communication.”
With plenty of players to lean on Chatwood says having a game plan before the first pitch will make things go much smoother for the team and for himself.
“I think it would be hard playing shortstop and worrying about someone up in the bull pen or something like that so I have to trust some guys to do that on the bench.”
He says there will be a little extra pressure wearing two hats, especially given that the Riggers have won four provincial titles in the past six years under the guidance of Curtis Bailey.
“That’s a pretty successful run there so I have to work hard to make sure we keep that going,” he said.
The advantage Chatwood has is the fact the core group of players came up all together, experiencing success at different levels and going to nationals as a group. It’s an established formula for winning.
The Riggers did end last year in the Sunburst League on a sour note by losing game five of the league final to Sherwood Park so there is some motivation heading into this season. The lineup will look much the same but Chatwood says they have welcomed some new players into the fold.
Derek Chapman joins the team from the Manitoba Senior lloop, JP Willner, who played for Saskatchewan at Nationals against the Riggers and Aaron Dunsmore who will drive up from Calgary for as many games as he can make.
Over all Chatwood says there won’t be much tinkering with the Riggers in 2016 and he expects them to be strong once again. An earlier start to training has helped and he was surprised at the turnout.
“I think we did six indoor workouts at Collicutt and there were times when we did that Sunday morning workout we’d have 12 to 15 guys,” he said. “So I think the guys are ready. I mean with Senior baseball guys know you can’t play forever so I think they want to take advantage of this group we have. It’s a pretty special group and we want to keep playing as long as we can.”
Having Bailey right there each game will be a bonus for Chatwood to bounce questions off him about certain situations along with so many other vets in the dugout.
“I’m looking for them to help me out too. If there are tough decisions I don’t want to be the only one making them.”
He has a game plan for managing a group of veteran players who know how to handle a tough loss of keep a winning streak alive so he agrees it won’t be time to re-invent the wheel. He also has a simple plan for managing one particular player-his brother Jaret.
“I don’t know. I guess the same way I’ve managed him my whole life,” he laughed.
Now to put the plan in motion.
