Most know him as Brendan Luther, many know him as #16, and some know him as the guy who walks out to Billy Squier's The Stroke.
His team knows him as Mr. August.
Luther arrived at Thursday's batting practice to the sight of every one of his teammates wearing shirts bearing the name "Mr. August," along with a silhouette of Luther.
The nickname Mr. August comes from Luther taking over games in the playoffs. In the 2022 post-season, he posted a .448 batting average, 11 runs, one home run and three RBIs. Last year Luther stepped it up even further, posting a .344 batting average, six runs, three home runs, and 10 RBIs to help the Dawgs win back-to-back WCBL championships.
Luther, who hails from Mississauga, Ontario, explains where the love of baseball first initially came from.
"It's kind of a mix of my dad and the Blue Jays. I was a big Roy Halladay fan right when he started. So, we did those flex-packs where you would go to like 15 games a year. We would always try and figure out when Roy Halladay was pitching. My first number was 32 (Halladay's number) and I wore 32 until high school. I was just a die-hard Jays fan," Luther said.
"I remember going to all the games, seeing them play. That's where my hate for the Yankees came from because they would beat up on the Blue Jays and I would be like 'Oh man. One day I would love to be a Blue Jay, get in there and do the complete opposite, beat up on (the Yankees).'"
"My dad did a good job too, he played on the Canadian Junior National team for baseball and then ended up playing in the OHL (Ontario Hockey League) after that. He gave me some pretty good athletic genes too. We love sports," he continued.
Despite his love of Halladay, Luther decided to go down the infield route instead of chasing a career as a pitcher.
"I tried to pitch, then they kept just smashing me and I realized maybe I was a lot better at fielding. I was a really bad hitter when I was a young kid, so then that's why I tried pitching. But then quickly started to realize that pitching wasn't going to be my thing. Started getting better at hitting. I have always loved defence. Defence is my favourite part about baseball and I realized I was better at that," Luther mentioned.
"As I got older my favourite player changed to John McDonald, just an overall player for the Blue Jays and I was like 'I want to be that guy, he's so good at defence'. I have always loved all the aspects of baseball, but as soon as I got to fielding, that was my favourite thing. I love doing it."
Luther's been diving ever since then, and he's now a seasoned defender. He said he got hurt one year at Bellevue University when started to second-guess a dive and flinched. But since then he's had no fear and said that he almost enters a fugue state when going for a dive, letting his muscle memory do the work. He calls them "blackouts."
Hearing the roar of the fans gives him the motivation and energy to keep making those plays.
"If I can make that highlight play here, I want to hear everyone yell, get the team fired up, and want to make the big play to win the game. It's just so fun," he said.
When asked if he would rather get a home run or make a big defensive play, Luther was conflicted over his love of the defensive side of ball.
"It all depends, I mean home runs feel so good, like, especially those no-doubters and you are like 'Oh I want another one of those'. But, there is something about making a big play in a big scenario that you feel your whole team holding their breath and you make that play. 'Oh thank god, he did it,' and everything is a lot easier now. I think there is a lot more pressure on defence. Hitting, you're meant to fail. Defence, the best guys are fielding 98, 99 per cent of those things. I want to be one of those guys, I want to field as many as I can."
Luther says when he's at shortstop there is a lot of talking going on between him and the second and third basemen, as they all want to be on the same page. He joked that when Ricky Sanchez and Jarrett Burney are playing beside him, they joke around a lot and keep the mood lighthearted.
"I think that's the good part about this group is a lot of us are willing to have fun. I'm out there with (Connor) Crowson, Ricky, Burney, and I'm having a blast because we are just playing loose, playing fun, joking around, and it just makes it a lot easier," he explained.
Fans who have been to the game have probably clapped with the players to Luther's walkout song "The Stroke." He said it wasn't his first choice as he went with Drake and then Shakira but the fans didn't seem to get into it. After he saw GM Tyler Hollick in the hallway he mentioned to Luther to try "The Stroke". Luther mentioned that a teammate from his time at Bellevue four years ago, Dustin Shore, used it.
