*This article was originally published on Alberta Dugout Stories on August 22, 2024. You can read it here.

August 22, 2024

By Joe McFarland

Alberta Dugout Stories

Connor Crowson had always dreamed of hitting a big home run in his hometown Seaman Stadium.

Little did he know, the Okotoks native saved his best moment for the last of the 2024 Western Canadian Baseball League season.

In the bottom of the ninth of the championship series against the Moose Jaw Miller Express, Crowson stepped into the batter’s box with the score tied 5-5.

Knowing that the Miller Express pitchers had been attacking him low and outside, he had his sights set on driving a pitch hard and getting on-base.

He found that pitch on a 1-1 offering from Takao Cookson and sent the baseball to the deepest part of the park, clearing the fence for the walk-off series-clinching home run.

Pandemonium ensued as Crowson, who was a member of the first Dawgs Academy 13U team and played for them at every other level, headed for home.

“I was one of these little kids getting autographs from the older guys on this team,” Crowson smiled as he looked at all of the young kids surrounding him during the post-game interviews. “This is all pretty special.”

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Listen to Alberta Dugout Stories interview Connor Crowson here.

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While the win helped the team capture its goal to “repeat the three-peat,” it also provided the team and its fans with something made right from the movies.

SEE YOU AT THE PLATE

In the movie “Moneyball,” Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt) is discussing his future with assistant Peter Brand (played by Jonah Hill).

Brand plays a video of a player named Jeremy Brown getting a hit and tripping on first base, then panicking before being told he had hit a home run.

It’s an inspiring scene as it’s meant as a metaphor that leads to the famous line delivered by Pitt’s character: “How can you not be romantic about baseball?”

As it turns out, Crowson found himself in the same situation as Brown while he was approaching first base.

Hitting the ball to straight-away centrefield, the University of Montevallo star wasn’t sure if he got enough of it, so he started to speed up thinking he might have to hustle to get a double or even triple.

That’s when he hit the dirt.

“When I tripped, I thought, ‘Oh no, I screwed this up,’’’ Crowson said.

He looked over at first base coach Joe Sergent, who didn’t actually see if the young slugger had touched the base.

“I was making sure he came back to touch it because the umpire was right there and I didn’t want an appeal,” Sergent said.

“All I thought was Joe Carter’s homer in 1993 and how he missed it too, and he had to come back and re-touch … I just kept yelling, ‘It’s over! It’s over! Touch first base and I’ll see you at the plate.’”

Much like when Tom Cheek stated the now infamous “touch ‘em all, Joe” when Carter hit his home run 31 years earlier, Crowson eventually made his way around the bases, celebrating every step of the way.

Even in the dugout, there was a feeling of disbelief at what they had just witnessed.

“I just kept yelling go,” shortstop Brendan Luther said, hoping to will the ball over the fence. “I think I said it a hundred times.”

Fellow infielder Ricky Sanchez admits it was a frenetic scene as everyone was trying to watch Crowson running while also keeping an eye on the outfield fence.

“Connor’s a guy who has a lot of power, so when he hit it, especially to centrefield, I thought it might be off the wall for a double,” the second baseman said.

Once the ball officially left the yard and Crowson got back on his feet, Luther, Sanchez and the rest of their Dawgs teammates and coaches ran to home plate to mob the hometown hero and start the celebration.

FULL CIRCLE MOMENT

“Big swing by Mr. Okotoks right there.”

You couldn’t wipe the smile off Dawgs general manager Tyler Hollick’s face following the decisive game, as he can relate to Crowson’s journey in baseball.

He remembers his days as a Dawgs Academy player, hoping one day to play for the college Dawgs, then getting his opportunity.

Hollick says Crowson is living the dream of every player who has ever stepped foot in the Okotoks facilities.

“Everything you work for is so you can play on that field (Seaman Stadium) and pretend to hit a walk-off home run,” he said.

“Connor Crowson has been doing it in that building since he was seven years old.”

The feeling of things coming full circle wasn’t lost on other members of the Dawgs staff, including head coach Lou Pote.

“I just picture him when he’s 13 years old in the fieldhouse, sitting on the 13U team,” he recalled. “I think he just lives for these moments and he’ll never forget that one and no one around here will either – it’s so awesome.”

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK

Crowson couldn’t have found a better time to hit his first postseason home run either, after hitting nine during the regular season to go along with a .383 batting average and 55 runs batted in.

He was a steady presence in the middle part of the batting order for the Dawgs during their entire playoff run, hitting .282 with a double, two walks and five runs scored.

For his efforts, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound infielder was named the WCBL Playoff MVP, taking the crown from two-time defending MVP Luther.

“I told him he’s Mr. August right now and if he doesn’t like it, then he’s Mr. Okotoks,” the slick-fielding shortstop said.

“The hometown kid doing it, I don’t know how you could write it – the script was amazing for that, clearly.”

It put the cap on a memorable season for the Dawgs, who knew they had a target on their backs as they were coming off consecutive championships.

They finished second in the league with a regular season record of 42-14, just two games back of the Sylvan Lake Gulls.

The Dawgs were then put to their biggest playoff test to date, where it took them extra innings in game three to dispatch the Lethbridge Bulls before another three-game barnburner against the Gulls, setting up the final series with the Miller Express.

Crowson says they truly had to grind through the final series, fighting for every run and every lead.

“I know that we’re not going to ever give up,” the hometown hero said. “I just love this team and I think we’re going to keep winning next year.”