2023 C's Program #11

9 GET TO KNOW YOUR CANADIANS FRONT OFFICE STAFF

Meet the team behind our team as we feature those who work around the clock to ensure your best ballpark experience.

14 2023 PROMOTIONAL SCHEDULE

This is your chance to map out the entire summer using our vibrant and colourful Promo Schedule that shows you every single moment this season. A great tool to plan out the games you absolutely HAVE to see this season.

17 ROAD TO THE SHOW

Climbing through the Blue Jays system.

18 TEAM ROSTERS

22 MEET THE 2023 VANCOUVER CANADIANS

This year’s squad is looking to bring home Northwest League Championship #5! Let’s meet this year’s ‘Boys of Summer’!

17 CANADIANS TO REACH THE MAJOR LEAGUES

A list of alumni who have gone to 'The Show'

32 HOW TO SCORE THE BASEBALL GAME

A Scorekeeping 101.

34 JAKE KERR & JEFF MOONEY: A BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP MADE IN BASEBALL HEAVEN

There was a time in the late 1990s and early 2000s when Vancouver seemed to be on a constant losing streak. Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney stepped in and put a stop to it.

46 Q&A WITH JEFF WEHLER

2023 Vancouver Canadians infielder/outfielder Jeff Wehler digs into the batter’s box for the latest C’s Chat.

54 MEET OUR MASCOTS!

The Canadians feature not one, not two, but seven amazing mascots all with their own claim to fame! Take a look at the colourful characters that keeps fans smiling all summer long.

56 KIDS FUN PAGE

Fun kids activities

MARK STEFFENS/FOTOGUY PHOTOGRAPHY

Our content hits home with readers. We’re the trusted source for community news, award-winning stories and local flavour.

Glacier Media is part of the largest local news network in Canada Ask us about audience targeting. Visit goteam.glaciermedia.com

FRIDAYS Gates Open at Noon. First Pitch 1:05

The Vancouver Canadians Baseball League is looking for your help this season. Your assistance will help more than 300 local children between the ages of 6-11 learn a number of life skills on the diamond including teamwork, fair play and how to develop confidence and pride.

If you would like to make a donation to Vancouver Canadians Baseball Foundation, please go to www.vancouverfoundation.ca/vancouvercanadians and click on the donate button.

THANK YOU for supporting the Vancouver Canadians Baseball Foundation and Vancouver Canadians Baseball League. Because of your generosity, we can move forward and bring a summer of fun and memories to children from right here in our own neighbourhoods.

FRONT OFFICE STAFF

JAKE KERR CHAIR OF VANCOUVER CANADIANS BASEBALL

Born and raised in Vancouver, Jake Kerr attended the University of British Columbia before completing his MBA in Economics and Finance at the University of California at Berkeley. A Canadian business icon, Mr. Kerr has been the recipient of the Order of Canada and Order of British Columbia for his remarkable contributions to both our country and province.

Taking ownership of the Canadians back in 2007, Mr. Kerr has led the Vancouver Canadians Baseball Club to eight (8) franchise attendance records, multiple Larry McPhail Awards for excellence within the Northwest League, and Minor League Baseball’s most coveted accolade - the John H. Johnson President’s Trophy, awarded to MiLB’s most complete franchise.

ANDY DUNN PRESIDENT

Andy Dunn has been with the Vancouver Canadians since 2007, helping guide Canada's only affiliated Minor League Baseball franchise to a number of national accolades including the coveted John H. Johnson President's Trophy (2013) presented to the most complete franchise in MiLB - marking the first time in the award's 40-year history that a Canadian-based organization received the honour.