"Hollick was like, 'It would be good (to use the song.)' I was the lead-off hitter too. So starting off the game, and everyone is clapping. Then the bench started doing it. I was like, 'This is the coolest feeling in the world. For that one split second everyone's zoned in on me, clapping and it's just all focused on me.' I love that," Luther said.
The feeling is intensified when the Dawgs play at home, with fans coming in numbers and cheering on the team, it gives them a boost.
"I was very used to playing at school with a couple hundred fans, so you are not really getting that loud noise. When you are here there is a buzz. You don't hear silence, there is always something going on. It's nice because when you are silent it gives your brain time to think. But when I'm here, interacting with the kids right next to the on-deck circle and that kind of stuff, it's a really cool experience. The last two times we won (the WCBL championship) it's the loudest I ever remember. I thought I was going to go deaf and that's such a cool feeling because they are cheering for us 25 dudes out there and it's five, six thousand people. That all they care about, is us, and it's the coolest feeling in the world," he explained.
"Even the bad games I have had here, there are still people that are behind me. I never felt for one second that the crowd hates me. They are all behind me, they are all behind the team, all they want to see is us win and that's all we want to do for them."
While hockey is typically the more viewed sport in Canada, Luther tried his hands at the sport but felt that baseball was the route he wanted to take.
"So, it's a weird story. My senior year of high school, I was like I'm going to go play a year of junior hockey, made a couple of teams but, they were all Northern Ontario. I didn't know if I wanted to move six, or seven hours away from home. So, I ended up working and I was just training in baseball, I was going to play my last year. Our coach started to poke at me and my best friend, he went to school in Kelowna the year before and he said 'It would be fun, come out here, if you don't like it, go home.' I ended up going a little more than seven hours to Kelowna, B.C. and I loved it. I spent four years there and it was four of the best years of my life," Luther explained.
"It was the best decision I ever made. I still love hockey to this day but, I think I was a lot better at baseball and I didn't realize it. At the end of the day, I love baseball now. It's my favourite thing in the world."
Luther says he still keeps in touch with his friends who play hockey, mentioning that some of them have played in the OHL and Division One NCAA hockey. He added that he still goes to watch their games and if they are in the area in the summer they come out to watch Dawgs games.
Something that is very noticeable is Luther can hit, seemingly getting doubles in the vast majority of games. He mentioned that he has put a lot of work into his batting and it hasn't always been as good as it is now.
"My freshman year, including summer ball I hit I think three doubles, I had only three extra-base hits, and I didn't hit my first home run until I was 21. It was a lot of hard work. That COVID year, I worked my butt off, I trained with a lot of the guys when I was in Okanagan College. Caleb Lumbard, we spent hours together hitting in Kelowna. We kind of learned a lot of stuff from each other and then I ended up going to Bellevue. Logan (Grant), he was one of my best friends there and we did the same thing. We hit for hours on end together. Poke each other's brain," he said.
"I want to say he's taken some good hitting pointers from me because I have taken a lot of good hitting advice from him. Those guys, I'm going to be friends with them for the rest of my life. They will be in my wedding party and all that stuff. We have done so much for each other, inside of baseball and outside of baseball. It's really helped us just succeed in life in general."
Grant and Luther have a very strong bond and it can be seen at games as they are very much alike and talk to each other a lot. They know each other like the back of their hand and know how to keep each other level-headed.
"He looks like my little clone out there, I had to give him my second arm sleeve which is red, because he wanted to look like me I guess," Luther joked.
"He used to wear tight pants just like me, he got the same cleats as me. I'm going to call him my little brother, he won't like that but, he will be my little brother."
Luther started his first two years in the WCBL with Edmonton but has been on the Okotoks squad now since 2022. He mentioned when playing against his friend Davis Todosichuk who was on the Dawgs in Okotoks that he loved the feel of it. Former Dawg McCoy Pearce and current Dawg Lumbard helped make his decision to come to Okotoks and felt it would be the best for his development as a player. He's absolutely loved his choice to come to Okotoks.
