Al Albert Notches Win #350 as Skipper of SanTan Brewers of Arizona MSBL

By Steve LaMontia, Director of Communications

Al Albert is the manager of the SanTan Brewers, the perennial powerhouse residing in the 35-over National division of the Arizona MSBL.  In 2020 Al decided to retire from managing after completing his 20th year of managing the Brewers and was shooting for his 350th team win before turning over the reins.  He needed 13 wins to get there, all amidst a crazy up and down year of covid shadowed in the uncertainty of how many games they may be able to play.  Playing in the 35-over National division since 2010, and in the 25+/28+ division from 2001 to 2009, his Brewers notched championships in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2016.

“I came into this season needing 13 wins to hit 350, which was my goal when I decided two years ago that this would be my last season, but things sure didn’t look good to hit that number because of COVID,” explained Albert.  “Fortunately, we were able to start up and we happened to win our first 13 games before losing in the championship game, which gave me an all-time record of 350-132-6 (.717), with 12 division titles and five championships!  That’s an average of 17.5 wins per year over 20 years, and I couldn’t be happier!”

Al is also a seasoned MSBL World Series participant and has the rings to show for it.  Having played originally in Milwaukee, Al moved to Arizona permanently in 1991.

“It was a tough year for all of us in 2020 but I did manage to win an MSBL World Series ring with the Milwaukee Rangers in the 55+ division!  There was a nice summary of the championship game posted on the World Series website page written by our manager, Mickey Pruefer!”

“There were six of us on the Brewers from 2001 to present.  The picture below was taken after victory #350 that includes me, Dirk Thompson, Bob Larson, Scott Sachwitz, Ed Reading and Rich Dobrovich.

I’m still going to play on a part-time basis but want to travel a lot more starting next summer and spend a lot of time in Montana where my wife is from. Tony Piowarsy is going to take over the team and I’ll advise him whenever he has any questions.  I’m never too far away.” 

As an aside, Al was also inducted into the Wisconsin State Baseball League Hall of Fame last year, spotlighting a semi-pro league in Wisconsin that he played in before moving to Arizona permanently in 1991. HERE is the link to the induction article published in the local newspaper back in Wisconsin.