Kyle Orr (Victoria, B.C.) was the first Canadian to be selected in the 2006 Major League Baseball entry draft, today, being chosen with the seventh pick in the fourth round by the Los Angeles Dodgers. “I hear the Dodgers organization is great for minor-leaguers and they’ve been really good to me along the way,” said the 17-year-old Lambrick Park Secondary School student who worked out at Dodger Stadium last week. “It’s just an honour because there are a lot of quality people over there.” A projected power hitter, Orr played a key role in helping the Canadian National Junior Team earn a third place finish at the World Junior AAA Championship qualifier last September. His offensive skills will once again be called upon when Team Canada travels to the World Championship in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, Sept. 17-27. "Kyle brings a tremendous presence to the middle of our lineup as well an outstanding leadership abilities on and off the playing field," said Baseball Canada's junior national team head coach, Greg Hamilton. The 6’5”, 205-pound Orr, who brings a left-handed bat to the lineup, has shown plenty of versatility in the past, playing four separate positions and being used as a designated hitter for the Canadian National Junior Team. Orr becomes the third Canadian in the Dodgers’ system, joining fellow Baseball Canada national team alumni Eric Gagné (Massouche, Qué.) and Russell Martin (Chelsea, Qué.) as well as catcher Eric Langill (Kirkland, Qué.) who is currently playing for the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s. “It’s definitely good knowing that there are others that have made it in your position,” Orr said of Canadian connections in Los Angeles. Orr, who has singed a letter of commitment to attend Kentucky University, has not yet decided whether he will sign with the Dodgers right away or opt to play for the Wildcats in Lexington, KY this fall. “I haven’t decided yet so we’ll see what happens,” he said. “I’m just kind of taking all of this in right now to make sure I make the right decision.”
Baseball Canada National Junior Team first baseman and outfielder Jonathan Waltenbury (Bowmanville, Ont.) was the third Canadian selected in today’s MLB entry draft, going in the seventh round (216th overall) to the Minnesota Twins. “I’m very happy with the Minnesota Twins,” said Waltenbury. “They have my favourite player (Justin Morneau) and when I was there during the pre-draft camp it just seemed like it was a good fit.” Waltenbury, a 6’3, 210-pound 17-year-old, has been one of the hottest hitters on Baseball Canada’s national junior team training circuit this year. “If I don’t go down to the Fall Instructional League and Spring Training in Florida and put up fairly decent numbers, I don’t think I’d be in the situation I am now,” he said. His numbers were more than ‘fairly decent’. Against Major League Baseball instructional teams and collegiate competition at the team’s spring training camp in Orlando Florida in April, Waltenbury posted a .444 average with five doubles, three walks and a homerun in 30 at bats. Last October, in Fall Instructional action, Waltenbury hit for a team-leading .421 average. “He’s an excellent high school hitter who has the potential to go on and have a successful Major League career,” said Baseball Canada’s national junior team head coach Greg Hamilton. “We wish him all the best and hope he’ll join us in the pursuit of a World Junior Championship in September.” The Henry Street High School student joins two other Canadians in the Twins’ system including former national team member Justin Morneau (New Westminster, B.C.) and right-handed pitcher Adam Hawes (Victoria Harbour, Ont.) who is currently throwing for the Single-A Beloit Snappers.