In making that decision, Luther has won back-to-back WCBL championships which is an experience many players will never have in their careers.
"Probably the best feeling in the world. You only have two, three months with these guys, but we are here at the ballpark seven, eight hours together every day. You build really strong relationships, so when you get to see that final goal, we win, you get to hear six thousand people yelling our names, cheering for us. There is nothing that can beat it. You kind of black out and be like 'Wow this is happening.' Take a moment and look back at it all. There is no better feeling," he said.
When Luther was asked about going back in time and telling his younger self that he would end with the Okotoks Dawgs, he had this to say.
"First he would say what's an Okotoks? After that when I show him everything, he's probably going to think I'm playing in the minor leagues and thinking I'm going to be on my way to the big leagues. That's really what it is here, it's the minor leagues, it's a minor league field and sometimes I forget it but this is the coolest feeling in the world. Seven-year-old me would just be ecstatic about playing in front of fans, and having a video board. I love it, seven year old me would love it."
Luther left a message for Okotoks and all the Dawgs fans who have supported him and the team during his time here.
"Best three summers I have spent, there is no place like Seaman Stadium. I love just the town, I love how close we are to Calgary, and I can go experience all of that. I'm a guy from Ontario, mountains were the coolest thing when I came out west. I love everything about the crowd here, the belief they give, the energy they bring us, and just standing behind us every second. They always believe we are going to win, they always think we are the best guys and that's awesome," he explained.
"I just want to say thank you to the Okotoks fans, they have been the best over the last three years and I can't thank them enough. I can't thank the organization, our owner, our GMs, and all that, enough. They've done an amazing job with everything here."
10 Questions with Brendan Luther
What is your go-to cheat meal?
"Poutine. I eat poutine twice a week, I'm not going to lie. If I have an off day or I'm not playing that day, then I go for Costco poutine. Costco poutine is the best poutine and no one can change my mind on that."
What is your guilty pleasure song?
"My girlfriend has got me into Taylor Swift recently, so I'll say Cornelia Street. Right now, I listen to that song quite a bit.
How many ballpark hot dogs could you eat in one sitting?
"If we are doing this after a game, I think I'm putting down eight. I'll say eight or nine."
What were your favourite baseball player and team growing up?
"Roy Halladay and John McDonald, the team Toronto Blue Jays."
If I could grant you one wish, what would you wish for?
"Being a big leaguer would be the coolest thing. I'll go with that, playing in the big leagues. That's every little kid's dream, I mean I'm 24 and it's still my biggest dream."
Would you rather live in a city full of people or the mountains with no one in sight?
"City full of people. I don't know what it is but I like having people around. I don't like driving downtown but being from Mississauga and being from Toronto, I got so used to it that I do love it. Lots of diversity, a lot of cool things going on, a lot of different foods."
What household chores do you hate doing the most?
"I'll say doing the laundry, I like folding it, I just don't like putting it in the washing machine and then go putting it in the dryer. So if I could get rid of that part, I don't mind folding it. It's relaxing to fold it. I hate that transition from washer to dryer, that's why I can't do the laundry."
If you could meet one person on this planet who would it be?
"I would say Notorious B.I.G. I have listened to two of his songs before every game for the last probably five years. It gets me going and I love his raps. I would just like to meet the guy and take a photo with him."
What is your favourite sport other than baseball?
"Hockey. When my baseball career is over I'm going to be a men's league weapon in hockey. I told the Geekie's that I'll shut them down, I was a defenceman. They can play in the NHL, I'll shut them down, no problem."
What is your favourite TV show and movie?
"Right now I'm into that show The Bear, it's really good, I'm really enjoying it. My favourite movie, I'm going to say The Other Guys. We quote that a lot in the clubhouse, my locker is right next to Nash (Crowell) and I think we quote it like two or three times a day at least. I have probably watched it 50 to 60 times."
Bonus
Does milk taste better in a carton, plastic jug, or in a bag?
"I grew up on the bag, I'd say bag. But, recently I started drinking almond milk and they only come in a carton. I'll say regular milk in a bag and almond milk has got to be in a carton."