Baseball Canada announced, today, its roster for the National Junior Team’s final training camp and exhibition series in preparation for the World Junior AAA championships in September. Click here for the complete roster. The training camp, which will be held in Havana, Cuba Sept. 9 to 16, will mark the last of four steps in the selection process for Baseball Canada’s national junior team. A fall instructional league camp was held last September while baseball Canada staged a spring training camp in April followed by a series of exhibition games against Major League Baseball instructional teams on a tour of the Dominican Republic. Of the 23 players invited to camp, 18 will be selected to represent Canada at the World Junior AAA Championships also in Cuba, Sept. 17 to 27. “Throughout the year, all of these athletes have proven they can compete at a very high level and that’s why they’ve been invited to this camp,” said National Junior Team head coach Greg Hamilton. “We’re going to have to make some tough decisions to set our final roster for the World Championships, but Canada will be well represented.” The Canadian contingent will play four exhibition games against the Cuban National team during the training camp. ScheduleSaturday, Sept. 9 - PracticeSunday, Sept. 10 - Canada vs. CubaMonday, Sept. 11 - PracticeTuesday, Sept. 12 - Canada vs. CubaWednesday, Sept. 13 - Canada vs. CubaThursday, Sept. 14 - Day OffFriday Sept. 15 - Canada vs. Cuba
Fifteen year major league outfielder and Melville, Saskatchewan native Terry Puhl has been named as Baseball Canada’s field manager for the upcoming Americas Olympic Qualifier, which begins Aug. 25 in Havana, Cuba. Widely recognized as one of the best all-round players born north of the 49th parallel, the 1978 National League All-Star will head Baseball Canada’s charges as they aim to earn their second straight Olympic berth for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. “This is a wonderful opportunity to be a part of Canadian baseball,” said Puhl, who will be making his first contribution to a Canadian national baseball team. “I’m really looking forward to this opportunity and we will prepare the team properly and effectively to compete. My job is to help the players prepare to play at that level and to get the best out of them in a short period of time. I’m really looking forward to that because I think I can help them.” Puhl who still holds the career major league fielding percentage record with a .993 mark will look to employ that same defensive mindset to Team Canada. “I want other teams to have to work very hard for their runs,” said Puhl. “I don’t want to give cheap runs away so we’re going to put a lot of emphasis on pitching, defence and being a fundamentally sound team.” That’s not to say, however, that Puhl couldn’t light it up offensively. A career .280 hitter and member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, Puhl ranks in the top five among Canadian major leaguers in four major offensive categories – second in stolen bases (217), third in hits (1447), third in doubles (226) and fifth in runs scored (676). Only Larry Walker has played in more Major League games than Puhl’s 1531 with the Houston Astros and the Kansas City Royals from 1977 to 1991. “The most important thing for me to do is to get to know our players as quickly as possible and begin to build some sort of chemistry on the team,” said Puhl. “That’s got to be one of the most important things for any manager to do because it can obviously carry a lot of momentum for you.” Puhl’s coaching staff will consist of Boston Red Sox minor league hitting co-ordinator Orv Franchuck (Edmonton, Alta.), five-time Baseball Canada national senior team pitching coach Denis Boucher (Montréal, Qué), and Baseball Canada director of national teams Greg Hamilton (Ottawa, Ont.). Now in his fourth season with the Red Sox, Franchuck will join Baseball Canada’s national senior team coaching staff for the fourth time after having served the team at the World Senior Championships in 1977, 1980 and 1981. Prior to joining the Red Sox, Franchuck spent eight years as a scout for the Cincinnati Reds from 1977 to 1984 and seven years as a scout and hitting coach in the Anaheim Angels organization from 1988 to 1994. Franchuck has also worked within the Oakland Athletics system for eight years including three seasons as a hitting coach for the Triple-A Edmonton Trappers from 1998 to 2001, four seasons as the A’s roving hitting and catching instructor from 1998 to 2001 and one season as manager of the Single-A Vancouver Canadians in 2002. Boucher makes his fifth appearance on the national team staff after having helped Canada at the 2003 Olympic Qualifier, the 2004 Olympic Games, the 2005 CONCEBE Baseball Regional