Known by many in the baseball world, Andy has twice been named Florida State League Executive of the Year (1999, 2000) and also Northwest League Executive of the Year (2008), and has helped the Canadians reach new heights with 10 Northwest League awards during his tenure in Vancouver including multiple John H. Johnson & Larry MacPhail Awards

JEFF MOONEY CHAIR OF THE VANCOUVER CANADIANS BASEBALL FOUNDATION

In addition to his valuable contributions to the Vancouver Canadians, Jeff Mooney is Chairman Emeritus and a major shareholder of A&W Food Services of Canadians Inc. Today, A&W is a strategy-driven organization that has grown to over 1,000 locations across Canada. A&W has been recognized as one of the 50 Best Managed Companies in Canada for the past 10 consecutive years, and in 2008, it was honoured to become an official member of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Platinum Club.

Mr. Mooney is an alumnus of both the University of Saskatchewan and Harvard University Graduate School of Business. In 2003, Mr. Mooney received Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee Medal and three years later was inducted into the Restaurant Hall of Fame(2006). In 2016, Mr. Mooney was inducted into the B.C. Business Laureates Hall of Fame and this year received the Order of Canada

ALLAN BAILEY GENERAL MANAGER

Allan Bailey has been with the Vancouver Canadians since 2007 and was appointed General Manager on September 5th, 2018, after spending the previous seven seasons as the organization's Assistant General Manager. Allan has led several departments during his tenure with the C's including the Nat Bailey Stadium Box Office and its ticket operations as well as his more recent efforts in Team Operations handling everything from player housing and travel right through to Information Technology (IT). Born in Victoria, B.C., and raised on the Lower Mainland's Sunshine Coast, Allan completed his education at McGill University while playing five seasons with the McGill Redbirds baseball program. Prior to university, Allan played for the North Shore Twins of the B.C. Premier League

STEPHANI ELLIS ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER

Returning for her ninth season with the Vancouver Canadians Stephani handles a wide variety of key organizational elements including Group Sales as well as the C's social media platforms. She was promoted to Assistant General Manager role prior to the 2019 season and was the recipient of the 2019 Northwest League Female Executive of the Year for her work with the C's.

After a standout collegiate softball career at California University of PA where Stephani played for the Vulcans and was named a Regional All-American, the Prince of Wales Secondary graduate and former Team BC member began her marketing career with the Canadians.

Stephani works in concert with group leaders who expect the Canadians to provide an excellent ballpark experience with each visit out at Nat Bailey Stadium.

BRENDA CHMILIAR FINANCIAL CONTROLLER

Brenda is entering her 16th season out at Nat Bailey Stadium but her second as Financial Controller for the Vancouver Canadians. She spent the first 10 years with Aramark Food Services in the company's financial division, dividing her time between at Nat Bailey Stadium and Rogers Arena. Brenda is responsible for all aspects of the Vancouver Canadians financial operations. She is right at home here at Nat Bailey Stadium, as much of her childhood was spent playing baseball on the local fields in Kamloops

STEVEN MAISEY MANAGER OF TICKETING OPERATIONS

Steven enters his fourth season with the Vancouver Canadians Baseball Club, and his first as Manager of Ticket Operations.

After graduating from Langara College with a diploma in Recreation Leadership Management, and interning for the Vancouver Whitecaps, Steven began his career with the Canadians on the operations side of the club, spending the two seasons (2018 –19) as a member of the A&B Tools Rental Grounds Crew. Steven transitioned into his current role as Manager of Ticket Operations in January 2020, and looks to maintain the service standards that fans have come to expect of the Canadians. In the offseason, Steven volunteers his time as a skills coach for the Vancouver Thunderbirds Minor Hockey.

WALTER COSMAN VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES & MARKETING

With more than 20 years of Sales & Marketing experience here in Vancouver, Walter decided to put those skills to work in the sport he's most passionate about, baseball. With a B.A. from the University of New Brunswick, Walter has worked with Proctor & Gamble, Molson Canada, Granville Island Brewing and Steamworks Brewing. Walter was also General Manager of Petcurean leading a staff of more than 70 people. With a long-standing corporate partnership with the Canadians prior to his arrival in May of 2019, Walter joins our club fully aware of the standard that has put the C's among the best in Minor League Baseball

