SASKATOON – The Saskatoon Yellow Jackets will have a fresh face leading the team when they throw the first pitch for the 2013 season.
Logan Clewes, 24, is the new head coach of the Yellow Jackets, after spending the 2012 season as the pitching coach. In the off-season, when general manager Rye Pothakos offered Clewes the position, there was no way he could turn it down.
“It’s a big commitment but it’s something that has really been part of my life forever,” said Clewes. “I honestly can’t really picture my life without (baseball) at this point.”
And the experience he got as the pitching coach last year will only help him this year.
“Being able to work with the guys last year… it was nice to see the game from that perspective before taking over the head job,” said Clewes.
Last year, the Jackets finished 3rd in the Central Division with a record of 20-26, which was just behind Moose Jaw (21-15) and Swift Current (28-18). Coming into this season, Saskatoon has a few new players Clewes is exciting about.
“We’ve got some great guys coming in from some good schools that had really nice years down in their respective and colleges,” said Clewes.
When the Jackets open up the season on Friday night against Swift Current, their starting pitcher will be Steven Latos, who is from Lloydminster, AB.
“He played down at Northwoods University in Michigan and had a really nice year down there for them,” said Clewes.
In 2012, the Jackets struggled when it came to pitching depth. Clewes said the talent was there, there just weren’t enough guys.
“What we set out to do as an organization in the off-season was really establish depth,” said Clewes. “We really filled that need so we’re looking forward to being able to utilize the deep bullpen.”
Clewes, a Saskatoon native, previously played for the Saskatoon Midget AAA Giants. He then went to play at the College of Southern Idaho, then spent two years in Wichita, KS, playing for Newman University. Following that, he returned to Saskatoon and played for Yellow Jackets for four years as a pitcher.
Now, he takes on a different role, and seems to have the right mentality. When asked about his expectations for the upcoming season, Clewes had just one thing in mind.
“A championship,” he said. “I feel like the ultimate goal is to win the championship and I feel if you don’t have that expectation then you shouldn’t even be playing.”
The Yellow Jackets open up their regular season at home on Friday night against Swift Current (Cairns Field, 7:05 p.m.). Then on Saturday, they will host the Medicine Hat Mavericks (Cairns Field, 2:05 p.m.)
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