Olympic Qualifier and the 2006 World Baseball Classic. The former left-handed pitcher spent parts of four seasons in the major leagues, compiling a 6-11 record and a 5.42 ERA in 35 games (26 starts) for Toronto, Cleveland and Montreal from 1991-94. Hamilton, who also acts as Team Canada’s General Manger, was a primary force behind Canada’s fourth-place 2004 Olympic team and the 2006 Canadian World Baseball Classic Team – arguably the two best Canadian baseball teams ever put together. Much like he did for the 2004 Olympic Games, the 2005 CONCEBE Baseball Regional Olympic Qualifier and the 2006 World Baseball Classic, Hamilton scouts hundreds of players yearly, evaluating talent from a wide array of levels including amateur, collegiate, independent, minor- and major-league ranks in order to assure Canada is well represented in international events. In addition to his work in the front office, Hamilton was also a coach at the 2004 Olympics, the 2003 Olympic Qualifier the 2005 CONCEBE Baseball Regional Olympic Qualifier and the 2006 World Baseball Classic. The winner and runner-up from the America’s Olympic Qualifier will receive automatic berths into the 2008 Olympic Games. The third and fourth place teams will each earn a berth into a second-chance tournament in 2007 where they will compete against similar teams from around the world for the final three spots in the Olympic field. Canada and the other 12 teams in the field in Havana will be fighting for more than a spot at the Olympics. Teams must finish seventh or better to qualify for 2007 Pan-Am Games and sixth or better to qualify for the 2007 World Cup. In preparation for the Olympic Qualifier, the Canadian contingent will head to a weeklong training Camp in Kissimmee, Florida from August 17 to the 23 where they will play a series of exhibition games against the American and Puerto Rican National Teams. Canada’s first game at the Qualifier will come against the United Sates on Aug. 26.
In the ninth of 10 provincial association profiles, Baseball Canada speaks with Baseball P.E.I. president Don Leclerc about the 2006 season. BASEBALL CANADA (BCAN) – In no particular order, what five events or initiatives are you looking forward to the most for the 2006 baseball season? 1. Baseball Canada National Midget Championship DON LECLERC (DL) – We’re obviously looking forward to hosting the Baseball Canada National Midget Championships in Summerside August 24 to 28. BCAN – After having hosted the National Pee-Wee Championships for a number of consecutive years, how does the dynamic of this particular weekend change? DL – It’s a bit more challenging, I think, for the host group. There was a lot of tradition associated with the Pee-Wee championship, the billeting of athletes and related things. The other main difference is that two fields will be utilised in contrast to the one field that was used for the other event. There are some challenges like those, but there are a lot of experienced people involved in the organization of this tournament and I think that everything will work out very well for them. The Midget championship was scheduled to go to New Brunswick, but the host site changed their mind and Summerside was approached based on their history of hosting tournaments. Officials discussed it for a while and decided to undertake the challenge. From a Baseball P.E.I perspective, I see it as a wonderful opportunity to grow baseball in the western part of the province, particularly in the younger age groups. When the younger kids can see the Midget athletes competing at a high level it will give them something to aspire to and become involved with. 2. Athlete Development Clinics with Morgan Carlile *Morgan Carlile – Summerside, P.E.I.: Played for Baseball Canada’s 2004 National Junior Team; drafted by the New York Mets in 2004 MLB entry draft; posted ninth lowest ERA and third highest win total in Campbellsville (KY) University History; helped the Thunder Bay Border Cats to a Northwoods Baseball League Title in 2005; Named top left-handed pitcher on the 6th annual SLAM! Canada Canadian College All-Star Team. DL – We’ll be booking 25 clinics with Morgan across the province for kids aged 8 to 12-years-old between mid-July and the end of August. Morgan, will be home with his family this summer and when we learned that he would be here and available we thought that would be a good fit. He’s a tremendous young man apart from his baseball abilities and is an excellent guy to be working with this age group. Helping Morgan will be members of a 12-person group of high-performance coaches. I think it’s a big deal for the kids to have the opportunity to go to a clinic that’s hosted by somebody from P.E.I. because they can see first-hand the results they can achieve with commitment and hard work. These kids are going to have a nice positive experience. 