CHARLENE YAROSHUK ACCOUNTING COORDINATOR

Charlene is excited to be entering her fifth season with the Vancouver Canadians as their Accounting Coordinator. In 2020 she graduated from Kwantlen Polytechnic University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting. Growing up in the Vancouver area she spent most of her free time practicing martial arts and currently has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

TYLER ZICKEL MANAGER OF BROADCASTING & MEDIA RELATIONS

Tyler joined the Canadians in 2021 and is now in his sixth season in the Blue Jays organization and ninth in MiLB. Before the C's, Tyler served as the Director of Promotions & Entertainment and Road Radio Broadcaster for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Over the course of three seasons in Manchester, he oversaw the entire in-game presentation and promotions departments while traveling throughout the Eastern League calling 'Cats games. Tyler began his MiLB career in 2014 as a communications intern for the High-A Lake Elsinore Storm in Southern California and was promoted twice in three years.

The San Diego native earned his B.A. in English from Whittier College in Los Angeles, where he played on the Poets baseball team and was elected Student Body President. He and his fiancée Kate make their offseason home in Portland, OR with their dog Rosie.

Proud to support the

AVAILABLE ON THE CONCOURSE AND at THE 3RD BASE CRAFT ZONE

KENDRA CHIN MARKETING COORDINATOR

Kendra joins the C’s Marketing department for her first full season of baseball. She has recently completed a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with specialization in Marketing and Human Resource Management. Prior to joining the team at The Nat, she worked for several years in the health & fitness industry. Her goal is to intertwine her passion for sports with her business background. In her spare time, she coaches basketball to inner city kids. This Vancouverite also likes spending her free time playing basketball, tennis, golf, and skiing.

JACOB NAKHLEH SALES COORDINATOR

Jacob returns for his eighth season with the C’s and his second as Sales Associate. Joining the club for the 2016 season, Jacob began his time with the C’s in the Box Office, first as a Ticket Sales Representative, then as Box Office Assistant, with his transition to sales coming at the conclusion of the 2021 season.

Jacob graduated from the Edwards School of Business at the University of Saskatchewan in 2021 with a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance. When Jacob’s away from the Nat, you can find him watching Blue Jays baseball, Seahawks football, or, if he’s lucky, ice fishing in Saskatchewan.

OTHON DIAZ SALES ASSOCIATE

Othon is originally from Mexico and moved to Canada to earn his MBA. He has experience working in the marketing department of the Diablos Rojos del Mexico professional baseball team in the Mexican Baseball League.

Throughout his life, Othon has been involved in sports. He spent many years training and competing on an international level in sprint kayak where he won three Pan-American medals in 2014 and 2017.

In his free time, Othon helps coach the U16 & U18 canoe and kayak sprint team at False Creek Racing Canoe Club. He loves watching baseball games at Nat Bailey Stadium while enjoying some good tacos.

LEVI WEBER HEAD GROUNDSKEEPER

Levi is no stranger to the Northwest League, with prior experience with the Spokane Indians as their Head Groundskeeper at Avista Stadium. His talents have also allowed him to be the field manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Spring Training Facility in Arizona.

The Colton, WA native graduated from Washington State University with a Double Major in Turfgrass Management and Fruit and Vegetable Management and two minors in Horticulture and Agricultural Systems.

In his time away from the ballpark, you can find him on the golf course, weight training or enjoying time with family and friends.

COOPER MISIC SALES COORDINATOR

Cooper is a former Langley Blaze pitcher, took his talents south of the border to play for both Galveston College and at Central Washington University. He graduated from CWU with a Sports Management degree with a specialization in Business.

Prior to joining the Canadians, he was a member of the Ground Crew at Northview Golf & Country Club.

LIAM GUERRIERO SALES ASSOCIATE

2023 is Liam’s first season with the C’s as a Sales Associate. The 23-yearold graduated from Brock University with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from their four-year program.

