1988 Coquitlam Reds Baseball Team

Baseball, Team, Inducted 2018

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The Coquitlam Reds’ 1988 championship run was forged by dogged determination, spirited competitiveness and a touch of magic. They did not take the easy route to the Canadian major juvenile baseball championships, but the map they followed got them to their goal, and then some.

By beating the Quebec Selects 4-2 in a championship final that was split over two days due to fog, the Reds completed a rollercoaster run. Despite inconsistencies and some typical teenage distractions, Coquitlam shook off a sluggish finish to the Lower Mainland league season to hit their stride at the provincials, where they trounced Richmond 9-2 to advance to their second straight nationals.

In Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, the team of 17-and-18 year olds bested Ontario, Nova Scotia and Quebec, with the lone setback coming in a stark 14-0 slap-down at the hands of Newfoundland. It proved to be a very successful wakeup call. In the semifinals, Coquitlam needed eight innings to edge Saskatchewan, thanks to Brad Robinson’s RBI single to plate Brett Hertzog.

Then came the fateful ‘fog bowl.’ Down 1-0 entering the second inning, the Reds put two men on and had two outs when Hamish D’Avellar popped a high fly into a bank of low-hanging fog that had rolled in minutes earlier. It created chaos for the Quebec infielders, who couldn’t track the ball, which hit the ground to give the Reds a 2-1 lead. Moments later, the officials suspended the game for the next day.

While the Quebecers would tie the game when play resumed in the daylight, Coquitlam retook the lead in the fifth when Barry Demarco, a pick-up from Burnaby, drilled a single to score Darren Hansen. Led by six-foot-nine lefthanded ace Cam Aronetz, the Reds emerged as the top dogs in an incredible summer.

Coaches:
Bill Green
Stan Markowski
Don Archer