3. Increased Registration DL - We’re extremely pleased to have seen our team registrations go up from 56 teams to 87 teams this year. I think some of that is due to an increased focus on trying to grow baseball from the bottom levels on up. For a number of years the focus may have been on Selects programs, the Canada Games program and other related programs. We really believe that you need to nurture the growth you have at the grassroots level. We’ve encouraged a lot of local association to become more involved with this movement. We’re strongly promoting the Rally Cap Program within our associations in order to put significant focus on the younger age groups. The challenge we need to address is maintaining their involvement for the next 10 years. This increase in registration numbers bodes very well for the future of baseball in the province if we can deal with it appropriately and if we make sure that each and every one of these kids has a positive experience that will bring them back next year. BCAN – By adding so many teams to the system, certain challenges are bound to arise. What kinds of challenges are you faced with and how are you going about tackling those issues? DL – There are a lot of scheduling challenges because access to fields in many communities are somewhat limited since there could be a number of teams vying for the use of the same facility on the same night. There are cases where two teams might try to schedule a home game on the same field where there’s very little flexibility. The way to deal with these is to keep the lines of communication open by meeting frequently and sharing as many ideas as possible. Our new executive director Kelsey McIntosh has been a godsend and came on board on a very opportune time because he’s been able to devote a lot of time to these logistical issues. 4. New Mosquito ‘A’ League DL – For the first time, we’ve organised a provincial Mosquito ‘A’ League, which will be an adult-pitch league for kids who aren’t of the calibre to play ‘AAA’ or ‘AA’. There will be 16 teams from across the province in the new league that will participate in a single round-robin schedule, which means each team will face all other 15 teams once during the summer. There will also be a mid-season tournament in Cornwall on the last weekend of July and an end-of-season provincial tournament at a site that has yet to be confirmed on the first weekend in September. We hope this will be an interesting and exciting summer for these kids, who were often left in house league situations that may or may not have been all that satisfying. It’ll just be fun for the kids. BCAN – For those who are not familiar with the term, can you explain briefly what defines an “adult-pitch” league? DL – The coach or a representative of the team at bat will pitch to his own team. There will be a player who will position himself behind the adult pitcher to field any balls hit towards that position. In addition, the umpire will not call balls and strikes, but will keep track of the number of times the batter swings and misses (there are no called strikes and no walks). For the complete Mosquito ‘A’ Rules visit http://www.baseballpei.ca/2006MosquitoARules.pdf. 5. Preparation for 2009 Canada Games DL – We’re looking forward to discussions we’ll be having with groups from Charlottetown and Stratford, which will be two of the primary sites for baseball at the 2009 Canada Games tentatively slated to be hosted by P.E.I.. We’re looking to work with them towards preparing a bid for Baseball Canada to host the 2008 Canada Cup or the 2008 Junior Championships because we’d like to have a little bit of a trial-run of the system and the facilities here. That would be a tremendous opportunity to showcase the sport of baseball in the province. I think the aftermath of hosting the Games would have a great impact on registration in baseball the following year. Coming up! Play Ball 2006! Baseball Newfoundland
While Trail, B.C.’s Jason Bay is set to start in left field for the National League All-Stars, July 9 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, four other Canadians will participate in Minor League All-Star Games the same week. Bay will play in the All-Star game for the second consecutive season after having won the 2004 National League Rookie of the Year Award. The 6’2”, 200-pound Bay is batting .283 with 20 homeruns and 60 RBI this season with the Pittsburgh Pirates and has established himself as one of the most complete outfielders in Major League Baseball. "It's been surreal," said Bay who will be making hit first-ever start in the mid-season classic. "It is an unbelievable thrill for me. I'm probably going to be a fan again, just like I was