Ray Carter (Tsawwassen, B.C.) ran unopposed and retained his seat as Baseball Canada’s president while incumbent vice president Linda Lewis (Port Lambton, Ont.) was narrowly re-elected to Baseball Canada’s executive committee, Saturday, at the organisation’s Annual General Meetings in Ottawa. Ken Sharpe (Minnedosa,Man.) is the only new member of the three-person executive, running unopposed and replacing Baseball Québec’s Gilles Taillon as treasurer. A former Baseball Ontario president, Lewis edged challenger Peter Craig (Halifax, N.S.) by six votes to begin her third consecutive two-year term. Lewis, who joined Baseball Canada in 1989, has served on a range of committees focusing on sport development, championships, women’s baseball and fair play. She has also been heavily involved in human resources and finance committees in addition to being the current chairperson of Baseball Canada’s umpires committee. While her experience likely gave her a slight edge in this weekend’s election, Lewis agrees the close vote is a sign of a healthy organization. The current chair of Baseball Canada’s sport development committee and Nova Scotia board representative for two terms, Craig made it a close race by presenting the idea that turnover in an organisation can be beneficial. “That’s what ensures the future success of organizations,” Craig said as he addressed the membership moments before the vote, calling for fresh ideas and creative thinking to tackle new issues presented to Baseball Canada. “Innovative progression and innovative direction is going to bode well for the future. These things will directly translate into increased registration.” Lewis was quick to acknowledge the merit of Craig’s argument and says she’s looking forward to working with Craig and other members from across the country to ensure that Baseball Canada continues to move in the right direction. “I thought that Peter did a great job because he had a lot of valid points in his speech,” said Lewis. “We do have to look down the road and we will have to do a lot of things differently. We should look very seriously at a lot of what he said.” Carter says that the board members’ ability to work together effectively has been exemplary and he doesn’t expect that to change. “Everything went very well this weekend,” he said of the annual board meetings alongside the election process. “Our meetings were thorough and we were able to work through any issues we had very smoothly.” With the new executive committee in place and fresh from constructive meetings, Carter and Baseball Canada are set to embark on a new two-year term – one in which Carter vows there will be extreme emphasis on grassroots programs such as Winterball, Rally Cap and Long Term Athlete Development. “In addition to those there are a lot of very positive ideas that are re-surfacing and I’m very pleased with the progress that we keep making,” he said. “With more funding we would be able to put more programs into action, so that’s something we’re constantly trying to access.” In addition to organisational meetings and workshops, Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director Donald Fehr was also on hand, Friday, to collect feedback from the Canadian federation with regards to the World Baseball Classic held in March.
Baseball Canada’s National Junior Team prospects closed out their 2006 Dominican Republic Tour with a 5-5 draw in 10 innings, Thursday, against the Philadelphia Phillies. After Philadelphia scored a pair of runs behind two base hits and a double in the bottom of the ninth, both teams were held scoreless in the tenth and the exhibition game was declared a tie. After the teams exchanged runs in the first two innings, Canada took three-run lead into the fifth. Kyle Gilligan (Toronto, Ont.) reached on an error and promptly stole second. Tyson Gillies (Langley, B.C.) then tripled to score Gilligan and was cashed in himself by a single from the bat of Chase Larsson (Vancouver, B.C.) for a 4-1 Canadian advantage. The score stayed that way until the bottom of the sixth when Philadelphia scored a pair of markers thanks to three consecutive singles off of Canadian reliever Jean-Francois Ricard (Saint Eustache, Qué.) to cut the lead to one run. Gillies scored on a ground out from Shayne Willson (Surrey, B.C.) in the eighth, setting up the Phillies ninth that would tie the game for good. Six Canadian pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts: Michael Goemans (Guelph, Ont.) – 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 SOPhillippe Aumont (Gatineau, Qué.) – 2 IP, 0 H, 0R, 3 SOJean-François Ricard – 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 SOCameron Gray (Toronto, Ont.) – 1 IP, 0 H, 0 RMatt Jebb (Toronto, Ont.) – 1.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 SODavid Francis (Mississauga, Ont.) – 1 .2 IP, 0H, 0R, 3 SO Gillies led the charge offensively, going 3-for-4 with three hits, one walk, two runs scored and an RBI. Mark Ellis (Maple Ridge, B.C.) was also 3-for-4 with one RBI, while Larsson was 2-for-5 with one run scored and an RBI and Willson was 1-for-3 with one walk, one run scored and one RBI. Ricky Alvernaz (White Rock, B.C.) and Jeff Skelhorne-Gross had one hit each for the Canadians. The National Junior Team prospects will now turn their attention to their final training camp and exhibition series against the Cuban Junior National Team from Sept. 8 to September 16. The training camp will be used by Team Canada staff as the fourth and final step in the selection process for the roster of players to represent Canada at the 2006 World Junior AAA Championships in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba from Sept. 17 to 27. Canada’s Dominican Tour Results May 25 – Canada 9 Seattle 6May 26 – Canada 3 Seattle 8May 27 – Canada 3 Minnesota 6May 28 – Canada 5 Anaheim 4 May 29 – Canada 17 Cleveland 5May 30 – Canada 11 Cleveland 12May 31 – Canada 3 Toronto 12June 1 – Canada 5 Philadelphia 5
