OTTAWA- Canadian baseball stars from the past, present, and future will take centre stage on Saturday, January 11th, 2025, as the Baseball Canada Awards Banquet & Fundraiser will return to the Toronto Marriott City Centre Hotel inside Rogers Centre.
The annual event, set to celebrate its 21st year, will celebrate the wonderful career of alumni, former big leaguer and current St. Louis Cardinals coach Stubby Clapp who will become the 13th inductee onto Baseball Canada’s Wall of Excellence, presented by RBC Wealth Management.
A native of Windsor, Ontario Clapp had a remarkable playing career reaching the big leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001 while being a key contributor the Baseball Canada’s National Teams program both as a player and coach. In 1991, Clapp was part of the Junior National Team that made history winning the World Junior Baseball Championships in Brandon, Manitoba before returning to the prairie province eight years later with a memorable performance at the 1999 Pan Am games in Winnipeg where Canada won bronze. In the 2000’s, Clapp helped a pair of national teams qualify for the Olympics where he later represented Canada in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008. He also donned the Maple Leaf during the first two editions of the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009. After his playing days finished, Clapp jumped into the coaching ranks working his way up to his current position as first base coach with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was also part of coaching staffs for Canada’s bronze medal winning team at the 2011 IBAF Baseball World Cup, 2013 World Baseball Classic and 2015 Pan Am Games where Canada won gold on home soil in Toronto.
The evening will also celebrate current Canadian big leaguers Tyler Black, Cade Smith and Michael Soroka, Women’s National Team standouts Sena Catterall and Mia Valcke along with rising stars Mitch Bratt, Denzel Clarke and Sean Duncan.
Cureent Cleveland Guardians catcher Bo Naylor, former MLB All-Stars Russell Martin and Michael Saunders along with Super Bowl champion and TV personality Luke Willson, a former member of the Junior National Team, will also be in attendance and will be joined by Canadian Baseball Hall of Famers Jeff Francis, Ashley Stephenson and Ernie Whitt.
In addition to the awards presentation, the evening will include a cocktail hour (beginning at 6pm ET) and silent auction featuring unique fantasy sports packages from the likes of former MLB All-Star Ryan Dempster, Cleveland Guardians brother duo Josh and Bo Naylor, a Seattle Seahawks experience with Luke Willson, WestJet flights to any destination in North America along with several autographed pieces of memorabilia.
Tickets to the event are $500 per person and tables of eight and ten guests are also available for purchase. Baseball Canada has registered charitable status.
For more information, please contact Greg Hamilton, Director of National Teams, at 613-748-5606 ext. 225 or via e-mail at ghamilton@baseball.ca.
