As the Saint John Alpines prepare for the soon-approaching season after placing third out of five teams in 2025, General Manager Rob Jeffrey is entering his fourth year in the position.
Jeffrey says some familiar players will be returning to the team for full-time play.
“Matt Beach will be a full-time player with us, and Jacob McCarthy will as well. They would have been on the junior team last year, and Matt would have played a lot with us [last year] anyway, but they will be full-time with the Alpines this year,” said Jeffrey.
Beach led the team in home runs last year with four and held a batting average of .387 through the regular season over 23 games, having missed the full 28-game season. He will slot in as the team’s starting centre fielder, and his father, Trevor Beach, is the team’s head coach.
The Alpines have a well-known success on the bump for 2026, 25-year-old Haden Dow. The left-handed pitcher earned N.B. Senior Baseball League rookie of the year, pitcher of the year, all-star LHP, and league MVP last year while leading the league in strikeouts. Jeffrey is counting on Dow to repeat success this year.
“We are hoping for a lot from Ryan Scott this year, too. He didn’t throw a whole lot last year, but he looks really good for this year,” said Jeffrey.
The team is still looking for an import, a big piece that has yet to come for the team. Jeffrey says the ideal choice would be a starting pitcher from the United States. “We need someone who can throw some bulk innings. Right now, we have got a couple of feelers out there and are talking to a couple of guys, so we will see how that plays out.”
After losing to the Chatham Ironmen four games to one in last season’s playoffs, Jeffrey says the outlook for 2026 is optimistic.
“If we can get a good import pitcher to go along with what we already have pitching wise, I think that we will be good. We already have a pretty strong offence, so I think that should put us in good shape,” said Jeffrey. “PEI (Charlottetown Islanders) is certainly the heavy favourite to finish first, but I think that we will have a good chance of finishing second if we get things to bounce the right way.”
Jeffrey stopped playing for the team after the Alpines won the championship in 2022. Since then, during his time as general manager, the Charlottetown Islanders have three-peated.
This year, Jeffrey is hoping for good weather and a good crowd in their season opener at home against the Fredericton Royals after their opening day in 2025 was rained out. “Opening day last year got rained out, so that was kind of a blow to us when everyone’s all fired up to start the season. We’re really hoping that we can get good weather on the 18th so we can have a good game right off the start.”
Opening day for the Alpines will happen at 1 p.m. on Monday, May 18, at home against the Fredericton Royals. Season or individual tickets are available at the Saint John Memorial Field on game days.
