This article is part of Minor League Baseball's ‘Celebrating Our Heroes’ content series, presented by T-Mobile.

Robinson Cancel strutted out from under the batting practice cage at Avista Stadium to a chorus of excitement. The High-A Spokane manager spun his bat to the ground as the ball he’d just launched landed over the left-field fence.

Cancel had just won a friendly BP competition with visitors from the Fairchild Tankers -- a competitive travel softball team made up of servicemen from the nearby Fairchild Air Force Base. In this competition, Cancel, a former big league catcher, bested Air Force Master Sgt. Matthew Gaines, his Tankers counterpart.

Gaines took the loss in stride and went on to pick the brains of the Indians’ coaching staff in hopes that he could impart some wisdom on

See Full Page