The Vancouver Canadians have their new man behind the mic for the 2021 season. San Diego native Tyler Zickel was recently named the C’s new play-by-play announcer, filling the vacancy left by Rob Fai who stepped down after calling over 1,000 games for Monty’s Mounties.
The 30 year-old Zickel spent three years calling the action for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats—the Toronto Blue Jays Double-A club—from 2017 to 2019. Before that, he was with the High-A Lake Elsinore Storm—an affiliate of the team he grew up cheering for, the San Diego Padres.
C’s Plus Baseball caught up with the one-time second baseman from Whittier College in Los Angeles where we chatted about his new job, his start in the broadcasting industry, his favourite play-by-play announcers, being a Padres fan and his preparation for the upcoming season in Hillsboro.
Zickel will make his C’s broadcasting debut on May 4 in Tri-City. All games can be heard on CanadiansBaseball.com.
C-Notes
A trio of former C’s saw their tenure in the Blue Jays organization come to an end. 2018 right-hander Mitch McKown and 2019 lefty Kyle Huckaby were released according to the minor league transaction column from Baseball America. 2019 outfielder Adrian Ramos announced his retirement on Twitter.
A 21st-round pick of Toronto in the 2016 draft from Seminole Community College in Florida, McKown pitched twice for the Canadians in what turned out to be his final two appearances of his career in 2018. The Orlando, Florida native surrendered a run in his first one-inning outing at Nat Bailey Stadium July 3 before tossing a scoreless frame in Everett three days later. In his three-year career, McKown was 3-1 over 37 appearances and collected a save.
Huckaby never got to see the mound at Nat Bailey Stadium. The free-agent left-hander from Benedictine University in Mesa, Arizona was promoted in Bluefield for the C’s final series of the year in Everett in 2019. He took a hard-luck loss against the AquaSox when he was charged with two unearned runs in his lone inning of work August 31.
Ramos came to the Jays organization after being selected in the 19th round of the 2018 draft from Miami-Date College. He played 42 games for the C’s in 2019 and stole nine bases. The high point of the season was his two-run home run to lift Vancouver to a 4-0 win over the Tri-City Dust Devils July 16. He was also the final Canadian to touch home plate in the season finale against Everett September 2.
All the best to these three gentlemen in their future endeavours.
C-Tweets
Jordan Groshans will not be putting on a Vancouver Canadians uniform in 2021. The Jays first round-pick in 2018 and high-school teammate of 2019 C’s pitcher Adam Kloffenstein announced on Twitter that he is heading to Zickel’s former stomping grounds in New Hampshire. 2018 C’s hurler Connor Law will join Groshans in Manchester.
Congratulations to 2014 C’s pitcher Tim Mayza for graduating from Ohio University.
Here’s tweet about the first minor league team I ever saw in person – the London Tigers.
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