Back Where It All Started: Austin Bibens-Dirkx
April 23, 2023 - Northwest League (NWL)
Everett AquaSox News Release
EVERETT, WA: Austin Bibens-Dirkx is one of those urban legends that define the game of baseball and the minor leagues as a whole. Before becoming the Vancouver Canadians' pitching coach, he spent 16 years in professional baseball, with the lion's share of those years coming in the minor leagues. His first stop on his baseball odyssey... Everett in 2006.
"This is where my career started so it's always going to be special to me," Bibens-Dirkx said. "It will always be something I really remember. I had an interview the other day and they asked me if I remembered the first hitter. I probably blacked out for that one, you know first time being in pro ball I was a little shocked."
Bibens-Dirkx is a Pacific Northwest native from Salem, Oregon. The Mariners originally drafted him in the 16th round of the 2006 MLB draft. He bounced around after that playing in the Cubs, Nationals, Rockies and Blue Jays organizations before finally finding a home with the Rangers. Texas is where he made his major league debut at 32 years old in 2017 and continued to get major league time through 2018.
Very rarely do players have the wherewithal or the endurance to keep chasing their major league dream after 11 years of bus rides in minor league ball, but Bibens-Dirkx defeated the odds. Throughout his journey, he says the lessons he learned with the AquaSox stuck with him the entire way.
"It was the beginning of my career, I came here, I threw strikes, I did very well and I think that translated to what I continued to do," Bibens-Dirkx explained. "Becoming a strike thrower is something that is very very important in baseball and at the big league level you are going to have to get guys in the strike zone, so learning that in the lower level is very important."
After 1,269.2 innings over 368 games in the minor leagues to accompany his 37 Major League appearances, Biben-Dirkx is excited to teach his young Canadians pitchers some of the many lessons he picked up in professional baseball.
"A lot of it is mindset. It's going into games with confidence," Bibens-Dirkx said. "My stuff was never unbelievable; my stuff was very average but I had confidence and was able to execute. Execution and confidence are kind of what helped me go into games and have success with what I had."
Bibens-Dirkx will enjoy the final night of his Everett reunion tonight before the Canadians return to Vancouver next week. After 18 years of playing and coaching, Bibens-Dirkx's baseball odyssey is still ongoing.
Northwest League Stories from April 23, 2023
- Emeralds Sweep 6-Game Series Against Hillsboro - Eugene Emeralds
- Ugly Loss Ends Rough Series in Everett - Vancouver Canadians
- Tri-City Shuts Out Spokane, Splits Series - Tri-City Dust Devils
- AquaSox Make a Splash Winning Their Fourth in a Row - Everett AquaSox
- Back Where It All Started: Austin Bibens-Dirkx - Everett AquaSox
- Emeralds Win 5th Straight Against the Hillsboro Hops - Eugene Emeralds
- Indians Hold off Dust Devils - Tri-City Dust Devils
- Ems Sweep Doubleheader from Hops - Hillsboro Hops
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