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Zimmerman Signs with Mariners

Zimmerman Signs with Mariners

April 08, 2009

OTTAWA - Former Senior National Team member and former Texas Rangers closer Jeff Zimmerman has signed a minor-league deal with the Seattle Mariners. The Carsland, Alberta native has not pitched in the Major Leagues since the 2001 season.  He suffered an elbow injury the following spring and has undergone two Tommy John surgeries since. The Baseball Canada Alumni Award winner reached 90 mph during a recent workout, which was good enough for the Mariners to pick him and allow him to continue his comeback. Zimmerman made his Major League debut in 1999 where he got off to a fantastic start, beginning the season with a 9-0 record and going 26 consecutive appearances without allowing a run, both of which are Texas Rangers team records. In 2001, the now 36-year-old took over the closer’s role for the Rangers where he would amass 28 saves, including 17 straight to close out the season. Zimmerman will report to Peoria, Arizona at the Mariners Extended Spring Training facility prior to being assigned to a Mariners’ Minor League affiliate.

IBAF Announces Plan To Add Women’s Baseball To The Olympic Program

IBAF Announces Plan To Add Women’s Baseball To The Olympic Program

April 06, 2009

LAUSANNE, Switzerland – The International Baseball Federation (IBAF) today announced that it is moving forward with an addendum to its original submission to the International Olympic Committee, which will propose to add baseball as a women’s discipline for the 2016 games. The addendum is expected to be submitted to the IOC no later than May 1, 2009. “There has been a great amount of talk about adding women’s baseball over the past year, but recently the growth of the sport in places where baseball is already popular, as well as the request by new federations to increase the number of young girls playing in baseball, has led us to move ahead and amend our 2016 proposal,” says Dr. Harvey Schiller, President of the IBAF. “We have shown that baseball is a sport for all, and the addition of a women’s discipline for the Olympics…which will take the place of our women’s World Cup in 2016…only further illustrates that point.” Currently over 30 of the IBAF’s 128 member Federations have a full discipline for women, although almost all have combined programs for boys and girls through at least age ten.  The addition of women’s discipline would likely double the number of federations offering a full women’s discipline in the next year, and will increase the number of countries eligible for the Women’s World Cup in 2010.  The Women’s Baseball World Cup was held in Japan in 2008, with the host country defeating Canada in the final before a near-capacity crowd.  The host of the 2010 World Cup will be announced in the coming months, with no less than eight nations interested in hosting the event.The IBAF is also in the process of finalizing a committee of sports executives who will work specifically on the growth of the women’s discipline worldwide.  The committee will include Sandra Monteiro, the president of Baseball Portugal, as well as André Lachance of Baseball Canada and others.  The IBAF has also received very enthusiastic support on the issue from both Major League Baseball in the United States and the Japanese Professional Leagues.  Currently over 500,000 young women play baseball around the world, with the number growing exponentially every year. Two weeks ago, Eri Yoshida became the first female to pitch in Japanese professional baseball, striking out the first batter she faced and touching off an immediate growth of young Japanese women interested in baseball. 

Baseball Saskatoon is Now RBI Approved

Baseball Saskatoon is Now RBI Approved

April 01, 2009

OTTAWA – Baseball Canada announces that the Saskatoon Minor Baseball Association has become the fourth amateur baseball association in Canada to be RBI Approved as they are officially recognized as “Reaching Baseball Ideals.” “We are truly honoured to be one of the first few associations to be recognized in this program,” says Geoff Hughes, Minor Division Supervisor with Baseball Saskatoon. “When we looked at the criteria to be approved, I said why haven’t we already done this?” Baseball Saskatoon initiated the pitch count in the Peewee Division for the 2008 season and will expanded it to the Mosquito and Bantam divisions for 2009.  That was the final hurdle to their becoming RBI Approved. The association also has their coaching staffs for each provincial and elite level teams meet the coaching certification requirements of Baseball Canada.  The house league teams must also have at least one coach certified at the appropriate level of the NCCP.  The association has also established the Rally Cap program in their Rookie Division for several years, which has helped increase the number of girls playing baseball in the region. Hughes says that being RBI Approved will now help Baseball Saskatoon grow and promote the game to even greater lengths. “This stamp from Baseball Canada shows that we are offering quality services and that we comply to a national standard.” For 2009, RBI accreditations are awarded to local baseball associations that comply with the minimum operating standards in these four areas: ·         Development Programs ·         Membership with Baseball Canada ·         Coaches Training ·         Accessibility An Association can become a Baseball Canada RBI Approved Association in 2009 by meeting these following criteria: ·         The Association is a member in good standing with the Provincial Baseball Association (as recognized by Baseball Canada) and with Baseball Canada through the registration of all players, coaches and umpires participating in the local Association. ·         The Association is fully utilizing the Rally Cap program as the main Initiation program for kids between 5 and 8 ·         The Association is providing support to its coaches by driving them to the Baseball Canada NCCP Programs ensuring that all Rep level coaches are properly certified as per Baseball Canada requirements and that all house league/community programs have at least one coach per team who have completed the Initiation Coach level at minimum ·         The Association is providing access to all programs to boys and girls at any age ·         The Association is in support and using the Baseball Canada pitch counts for the Mosquito and Pee-Wee divisions In order to become a RBI Approved association for 2009, simply send an email to rbi@baseball.ca addressing all the criteria mentioned above.  Baseball Canada will contact you to approve your Association or to ask additional questions.



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