Few players took the Western Canadian Baseball League by storm in 2024 quite like Saskatoon Berries slugger Carter Beck.
On Monday, the Berries announced that bat will be returning to Cairns Field in 2025 as the franchise’s first signing for their second season in the program’s history.
“It’s really exciting,” said Beck. “I don’t know if I’ve ever had so much fun playing in front of big crowds all the time, it’s just a blast up here when we pack the house up. That’s something that I can’t talk about enough with the Berries was how big our crowds were all the time.”
Beck was a key cog in the Berries coming up just one win shy of the WCBL championship series, while also helping the ignite a Saskatoon fan base which saw over 55,000 tickets sold over the club’s inaugural season.
That included leading all Berries players in batting average (.374), hits (77) and home runs (11) over the course of the 2024 season which culminated in the Carnduff, Saskatchewan product being named WCBL Most Outstanding Canadian and Rookie of the Year.
“It’s exciting to have him back for another year,” said Berries head coach Joe Carnahan. “He had a great year for us last year and we’re looking for him to build off that. We’re excited to have him up in Saskatoon again.”
Get daily National news
Along with his league accolades, Beck also became the first player in franchise history to hit for the cycle in Game 1 of the East Division final against the Moose Jaw Miller Express.
As well, he starred at WCBL All-Star weekend being named All-Star Game MVP and finishing second in the league’s Home Run Derby.
Batting lead-off for much of the 2024 season, Beck is expected to hit a bit lower in the lineup to spread out the team’s offence according to Carnahan.
“It’s important to have some key guys coming back and him being one of them in the middle of our field and probably in the middle of the lineup this year as well,” said Carnahan.
“It’s good to build from the inside out as far as defensively goes. He did a good job for us in centre field and he just got better throughout the year too defensively.”
Since leaving the Berries in August, Beck has also begun his stint at Indiana State University and is preparing for his season playing NCAA Division I ball with the Sycamores.
With just over a month to go until his first official game with Indiana State, he’s soaking in all he can.
“It’s definitely been a step up and a grind,” said Beck. “But it’s everything I could have asked for and I can’t complain about it at all, because there’s nothing more that I’d love to be doing. It’s just really cool being in that culture that Indiana State has built there and it should be a really fun season.”
Striking out in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 3 to the Miller Express in August, Beck believes there is unfinished business with the Berries.
It’s a sentiment that his head coach shares, as work continues assembling the roster around him in time for opening pitch in less than five months.
“I’ve talked to Joe a little bit this off-season and he just really wants to go back and win that championship,” said Beck. “I think we’re doing a pretty good job putting together a good team and I can’t wait for the season to see what happens.”
The Berries will arrive in Saskatoon in late May with their first game of the 2025 WCBL season coming on the road May 29 visiting the Weyburn Beavers.
Comments