Our Boys of Summer

Kevin West is a family man. Upon answering a reporter’s phone call while on a road trip in Fargo this season, the 29-year-old kindly explains that he’s having lunch with his family. His wife has made the trip from their home in Fort Meyers, Florida, to watch him play baseball for the Winnipeg Goldeyes, and his three children—all quite young—are enjoying some rare, summer moments with their father. The reporter will have to call back.

West is amiable and down-to-earth. He’s also quite honest, and admits that he never thought he’d be playing baseball in Winnipeg. Even now, as he enters his second season with the Goldeyes, he says he doesn’t know as much about the city as he would like. The marathon Northern League schedule keeps him more than occupied for five months of the year, what with practices, long bus rides and 94 games to play.

Nevertheless, the hometown hospitality has not been lost on West, who seems to be enjoying his summers in Winnipeg after bouncing around the minor professional circuits for almost a decade.

“I’ve been treated better in Winnipeg than in my previous nine years in baseball,” he says. “The whole organization has been excellent. [The fans] are passionate about their Goldeyes.”

West joined the Fish ahead of last season after being released from the Texas Rangers organization. Prior to that he spent eight years playing
affiliated baseball for the Minnesota Twins. Winnipeg is just the latest destination on the whistle-stop tour. So far, it’s his favorite. But he almost didn’t come here.

“Initially, I didn’t want to play independent ball,” he says, referring to the Northern League’s non-affiliated status. Several conversations with Goldeyes hitting coach Tom Vaeth changed his mind, and a telephone call from Winnipeg mayor Sam Katz didn’t hurt, either.

After signing for the Fish in December 2007, West quickly became a Northern League all star. He recorded a .317 batting average last season,
adding 18 homers and batting in 74 runs. He led the team in both categories and established himself as a fan favorite at Canwest Park.

It may sound like a dream lifestyle for young, aspiring baseball players. West, however, is quick to point out that many Northern Leaguers hold off-season jobs to augment their incomes. He, for example, works at a restaurant in Fort Meyers.

He wouldn’t have it any other way. That’s where his family is, after all, and he enjoys spending Sunday afternoons with them.

“Sunday is the big day for us,” he says, adding that as soon as the Wests arrive home from church, they fire up the barbecue, invite a few friends over and watch National Football League games. West is a 49ers fan.

He’s also a team player and slow to talk about his own accomplishments. Instead, he prefers to think about what the team can achieve together.
This season, he’s expecting big things.

“We have a good team. Maybe [better] than any team I’ve been on,” he says. “I think as a group we’re older and more mature. There are more married guys.”

That’s West, always tying it in to the family. If being a good father and husband is what makes a good baseball player, the Goldeyes #30 is as valuable as they come.

WATCH VIDEO OF A GOLDEYES TRAINING SESSION WITH OUR PUBLISHER GLENN TINLEY AT THE END OF THIS ARTICLE.

Doug Brown chuckles when he learns of Winnipeg’s mid-May snowfall.

“The winters aren’t my favourite,” he quips, before getting serious. Perhaps he’s just pictured himself trudging through a few inches of the white stuff at Canad Inns Stadium, where he stars as a defensive tackle for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

“I used to make fun of Winnipeg a little bit,” he admits. “But I’ve been living full time in Winnipeg for just over three years. I understand just how beautiful the city can be.”

Like many Winnipeggers, Brown takes every opportunity to enjoy the outdoors in the summertime. He credits his dog with showing him around the city, adding that he’s been to every dog park he knows of.

He’s also a cottager. And the frequent commutes to West Hawk Lake and evenings on the pontoon boat are something he particularly looks forward to.

“But only when we win,” he said. “When you lose, you feel responsible.”

Brown has experienced a good deal of both in his past two seasons with the Blue Bombers. In 2007, the Canadian Football League team won 10 of 18 games and posted the second-best defensive record en route to an appearance in the Grey Cup. But after losing the big game, they were pumped and primed to burst out of the gates in 2008 and return to the championship match.

Didn’t happen. In fact, the team that had finished runner-up to the Saskatchewan Roughriders just seven months before required eight attempts to win a pair of games last season. And while they managed to squeak into the playoffs after winning three of their last four, a playoff loss to Edmonton cost head coach Doug Berry his job and brought about a massive overhaul of the squad.

“Too many of us bought into the idea that we thought we were entitled to be front-runners,” says Brown. “We knew we were a good team, but we forgot about how much hard work it takes [to win]. We took way too many things for granted. We were lackadaisical.”

Brown expects a much more consistent effort from the get-go under new head coach Mike Kelly.

“He’s not one to shy away from responsibility and accountability,” says Brown. “He’s got the courage to take chances to succeed.”

For his own part, Brown won’t be needing any additional motivation as he enters his ninth CFL season. At 34 years of age, he reckons he has one or two years of professional football remaining before he hangs up his boots. Retirement isn’t that far off. But perhaps surprisingly, the New Westminister, B.C., native doesn’t cringe at the thought of switching careers. In fact, he’s excited about it.

Brown has degrees in geography and psychology from Simon Fraser University and is open to working in either field. He has also become something of a media personality in Winnipeg and currently writes a weekly newspaper column and hosts a talk radio show.

“It’s not something I had aspirations for,” he says of his newfound niche in local media. “But it has really opened my eyes. I’d like to continue [after retirement]. It would be a natural progression for me. I can come out of football and have something relevant to work at.”

Of course, that would mean staying in the city—maybe even sticking it out for an entire winter, May snowfalls and all. Thankfully, Winnipeg residents and Bomber fans serve as a redeeming quality to Brown. The beautiful summers don’t hurt much, either.

“In the summer, there’s no place I’d rather be,” he says. “It’s a great lifestyle.”

Photography by Ian McCausland

GOLDEYES TRAINING SESSION VIDEO