OTTAWA- Baseball Canada would like to announce the 24-man roster for the upcoming COPABE Pan American Games Qualifying Tournament, scheduled for Oct. 1-14 in Puerto Rico. The event will also serve as a qualifier for the 2011 World Cup.
The roster will feature eleven players who won a Bronze Medal at the 2009 World Cup in Europe including National Team veteran’s Adam Stern (London, ON) and Adam Loewen (Surrey, BC). The team will also welcome Henry Mabee (Victoria, BC), Tom Boleska (Burlington, ON) and Ryan Braun (Kitchener, ON) to the fold who will all be making their National Team debuts.
The Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers both have three players each on the roster from their respective minor league systems, while the Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and Kansas City Royals each have two players each from their systems on the roster.
A veteran coaching staff will be led by Manager Ernie Whitt who managed the Bronze Medal winning Canadian entry at the 2009 World Cup. Canadian baseball legend Larry Walker will also return to his post as Hitting Coach from the 2009 World Cup team. Also returning to the staff will be Pitching Coach Denis Boucher, Third Base Coach Tim Leiper and Coach and Director of National Teams for Baseball Canada Greg Hamilton.
Prior to the start of the tournament, Team Canada will assemble in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina and will play three exhibition games against Team USA and one game against Puerto Rico.
In order to qualify for the Pan American games, Canada will need to finish amongst the top eight teams overall in Puerto Rico. The top six teams will also qualify for the 2011 World Cup.