A native of Waterloo, Ontario, Liam grew up playing competitive hockey for the Waterloo Wolves. He loves playing and watching hockey, baseball, golf and football. He’s a fan of the Boston Bruins, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Browns and Rory McIlroy.

BOX OFFICE ASSISTANT BALLPARK AND STADIUM OPERATIONS

ZACH MAHAFFY BROOKS PRIMO CHRISTIAN WILSON TRAVIS PORTER

2023 PROMOTIONAL SCHEDULE

CRAFT CORNER ICE COLD - FRESH BEER - LOCATED

IN THE -

3RD BASE FOOD COURT

PROUDLY SERVING

ROAD TO THE SHOW

The Canadians are a part of the Toronto Blue Jays organization. The C’s are a High A affiliate of the Blue Jays. That means they are in the middle of the Toronto farm system, slightly higher than the Dunedin Blue Jays (Low A) and the Gulf Coast Blue Jays (Rookie). Baseball players work their way up through the organization in hopes of getting to the big leagues. Toronto is in the American League and pulls its talent from these teams.

CASEY CANDAELE MANAGER

MATT HAGUE HITTING COACH TIM NORTON PITCHING COACH

CARSON PHILLIPS BULLPEN COACH

JUSTIN ECHEVARRIA COACH JAKE MCGUIGGAN DEVELOPMENT COACH

JOHN SCHNEIDER MANAGER

DON MATTINGLY BENCH COACH

PETE WALKER PITCHING COACH

GUILLERMO MARTINEZ HITTING COACH

CALEB DANIEL ATHLETIC TRAINER JUSTIN BATCHER STRENGTH COACH ROSWELL DEL ROSARIO ASST. STRENGTH COACH

KARA TERRY DIETITIAN ROB DiBERNARDO MENTAL PERFORMANCE COACH

RYAN MORETTI TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANT

MARK BUDZINSKI FIRST BASE COACH

LUIS RIVERA THIRD BASE COACH HUNTER MENSE ASSISTANT HITTING COACH JEFF WARE ASSISTANT PITCHING COACH, BULLPEN DAVID HOWELL ASSISTANT PITCHING COACH, STRATEGY GIL KIM FIELD COORDINATOR DAVE HUDGENS MAJOR LEAGUE HITTING STRATEGIST ADAM YUDELMAN MAJOR LEAGUE COACH ALEX ANDREOPOULOS BULLPEN CATCHER LUIS HURTADO BULLPEN CATCHER

