Hacault surprised by baseball Hall of Fame call

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/11/2022 (681 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Patti Hacault wasn’t expecting to be a member of the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame, especially since only one female — the late Evelyn Moroz — had been inducted into the individual category.

That will change next June as Hacault will be part of the 2023 Hall of Fame class being inducted at a ceremony in Morden on June 3.

“I was very surprised when I heard the news,” said Hacault, who was born in Brandon and now lives south of Holland. “I honestly didn’t think this was something that would ever happen.

“Baseball’s more of a men’s sport, but we’ve made a lot of inroads in girls’ baseball over the years and we’ve made a mark for ourselves.”

Hacault has played a huge role in the development of girls’ baseball in the province as she’s been a member of the Baseball Manitoba girls committee since 2012.

“I was at an event in Brandon and I remember one of the members of the Baseball Manitoba executive saying that they needed someone to spearhead things … otherwise girls’ baseball in this province would be dead in the water,” Hacault said. “I raised my hand and everything just started building from there.

“Girls love to play baseball. It’s a fun and tough game and you are able to develop a lot of skills. The coaching that the girls get is some of, if not the best, in the entire province. I think there’s a really good future ahead, especially with girls baseball being a medal sport at the 2025 Canada Summer Games.”

In addition to her role with Baseball Manitoba, Hacault has coached teams in Holland, Treherne and Pembina Hills.

She’s served various executive positions in the Pembina Hills Minor Baseball League and was selected as Baseball Manitoba and Sport Manitoba’s volunteer of the year in 2011.

Those jobs have allowed her to cross paths with many of next year’s inductees, who were announced at press conferences in Brandon and Winnipeg on Tuesday.

“I coached Brody Pinkerton (who will be enshrined with the Reston Rockets 2009-2013 teams) when he was younger and I did a drawing of him that’s up on his dad’s wall,” Hacault said. “Any time I see him, he’ll come up and say, ‘Do you remember me?’

“It’s amazing to be going into the Hall of Fame with so many great people.

Corey Billaney and Junior Brake of Boissevain, Jeff Bouchard and Keith Carrier of Winnipeg, Laurie Langrell of Warren, the late T.G. Smith of Steinbach and the late Todd Smith of Hamiota will be joining Hacault in the individual category.

Billaney and Brake have been involved in the Boissevain scene for many years. They were teammates on the Boissevain Centennials side that won the provincial AA title in 1996 and coaching the team today.

“To be inducted with one of my best friends is really awesome,” Billaney said. “I’ve caught a lot of balls from this guy over the years … he’s made it pretty easy on me.

“All of the teammates that we’ve played have played a huge part in what we’ve accomplished in our careers,” Brake added. “We wouldn’t have had any success if it wasn’t for them.”

Todd Smith — who died in 2019 – is considered one of the best shortstops to ever play in the Manitoba Senior Baseball League and was also a member of the University of North Dakota squad that attended the 1993 NCAA Division II national championship.

His father, Bryan, who coached him through minor hockey and baseball, accepted the nomination.

“When I was coaching, kids would be looking all over the place when you would talk to them,” Bryan Smith said. “That wasn’t the case with Todd. He’d look at any of his coaches right in the eyes.”

Bouchard was a top catcher in the province during the 1980’s, with his most memorable year coming in 1985 as he was named the MVP of the Manitoba Junior Baseball League for the St. Boniface Legionnaires Juniors and was Baseball Manitoba’s senior player of the year with the St. Boniface Native Sons.

He’s coached for the last two decades and was named Baseball Manitoba’s high performance coach of the year in 2015 and 2021.

T.G. Smith, who passed away in 1982, played a key role in the development of little league baseball of Steinbach during the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Carriere was an all-star player as a pitcher and infielder for various teams in the province from late 80’s to the 2000’s.

In addition to being a top talent on the diamond during the 1950’s and 60’s for teams in Warren and Winnipeg, Langrell was also a member of the Winnipeg Braves team that won the 1959 Memorial Cup.

The newest inductees into the team category are the Rockets, the 2006-2015 Minnedosa Mavericks, the 1966 Hamiota Juvenile Royals and the 1953-56 Norwood Community Club Juvenile and Junior squads.

The Rockets were one of the top squads in the Manitoba Senior Baseball League from 2009 to 2013, as they won two league titles and attended a pair of national championships in that span.

The team will be honoured by the Winnipeg Goldeyes next year as the club will wear Reston’s uniforms for one of its home games.

“That’s going to be quite an evening,” Rockets coach Ross Tycoles said.

“This group of guys spent a lot of time growing up together and they’ve stayed in touch over the years. A lot of them came from quite a distance to be here at the press conference and I expect a strong group to come for the induction ceremony.”

The Mavericks dominated the Santa Carla League from 2006 to 2015 as they won 10 straight titles, including a stretch from 2006 to 2011 where they went undefeated.

“We were a really tight-knit group,” Mavericks player/coach Jay Klym said. “We did everything together, whether it was playing baseball in the summer or hockey in the winter. That bond meant more to us than actually playing the sports.

“It’s pretty humbling for a lot of us to be recognized like this.”

The Royals put together a Cinderella run on their way to capturing the 1966 Western Canadian juvenile championship with a convincing 13-2 win over the host Regina Maroons.

“They accomplished quite a bit for a small-town team,” said Bonnie Coombs, who is the husband of Royals player Dick Coombs and submitted the squad for nomination. “They had no money, no uniforms and no equipment … and they were able to go all the way.”

The Norwood Community Club teams were an impressive force over a four-year span. They won the provincial juvenile title in 1953 and captured back to back junior district crowns in 1955 and 1956.

One of the common traits that this year’s class has in common is that they found out that they would be going into the Hall of Fame from Gladwyn Scott.

Scott, who died in August at the age of 90, will be enshrined as an honorary life member at next year’s ceremony.

He officially received the award earlier this summer at his home in Carberry prior to his death.

“Gladwyn must have written up at least half of our nominations over the years,” Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame board member Morris Mott said. “He played such a huge role for the Hall, especially in getting the inductees ready for what they might expect leading up to the ceremony.”

» lpunkari@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @lpunkari