last year. To do it here in Pittsburgh with Freddy is going to be awesome." Two more members of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization have been selected to participate in the Eastern League All-Star Game. In his first season as a manager at the Double-A level, Tim Leiper (Ottawa, Ont.), who has been selected to manage the South Division in the Eastern League All-Star Game, has led the Altoona Curve to a 48-33 record thus far this season. Leiper has also served as a coach on Baseball Canada’s National Senior Team for four consecutive seasons, having helped the squad at the 2003 Olympic Qualifier, the 2004 Olympic Games, the 2005 CONCEBE Baseball Regional Olympic Qualifier and the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Meanwhile, Curve first-baseman and two-time Baseball Canada national team member Simon Pond (North Vancouver, B.C.) will also represent the South Division at the Eastern League All-Star Game. Pond, who represented Canada at the 2000 World Senior Championship and the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, is batting .295 with 51 RBI and 31 extra-base hits this season. The Double-A Southern League All-Star Game will also feature a pair of Canadians – George Kottaras (Markham, Ont.) and Joey Votto (Mississauga, Ont.) who have also been selected to play in the MLB Futures game as part of the Major League All-Star Game festivities at PNC Park. Kottaras, who will represent the South Division, is batting .273 with 8 homeruns, 19 doubles and 33 RBI Mobile Baybears. Early in his professional career while playing Single-A baseball for the Fort Wayne Wizards in 2004, Kottaras, who has Greek ancestry, joined the Greek National Baseball Team at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Votto, a two-time Baseball Canada national team member, is batting .326 with 17 homeruns, 53 RBI, 28 doubles with the Chattanooga Lookouts this season. The 6’3”, 220-pound 22-year old represented Canada at the 2005 World Cup of Baseball and the 2005 CONCEBE Baseball Regional Olympic Qualifier, being selected to the all-star team in both tournaments.
Baseball Canada president Ray Carter (Tsawwassen, B.C) has been inducted into the ‘Builders’ category at British Columbia’s Delta Sports Hall of Fame. Carter is one of the most distinguished baseball people in Canada, having been involved with the sport for over 30 years. Before being elected as Baseball Canada president in 2000, Carter was the organization’s vice president from 1988 to 2000 in addition to acting as the chairman of Baseball Canada’s High Performance Committee, Human Resources Committee, Sport Development Committee as well as the Planning and Administration Committee. “It was very exciting for me and it was kind of a shock because there are so many volunteers in this community of over 100,000 people that would be worthy recipients,” Carter said. “For me to be singled out, I thought that was very special. It’s quite an honour.” A native of Vancouver Island, Carter moved inland to the Delta Region in 1975. He got involved in the local sports scene almost immediately with the Tsawwassen Amateur Baseball Association where he worked his way up from groundskeeper and coach to president in addition to spending 13 years with the Delta Parks and Recreation Commission. He later served as B.C. Minor Baseball president from 1988 to 1990 and the B.C. Amateur Baseball president from 1990 to 1998. With the Delta region being a hotbed for sports, Carter felt right at home. “I think it was a match made in heaven when I moved out here,” said Carter. “I liked the area and decided it would be a good community to live in and being sports-minded it was just natural that I got involved about as soon as I got here. When a friend invited me to help coach a team I was hooked.” Carter, who currently also works as the president of RKTG Consulting and Engineers and sits on the Delta Police Board is one of the most decorated baseball people in British Columbia and all of Canada. In addition to receiving numerous volunteer awards within his own community, Carter was also the recipient of Canada’s Governor General’s medal for volunteerism in 1993. “I really think that awards like these should be shared with other people and sometimes it’s a little awkward being singled out when I know there are so many other people that put in a tremendous amount of work,” said Carter. “The first person I would want to thank is my friend and business partner Dick Klassen, who first asked me to coach, because that was the beginning of what’s been a great ride for over 30 years. The other is my good friend Don Cowan, the Toronto Blue Jays Scout, who encouraged me to go to Baseball B.C.” Other inductees included skier Bronwen Thomas and former NHLer Gary Nylund.