CESAR MARTIN MANAGER MITCH HUCKABAY HITTING COACH

DREW HAYES PITCHING COACH

CHRIS SCHAEFFER COACH

MATT VON ROEMER DEVELOPMENT COACH

LUKE GREENE ATHLETIC TRAINER

CASEY CALLISON STRENGTH COACH

GEOFF STALLMAN DIETITIAN

RAUL PIMENTEL MENTAL PERFORMANCE COACH

KEVIN MCCARTHY TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANT

BRENT LAVALLEE MANAGER

DANIEL CANELLAS BENCH COACH

RYAN WRIGHT HITTING COACH

JOEL BONNETT PITCHING COACH

ASHLEY STEPHENSON POSITION COACH

AUSTIN BIBENS-DIRKX BULLPEN COACH ROELVIS VARGAS ATHLETIC TRAINER

TOMMY LABRIOLA STRENGTH COACH

YUKA SANUI DIETITIAN

RAUL PIMENTEL MENTAL PERFORMANCE COACH

LUKE STATLER TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANT

DONNIE MURPHY MANAGER

GEORGE CARROLL BENCH COACH

MATT YOUNG HITTING COACH

CORY RIORDAN PITCHING COACH

YOEL HERNANDEZ BULLPEN COACH PETR STRIBRCKY DEVELOPMENT COACH

JJOSE MAYORGA MANAGER

PAUL ELLIOTT HITTING COACH

COREY HART HITTING COACH

FRED LANDERS HITTING COACH

JAIME LEVER HITTING COACH

ANTONIO CACERES PITCHING COACH

ANDY FERMIN MANAGER

DEIFERSON BARRETO COACH RICARDO NANITA HITTING COACH

ROBELIN BAUTISTA PITCHING COACH

JOSE MATEO COACH JAIR MORELOS COACH LUIS SILVA COACH

BRANDON HAMMERSTROM ATHLETIC TRAINER

ROSWELL DEL ROSARIO S&C COACH

GEOFF STALLMAN DIETITIAN ERIKA MONSALVE MENTAL PERFORMANCE COACH

CARLOS POLANCO TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANT BRENDAN KELLY PITCHING COACH

DELTA CLEARY JR. COACH

ASHLEY PONCE COACH

DANIEL TUCKER ASSISTANT COACH JON WOODWORTH ATHLETIC TRAINER FRANK ESPOSITO ATHLETIC TRAINER

ALAIN PACHECO ATHLETIC TRAINER YSIDRO REYES ATHLETIC TRAINER

IMBEWER ALVAREZ STRENGTH COACH JOSEPH CARDONA STRENGTH COACH

BRYAN ROSALES DIETITIAN

ERIKA MONSALVE MENTAL PERFORMANCE COACH

ISIDRO LOPEZ TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANT

SYDNEY JENKINS S&C COACH

EDWIN ORTIZ STRENGTH COACH

BRYAN ROSALES DIETITIAN ERIKA MONSALVE MENTAL PERFORMANCE

COACH STEVEN CARDONA TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANT

MANAGER: 33 Brent Lavallee

BENCH COACH: 24 Danny Canellas

PITCHING COACH: 34 Joel Bonnett

HITTING COACH: 12 Ryan Wright

PRONUNCIATIONS

POS. PLAYER COACH: 2 Ashley Stephenson

STRENGTH & CONDITIONING: Tommy LaBriola

BULLPEN COACH: 38 Austin Bibens-Dirkx DIETITIAN: Yuka Sanui

ATHLETIC TRAINER: Roelvis Vargas

ATHLETIC THERAPIST Katie Reyes

MENTAL COACH: Raul Pimentel

TECH ASSISTANT: Luke Statler

Devereaux – dev-er-row | Leam – Liam | Pardinho – par-DEEN-yo | Naswell – NAZ-well | Anders – AND-ers | Jommer – YOE-murr

Kekai – KAY-kai | Doughty – dough-dee | Kasevich – KASS-uh-vitch | Estiven – es-STEVEN | Abiezel – ah-bee-AY-zil | lWehler – WHALE-er

Dasan – duh-SAWN | Lavallee – luh-VALLEY | Cañellas – kuh-NYAY-us | Stephenson - Stevenson | Bibens-Dirkx – BIB-ins DURKS

Roelvis – row-ELVIS | Labriola – LAB-riola | Yuka Sanui – YOO-kah sa-NEW-ee

FIELD STAFF

MANAGER: 34 Ronnie Gajownik

PITCHING COACH: 18 Gabriel Hernandez

HITTING COACH: 33 Ty Wright

COACH: 19 Ronald Ramirez

TRAINER: Haruki Mukohchi

STRENGTH COACH: Ryan Harrel

VIDEO COORDINATOR: Albert Del Valle

FIELD STAFF

BRENT LAVALLEE 33 MANAGER

• Entering his second year as Manager in Vancouver, coming off a 67-62 campaign... Served as a Manager for the first time in 2021 while with the FCL Blue Jays... Played at LSU Shreveport until 2009 and joined their coaching staff as a Graduate Assistant in 2010...Started as a full-time assistant in 2012 and was named the Head Coach in 2016...In three years, his teams produced with an overall record of 12657 and claimed the last two conference championships.

• The North Delta, British Columbia, native played for LSU for five seaons, including a medical redshirt campaign...Played a total of 200 games and earned 2009 1st Team All-Canada while runner up for Canadian College Baseball Player of the Year.

