Meadow Lake’s Reid Beck joins Saskatoon Berries for first full WCBL season

While he appeared in one game as an affiliate player last season, this year marks his first full campaign with the team that is now sitting in first place in the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL)’s East Division.

“It was something I wanted to do for a while,” Beck said. “So it was nice for that to happen.”

“We all get treated really well there, and it’s super fun. The games are really fun.”

Meadow Lake’s Reid Beck, second from left, stands with teammates during the national anthem before a game. (Image Credit: Reid Beck/submitted)

Recently, Beck found himself part of one of the Berries’ most dramatic victories.

On June 6, Saskatoon erased a late deficit against the Regina Red Sox before securing a 3-2 walk-off win at Cairns Field.

“I haven’t thrown too much for them yet, but the last outing was pretty fun,” Beck said. “Didn’t give up a run in one inning, and we ended up walking the game off, so that was pretty cool.”

The Berries have opened the season among the league’s early contenders, and Beck believes the club is capable of much more.

“We’re doing pretty good, so I think we can definitely leave a pretty good mark in the league, and I think we could finish pretty high,” he said.

The work behind those results rarely stops. On days without games, Beck’s routine revolves around practices, bullpen sessions and workout plans provided by his coaches at Cloud County.

But for all the changes that have come with baseball over the past year, some things remain familiar.

Every now and then, Beck looks into the stands and spots someone from home.

Reid Beck, centre, poses with members of the Meadow Lake Sox 11U baseball team before a game. Beck, a former Meadow Lake Sox player himself, is in his first full season with the Saskatoon Berries after spending the spring playing college baseball at Cloud County Community College in Kansas. (Image Credit: Meadow Lake Sox 11U/ Facebook)

“It’s pretty cool, like seeing some of the people I know from Meadow Lake being at the games, and them saying hi… I think it’s pretty awesome, actually.”

Those moments carry extra meaning for a player who knows there are not many from Meadow Lake following a similar path.

“There’s some, but there’s not a ton, so I think it’s pretty neat to be part of the few.”

(Image Credit: Reid Beck/submitted)

Asked which team he most looks forward to facing, Beck pointed to the Sylvan Lake Gulls, a club that features several of his Cloud County teammates.

“I think I’d be looking forward to that, and they’d also, I think, be really good as well.”

When the summer concludes, Beck will return to Kansas for his final year, and beyond that, his goal remains unchanged.

“D1 baseball is the goal.”

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com

by Kenneth Cheung

Meadow Lake’s Reid Beck joins Saskatoon Berries for first full WCBL season

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