The number of coaches seeking certification in Baseball through the National Coaching Certification Program has more than tripled over the last three months, growing to just over 2,300. The surge in coaches seeking certification is attributed to the web-based Initiation Coach Program, where future coaches can acquire basic baseball specific training without having to leave the comfort of their own home. Baseball Canada’s on-line training model is garnering a tremendous amount of positive feedback, not only from coaches in training, but also from other national sports organization who have demonstrated an interest in following in Baseball Canada’s footsteps. “I believe that many other national sports federations will take a close look at our on-line training program because it really responds to the need for more accessibility,” said Baseball Canada’s Operations Manager André Lachance. “In addition to being available at all times, the delivery system is interesting and interactive. Our committee is extremely proud to have been able to pioneer this kind of web-based training of coaches.” The program is also receiving positive feedback from the Coaching Association of Canada. “I think we’re going to see more and more sports moving in that direction,” said Cyndie Flett, the CAC’s director of the National Coaching Certification Program. “I think Baseball [Canada] has been very successful in launching the product and they’ve had a lot of buy-in. The five CAC consultants who each work with about 14 national sports organizations are all aware of Baseball Canada’s product and they have all presented it to their sports as a best practice and promote it as an idea to consider.” In addition to having the luxury of completing their introductory training at their own pace, coaches can continue to benefit from the program after they’ve completed the on-line portion of their training. The NCCP Initiation Coach Program registration fee also includes access to an on-line library of coaching materials and videos. “It made it really easy for me to learn what to teach the kids,” said Corunna Ontario’s Jon White, a first-time bantam coach. “It helps me a lot because when I started the season I didn’t know anything about coaching. Now I know the right drills to help the kids work on their skills. The program has taught me how to teach the kids to throw and hit more effectively among other things.” Baseball Canada estimates receiving 3,000 registrations for its Initiation Coach Program during the course of the year.
In the eighth of 10 provincial association profiles, Baseball Canada speaks with Baseball Nova Scotia Executive Director Brad Lawlor about the 2006 season. BASEBALL CANADA (BCAN) – In no particular order, what five initiatives are you looking forward to the most for the 2006 baseball season? 1. Baseball Canada National Convention BRAD LAWLOR (BL) – The National convention is going to be held at the Delta Halifax November 1 to 5 and it’s something that we haven’t done for a long time so we’re going to try to make it a memorable event for everybody. We’re going to try to make it a more interactive event that it may have been in the past. Firstly we’ll look to get Baseball Canada’s high performance coaches involved by working with some of the kids and maybe even having access a Question and Answer Period with Ernie Whitt, our guest speaker, or Greg Hamilton. We have some special events planned already in large part due to our committee, which has been at it for the last six months. We’re looking at holding a family day where the spouses and children of those who are in meetings will have activities to do during the day. It’ll give everybody the opportunity to come to this event, enjoy it and not be stressed with other things. We’re really trying to entice people to bring their families and make the event about more than just meetings. For example, we have Casino Nova Scotia involved who is going to give out some tokens and have a Casino night. We’re also looking at getting involved with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to see if box seats would be available at that time. We’re also looking at arranging something with the “Harbour Hopper” which sails around the harbour and allows people to see the sights the east coast has to offer. BCAN - What was the process in securing National Senior Team Field Manager and Toronto Blue Jays Bench Coach Ernie Whitt as this year’s guest speaker? BL – We contacted him over a year and a half ago to invite him to our Baseball Nova Scotia Awards Banquet last year and he said that he would have absolutely loved to be able to come, but that the timing was bad because he had previous engagements. We just called him again and he said he would be delighted to come. He has such a great passion for Canadian baseball and he’s extremely well known down in this area. A lot of that has to do with his playing days with the Jays, but also with the amount of exposure he’s gotten by coaching the Olympic team in 2004 and the World Baseball Classic this past March. 