DANNY CANELLAS 24 BENCH COACH

• The 28-year-old is taking on a Bench Coach position for the first time...Entering his fourth season as a coach...Spent 2022 with Single-A Dunedin as a Position Coach...Served in the same capacity for Vancouver from 2019-2021.

• The former catcher and relief pitcher played Rookie-level baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014 and 2015...He also signed as a free agent with the Blue Jays on October 9, 2017 and was assigned to the Gulf Coast League, Lansing, and Dunedin at various parts during the 2018 season.

JOEL BONNETT 34 PITCHING COACH

• Entering his second year in professional baseball and his first as a Pitching Coach, having spent the 2022 season as Bullpen Coach with High-A Vancouver...Started as a Pitching Coach at The University of Illinois Springfield and worked in the same role at Southwest Minnesota State University, Hendrix College, and Benedictine University.

• The native of Springfield, IL, played four seasons at NCAA III North Park University, spending time as both a starter and a closer...Finished his career 7th all-time in appearances (23) and 4th all-time in saves (7)...Was an all-conference second team honoree as a senior 2012, while in 2010 he earned the Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Central Region Gold Glove Award.

RYAN WRIGHT 12 HITTING COACH

• Made his Minor League coaching debut in 2021, in his current role, after his debut with Class-A Lansing was cancelled in 2020...Began his coaching career at Capital High School in Boise, ID, from 2015-2016... Was a Graduate Assistant at California State University Northridge in 2016... Joined the organization from Montana State University Billings where he was on staff since 2017... Served as the Hitting Coach & Recruiting Coordinator at MSUB... Has also managed the Spearfish Sasquatch Baseball Club in Spearfish, SD (20182019), and the Kelowna Falcons Baseball Club in Kelowna, BC (2019).

• Played collegiately at the University of Utah, Treasure Valley Community College, and Oklahoma City University.

ASHLEY STEPHENSON

POSITION COACH

• 2023 is Ashley’s first season with the Blue Jays...Follows Jaime (Vieira) Lever as the second female coach in the organization...Coached with the Canadian Women’s National Team since 2018, leading to a Bronze medal at the COPABE Women’s Pan-American Championships in 2019, and was the first woman to manage the Women’s National Team when Canada played against USA in Thunder Bay in 2022...Was also the first woman to coach in the Canadian Futures Showcase, hosted by the Blue Jays baseball academy in Ottawa last year...Made history in November as she became the first woman to capture Baseball Canada’s Lionel Ruhr Elite Coach of the Year Award.

• Was an original member of the Women’s National Team in 2004 and played for 15 years...Won four Women’s Baseball World Cup medals (three bronze, one silver), and a silver at the Pan American Games in 2015.

AUSTIN BIBENS-DIRKX 38 BULLPEN COACH

• Officially retired in January and is entering his first year in professional baseball as a coach, taking on Bullpen Coach for Vancouver.

• The native of Salem, OR, was selected out of the University of Portland by the Seattle Mariners in the 16th round of the 2006 draft...Eventually reached the Majors for 37 games while with Texas in 2017 and 2018...Has also pitched in the Venezuelan Winter League, the Dominican Winter League, the Mexican League, and the Chinese Professional Baseball League.

