(Photo: Ryan Dempster (middle) is flanked by Scott Mathieson (left) and Paul Quantrill (right) at the 2013 National Teams Awards Banquet and Fundraiser)
OTTAWA- One of the greatest Canadian-born pitcher’s of all-time is officially retiring from playing professional baseball as the Chicago Cubs announced today that Ryan Dempster (Gibsons, BC) will sign a contract to end his career as a member of the club.
They also announced that he will remain with the organization as a Special Assistant to President Theo Epstein and General Manager Jed Hoyer.
Originally drafted by the Texas Rangers in the third round of the 1995 MLB Draft, out of the North Shore Twins program, Dempster was traded to the Florida Marlins in 1996 and made his big league debut with the club on May 23rd, 1998.
His 16-year big league career included stops in Florida, Cincinnati, Chicago (NL), Texas and Boston where he won a World Series with the Red Sox in 2013.
His most successful seasons came in a Cubs uniform where he spent 9 years (2004-2012) accumulating 67 out of his 132 career wins. He had an exceptional season in 2008 going 17-6 with a 2.96 ERA and 187 strikeouts.
Dempster trails only Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, ON), among Canadian big league hurlers, in innings pitched (2387), wins (132) and strikeouts (2075). The two-time All-Star (2000, 2008) also enjoyed time as a closer earning 87 saves in his career which puts him fourth on the all-time list among Canadians.
As an amateur player, Dempster wore the Maple Leaf on two occasions, both with the Youth Team (now Junior National Team), representing Canada at the 1993 and 1994 World Youth Championships held in Windsor, ON and Brandon, MB, respectively. In 2013, he became just the fifth member of Baseball Canada’s Wall of Excellence, sponsored by RBC Wealth Management, joining Larry Walker, Justin Morneau, Joey Votto and Ernie Whitt.
Off the field, Dempster is known for his tremendous charitable work, particularly with raising awareness for 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome that his daughter, Riley, suffers from. His foundation, Dempster Family Foundation, is dedicated to improving the quality of life for the growing community of those affected by 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome.
Dempster has also helped raised thousands of dollars for Baseball Canada’s National Teams program through his popular “fantasy baseball” packages that are auctioned off at the National Teams Awards Banquet and Fundraiser every January.
Baseball Canada would like to congratulate Ryan on a tremendous career and wish him success in his retirement endeavors.