2. Rally Cap Program BL – We’ve run out of hats and can’t get anymore. That’s how popular this program is. The associations that have picked it up are doing a great job with the program and they’re seeing the benefits in the way that other kids are trying to join their association. The associations that aren’t taking part in the program yet are seeing this and are in the process of catching up. I think the majority of the associations in Nova Scotia, especially in the mainland, will be participating in the Rally Cap Program by 2007. We were a little slow in getting the word out for the first year of the program, but now that it’s out there and that people know about it, there have been a lot of requests. We know it’s one of these programs that will assist us in maintaining and generating membership. It’s a well-structured program that runs on one-hour time frames and focuses on development and fun. That’s exactly what people want. That one-hour time frame is huge because there isn’t another program in baseball that offers it. There are a lot of delays in baseball, especially at that level. They’re getting the technical skills the development and the teachings in a wide array of aspects of the game in an extremely fun and productive environment. 3. Winterball/Blastball Program BL - This is another program that really caught big time last year. We’re seeing a lot of benefits from this right now and every year we get the kits we sell out of them quickly. There are couple of associations that have come back to us with some extremely positive news. One of these, the Fall River Area, had about 200 kids in their system two years ago prior to introducing the Winterball program. After incorporating the Winterball Program and Blastball kits into their schools two years ago, there are now over the 300 mark. There’s another area in Cape Breton that has seen an increase of 67 members over the last year, with only one kit. We’re hearing from the gym teachers that the kids are really liking the game of baseball and asking questions about how they can get involved in the sport. And that again goes back to the fact that Winterball is a fun program. The honking base and the variety of games you can play with the kit really bring out the fun in the game and at the same time exposes the kids to the basic skills that they need. The gym teachers absolutely love it because the entire program is just laid out so well. They get their practice plans for the different levels, the instructional video that comes with the kits, plus all the kids get their participant guides, so right off the bat it becomes an interactive and engaging experience. 4. Boundary Changes BL – Our boundaries at Baseball Nova Scotia haven’t been changed in a really long time so we had to re-evaluate how our districts and regions were zoned. As a result, we started a project pilot this year that aims at better defining the boundaries, protect the small associations to promote growth and keep kids in their area. People in those associations are working very hard to build their associations so we’re trying to build some sort of sustainability around them. We’re also trying to get more kids the opportunity to compete at the provincial level, so we’ve expanded our number of regions, so that there are now fewer teams in each region. As a result these teams will have a greater chance of getting to the provincials. The provincial is such a great tournament that we want to expose more kids to the event. In addition to that we incorporated a recreational (R) division two years ago. We now have a provincial ® tournament in Mosquito, Peewee and Bantam. These are true house league teams that are playing in house leagues all year round. It gives these house league teams an equal opportunity to participate in a provincial tournament, which is a really positive experience. 5. Coaching Development BL – We’re really trying to think outside of the box as far as developing coaches is concerned and that means looking beyond just getting them certified. We’re in the process of creating a business plan for coaching development in our province and we’re looking at the possibility of introducing a number of initiatives that could help. For example, we’re looking at having high-performance coaches come in and hold clinics where less experienced coaches could learn new drills, practice plans and other things that could help them along. There wouldn’t be any extra certification attached to these clinics, but it would certainly help improve the quality of coaching across the board. We’re going to try to monitor our coaches more closely and more effectively to ensure that they everything they need in order to coach in addition trying to get more people involved in coaching. We want to make sure that we have the resources available for them. We’d like to have a more complete library of materials here at the office or at least be able to point coaches in the right direction to find what they’re looking for. Coming up! Play Ball 2006! P.E.I. Amateur Baseball AssociationPlay Ball 2006! Baseball Newfoundland