Baseball Canada’s National Junior Team prospects lost two games in a row, Tuesday and Wednesday, to the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays, moving to 3-4 on their 2006 Dominican Republic Tour. The Canadians’ best chance at a victory over the two-game stretch came in a 12-11 loss to the Indians on Tuesday, a contest which they led 5-0 after the first inning. Tyson Gillies (Langley, B.C.) scored from third on a single from the bat of Brett Lawrie (Langley, B.C.), while a double by Shayne Willson (Surrey, B.C.) and singles from Steve Anderson (Markham, Ont.) and Ricky Alvernaz (White Rock, B.C.) gave Canada the early lead. However, Cleveland quickly got back into the game, taking Canadian starter Sheldon McDonald (Spruce Grove, Alta.) for four runs in the bottom of the second thanks to three singles, a double and a walk. Canada bounced back to take a 7-5 lead into the bottom of the sixth, where the Indians came up with a five-run inning with only a pair of hits as Colin Buckborough (Niagara Falls, Ont.) walked two batters, hit another two and gave up a grand-slam homerun to bring the count to 10-7 in Cleveland’s favour. A resilient group of Canadians, however, refused, to let the grand-slam get the better of them, clawing back to take an 11-10 lead in the slugfest mid-way through the seventh inning. Gillies kicked off the inning with a triple, which was followed by singles from Kyle Gilligan (Toronto, Ont.), Willson, and Mark Ellis (Maple Ridge, B.C.) and a walk to Lawrie. The see-saw battle continued in the bottom half of the seventh where the Indians were able to draw a walk from Buckborough before slapping back-to-back doubles to score the final two-runs of the game and seal a 12-11 win. Right-handers Corey Hall (Regina, Saskatchewan) and Leslie Williams (Scarborough, Ont.) merit credit for shutting down a potent Indians offence. Hall, who threw 2.2 inning allowed only one hit and one run while Williams threw the final 1.2 innings, giving up only one hit while striking out one. Despite the loss, Canada had an impressive team effort offensively as six players had a multi-hit game: Tyson Gillies: 2-for-3, 2 runs, tripleBrett Lawrie: 2-for-4, 1 walk, 3 runs, 1 RBIShayne Willson: 3-for-5, 2 runs, 2 RBI, doubleMark Ellis: 2-for-4, 1 walk, 1 run, 1 RBISteve Anderson: 2-for-5, 2 runs, 2 RBI, homerunRicky Alvernaz: 2-for-3, 1BB, 1 RBI A big inning cost the Canadians again during a 12-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, Wednesday, a game that was much closer than the final score indicates. Leading by a slim 4-3 margin and with the Canadians pressing, the Blue Jays exploded for an eight-run seventh inning to seal the win. Five singles, a hit batsman, a walk, and a double off of right-handed reliever Ryan Jenson (Langley, B.C.) accounted for damage. Canada scored first in the game as Jordan Wideman (Mississauga, Ont.) cashed in Matt McCarney (Kanata, Ont.) with a base hit in top of the third inning. The lead was short lived as Toronto scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-1 lead. Canada clawed back to within one as Chris Dennis (Windsor, Ont.) scored on a double-play ball in the fifth and cashed in Brett Lawrie in the seventh to make it 4-3, setting up the eight-run Blue Jays' seventh. Canadian starter Mehdi Djebbar (Montréal, Qué.) did his part to get the Canadians off to a good start, striking out a pair while allowing two hits, two walks and no runs in the first two innings. Pierre Miville-Deschenes (Candiac, Qué.) threw the next two innings, allowing the four-run Blue Jays fourth. Before handing the ball over to Jenson, Justin Robinson (Langley, B.C.) threw a pair of innings, striking out one batter and allowing one hit. David Francis (Mississauga, Ont.) pitched the final 1.2 innings without a hit and struck out one. Dennis went 2-for-3 with a run scored and Ellis went 2-for-3 with an RBI to lead Canada’s offence. Lawrie and Wideman both had one hit each, Willson and McCarney both score a run each and Gilligan chipped in with an RBI. Canada’s final game on the 2006 Dominican Republic Tour comes against the Philadelphia Phillies, Thursday, in Guanuma, D.R. Canada’s schedule May 25 – Canada 9 Seattle 6May 26 – Canada 3 Seattle 8May 27 – Canada 3 Minnesota 6May 28 – Canada 5 Anaheim 4 May 29 – Canada 17 Cleveland 5May 30 – Canada 11 Cleveland 12May 31 – Canada 3 Toronto 12June 1 – Canada vs. Philadelphia Phillies; 11 a.m. EST - Guanuma, D.R.
