Bye Braun of Cut Knife will be inducted into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame, Individual Category, as a Player/Builder Aug. 18 in Battleford for his contribution to Saskatchewan baseball history.
Braun played minor baseball in Quill Lake, advancing to the Quill Lake Monarchs senior men’s team at the age of 15. For the summer of 1979, Braun played with the Humboldt Bison Juniors, then onto Saskatoon to attend university where he played with the Saskatoon Men’s League from 1981-85.
Braun was a solid player. He had a high batting average with his share of home runs. At the Western Intermediates in Wilkie, his batting average was .555. He was effective as a pitcher at both intermediate and senior levels.
Braun’s father, Walter, was a great influence in Bye’s love of baseball.
Walter Braun was inducted into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.
In 1985, Bye moved to Cut Knife and started playing with the Wilkie Brewers. This remained his home team until 2016. During those years, the Brewers, of the North Saskatchewan River Baseball League won the league titles in 1987, ‘91, ‘98, 2001, ‘05, ‘06, ‘07, ‘08 and ’16 and provincial championships in 2003, ‘05, ‘07. ‘15 and ‘16.
In 1987, Braun was the winning batter at the Western Canadians held in Wilkie, with a batting average of .555
He coached the Brewers from 1988 to 2014 and played with the Kindersley Klippers in the early 1990s at the Western Canadians at the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Braun coached mosquito, pee wee and bantam boys’ baseball in both Cut Knife and Wilkie. He coached Zone 7 bantam boys in the early 2000s, winning a bronze medal.
At the age of 35, Braun played in provincial masters tournaments with Wilkie in the 35 and over age group for two years, two years with Regina Drifters in the 43 and over category and 12 years with Macklin Lakers in the 35 and over and 43 and over. He also played in Saskatchewan and Alberta tournaments, going to Canadian championships four times winning the 50 and over division with the Spring Lake Masters in 2014.
Bye Braun of Cut Knife began his senior baseball career at age 15. Photo submitted