Led by hall of famer Ferguson Jenkins (Chatam, Ont.) as the World Team’s manager, first baseman Joey Votto (Mississauga, Ont.) and catcher George Kottaras (Markham, Ont.) will compete against the United States Team at the Major League Baseball Futures game, July 9. The Futures Game, which will be held in conjunction with the Major League Baseball All-Star game festivities at PNC park in Pittsburgh, will feature 50 of the top prospects in baseball as identified by MLB, MLB clubs and Baseball America. Votto, a two-time Baseball Canada national team member and Cincinnati Reds prospect, is batting .315 with 14 homeruns, 46 RBI, 23 doubles and 33 walks in 72 games with the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts this season. The 6’3”, 220-pound 22-year old represented Canada at the 2005 World Cup of Baseball and the 2005 CONCEBE Baseball Regional Olympic Qualifier, being selected to the all-star team in both tournaments. Kottaras, one of three Canadian catchers playing in the San Diego Padres system, is batting .273 with 8 homeruns, 17 doubles, 27 RBI and 31 runs scored for the Double-A Mobile Baybears. Early in his professional career while playing Single-A baseball for the Fort Wayne Wizards in 2004, Kottaras, who has Greek ancestry, joined the Greek National Baseball Team at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Jenkins is the only Canadian to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The 1971 National League Cy Young Award winner and three-time all-star, finished in the top-10 in wins nine times over his 19-year career with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox from 1965 to 1983. He ranks 11th all time in strikeouts (3192), 21st in Games started (594), 21st in shutouts (49), 26th in innings pitched (4500.7) and 27th in wins (284). All three Canadians who played in the Futures Game in Detroit last year, were called up to the Major Leagues this season – Russell Martin by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Adam Loewen by the Baltimore Orioles and Scott Mathieson by the Philadelphia Phillies. In fact every Canadian ever to be selected to the Futures game has gone on to log time in the Major Leagues. Canadians to have played in the MLB Futures Game 1999: Chris Mears (Ottawa, Ont.), Aaron Myette (New Westminster, B.C.) 2000: Aaron Myette 2001: Erik Bedard (Navan, Ont.) 2002: Erik Bedard, Justin Morneau (New Westminster, B.C.) 2003: Rich Harden (Victoria, B.C.), Shawn Hill (Georgetown, Ont.), Pierre-Luc Laforest (Hull, Qué.), Scott Thorman (Cambridge, Ont.) 2004: Justin Morneau, Jeff Francis (North Delta, B.C.) 2005: Adam Loewen (Surrey, B.C.), Scott Mathieson (Aldergrove, B.C.), Russell Martin (Chelsea, Qué.)
Five-time Baseball Canada national team member and Atlanta Braves power prospect Scott Thorman (Cambridge, Ont.) became the 21st Canadian to play in the major leagues this season, Sunday, against the Boston Red Sox. Thorman, who was hitting .324 with 15 homeruns and 44 RBI in 66 games with the Triple-A Richmond Braves, made his major league debut in left field for Atlanta – only the 10th start at that position this season for the projected first baseman. “You never know how you are going to feel when you find out,” said Thorman. “I was very relaxed and excited. It feels like the right thing.” What made things even more special for Thorman, was making his first big-league start on Father’s day and dedicating the game to his father, the man who introduced him to baseball and who passed away when Thorman was only 12 years old. “It’s the best father’s day I could give my family,” said Thorman. Thorman has been a key player in Baseball Canada’s national team programs since 2000 when he played for Canada’s National Junior Team. He has also represented Canada at the 2001 World Cup of Baseball, the 2003 America’s Olympic Qualifier, the 2005 CONCEBE Baseball Regional Olympic Qualifier and the 2006 World Baseball Classic. The 6’3”, 235-pound Thorman, who was selected by the Braves 30th overall in the first round of the 2000 Major League Baseball entry draft, was also this year’s Baseball Canada Jimmy Rattlesnake Award recipient in recognition of his outstanding contributions and leadership on Canada’s national senior team. Thorman went 0-for-4 with one strikeout in his debut as the Braves lost 10-7 to the Red Sox.
Back in the year 1884, when saline infusion replaced milk as a blood substitute, Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn won the pitching "Triple Crown" with 59 wins, 441 strikeouts and 1.38 an ERA, and a record 29 Canadians played in the major leagues. When Scott Thorman (Cambridge, Ont.) suited up for the Atlanta Braves last night, he became the 21st Canadian to suit up for a major league club this season – a modern-day record and the most in any one season since 1884. Thorman, who went hitless in his debut (not uncommon when facing future hall-of-famer Curt Schilling), also became the 225th Canuck to toil at the big league level. On Saturday, Scott Mathieson (Aldergrove, B.C.) took the mound for the Philadelphia Phillies, becoming number 224 overall. Earlier this season, Russell Martin (Chelsea, Qué.) and Adam Loewen (Surrey, B.C.) were called up by the Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles respectively, taking their place in history as numbers 222 and 223. With Jeff Zimmerman (Carsland, Alta.) hoping to return from a prolonged stint on the disable list, and promising Canadians like Steve Green (Longueuil, Qué), Maxim St. Pierre (Québec, Qué.), Eric Langill (Kirkland, Qué), Mike Meyers (London, Ont.), Pierre Luc Laforest (Hull, Qué.), and Luke Carlin (Aylmer, Qué.) excelling in Triple-A, these numbers are bound to increase. The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame has received Martin's cleats and Loewen's hat from their first major league games, and is in the process of securing game-used items from the debut’s of Mathieson and Thorman. "Canada's provincial and national team programs are certainly doing an excellent job these days in identifying and developing top prospects, but this surge is also related to the high times Canada was experiencing in the early 1990's," said Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum president and CEO Tom Valcke. "Kids tend to quit baseball when they are 11 or 12 years old, but there was strong grass roots interest that overcame that tendency back then due to success Canadian baseball was having when the Blue Jays were winning a pair of World Series, the Expos had the best team in baseball in the strike-shortened season (1994), Canada won its first World Championship at the IBAF World Junior Championship in Brandon, Man. In 1991, and baseball became an official Olympic medal sport in 1992. “In addition, the National Baseball Institute (Vancouver) and Académie Baseball Canada (Montréal) were also taking off at that time. The young men we're seeing arrive in the majors now were the young boys ten to 15 years ago who decided to stick with baseball." Canadians who have played in the majors in 2006: Jason Bay, Trail, B.C. - Pittsburgh PiratesErik Bedard, Navan, Ont. - Baltimore OriolesJesse Crain, Toronto, Ont. - Minnesota TwinsRheal Cormier, Moncton, N.B. - Philadelphia PhilliesAaron Guiel, Vancouver, B.C. - Kansas City RoyalsRyan Dempster, Sechelt, B.C. - Chicago CubsJeff Francis, North Delta, B.C. - Colorado RockiesEric Gagné, Massouche, Qué. - Los Angeles DodgersRich Harden, Victoria, B.C. - Oakland AthleticsShawn Hill, Georgetown, Ont. - Washington NationalsCorey Koskie, Anola, Man. - Milwaukee BrewersAdam Loewen, Surrey, B.C. - Baltimore OriolesRussell Martin, Chelsea, Qué - Los Angeles DodgersScott Mathieson, Aldergrove, B.C. - Philadelphia PhilliesJustin Morneau, New Westminster, B.C. - Minnesota TwinsPeter Orr, Newmarket, Ont. - Atlanta BravesChris Reitsma, Calgary, Alta. - Atlanta BravesMatt Stairs, Fredericton, N.B. - Kansas City RoyalsAdam Stern, Port Stanley, Ont. - Boston Red SoxMark Teahen - Kansas City RoyalsScott Thorman, Cambridge, Ont. - Atlanta Braves Number of Canadians who have played in the major leagues, by season: Year- Total 1884 - 29 1900 - 0 1910 - 9 1920 - 5 1930 - 2 1940 - 5 1950 - 6 1960 - 5 1970 - 8 1980 - 8 1990 - 7 2000 - 17 2001 - 15 2002 - 16 2003 - 14 2004 - 19 2005 – 192006 - 21 (so far) SOURCE: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