2023 ROSTER

COOPER BENSON 15

PITCHER

HT: 6-0 WT: 210

B/T: L/L

DOB: 8/3/00

HOMETOWN: San Luis Obispo, CA

’22 CLUBS: FCL, Dunedin

ACQUIRED: 17th, ’21, Arizona State

RYAN BOYER 21

PITCHER

HT: 6-2 WT: 225

B/T: R/R

DOB: 5/4/97

HOMETOWN: Bradford, PA ’22 CLUBS: College, DUN, VAN, NH ACQUIRED: FA, 1/27/22

IAN CHRUCHILL 35

PITCHER

HT: 6-2 WT: 190

B/T: L/L

DOB: 2/28/99

HOMETOWN: Santa Barbara,CA

’22 CLUBS: Dunedin

ACQUIRED: 10th Rd, 22, San Diego

HUNTER GREGORY 16

PITCHER

HT: 6-3 WT: 220

B/T: R/R

DOB: 11/16/98

HOMETOWN: Chesapeake, VA ’22 CLUBS: Vancouver

ACQUIRED: 8th Rd, ’21, Old Dominion

DEVEREAUX HARRISON 26

PITCHER

HT: 6-0 WT: 190

B/T: R/R

DOB: 11/8/00

HOMETOWN: Vacaville, CA

’22 CLUBS: College, DUN, VAN

ACQUIRED: 9th Rd, ’22, Long Beach State

RYAN JENNINGS 32

PITCHER

HT: 6-0 WT: 190

B/T: R/R

DOB: 6/23/99

HOMETOWN: San Antonio, TX ’22 CLUBS: Dunedin

ACQUIRED: 4th Rd, ’22, Louisiana Tech

JUSTIN KELLY 9

PITCHER

HT: 6-1 WT: 195

B/T: R/R

DOB: 12/2/98

HOMETOWN: West Jordan, UT

’22 CLUBS: Dunedin, Vancouver

ACQUIRED: ND FA, 7/21/21

ADAM MACKO 30

PITCHER

HT: 6-0 WT: 180

B/T: L/L

DOB: 12/30/00

HOMETOWN: Vauxhall, AB

’22 CLUBS: Everett (SEA)

ACQUIRED: Trade (SEA), 11/16/22

LEAM MENDEZ 28

PITCHER

HT: 6-2 WT: 200

B/T: L/R

DOB: 1/21/00

HOMETOWN: Ciego de Avila, CUB

’22 CLUBS: FCL, TAM (NYY)

ACQUIRED: MiLB FA, 5/29/23

KEVIN MIRNADA 17

PITCHER

HT: 5-10 WT: 180

B/T: R/R

DOB: 11/14/98

HOMETOWN: Dolega, PAN ’22 CLUBS: Did Not Play ACQUIRED: INT FA, 8/4/22

ERIC PARDINHO 43

PITCHER

HT: 5-10 WT: 190

B/T: R/R

DOB: 1/5/01

HOMETOWN: Bastos, Sao Paulo, BR

’22 CLUBS: Dunedin, Vancouver

ACQUIRED: INT FA, 7/2/17

PAT

GALLAGHER 29

PITCHER

HT: 6-0 WT: 200

B/T: R/R

DOB: 6/30/00

HOMETOWN: Leoiminster, MA ’22 CLUBS: UConnr

ACQUIRED: 11th Rd, ’22, UConn

CONOR LARKIN 25

PITCHER

HT: 6-1 WT: 205

B/T: R/R

DOB: 3/17/99

HOMETOWN: Royersford, PA ’22 CLUBS: Dunedin, Vancouver

ACQUIRED: 9th Rd, ’21, Penn State

NASWELL PAULINO 4

PITCHER

HT: 5-11 WT: 205

B/T: L/L

DOB: 4/17/00

HOMETOWN: San Cristobal, DR ’22 CLUBS: Vancouver

ACQUIRED: INT FA, 7/4/16

SAM RYAN 31

PITCHER

HT: 6-3 WT: 205

B/T: R/R

DOB: 9/22/98

HOMETOWN: Clifton, VA

’22 CLUBS: Dunedin, Vancouver

ACQUIRED: 12th Rd, ’19, VCU

RAFAEL SANCHEZ 18 PITCHER

HT: 6-1 WT: 215

B/T: R/R

DOB: 08/22/99

HOMETOWN: Antilla, Cuba

’22 CLUBS: Dunedin, Vancouver

ACQUIRED: INT FA, 5/13/22

DAHIAN SANTOS 1

PITCHER

HT: 5-11 WT: 170

B/T: R/R

DOB: 2/26/03

HOMETOWN: Acarigua, VZ

’22 CLUBS: Dunedin, Vancouver

ACQUIRED: INT FA, 7/2/19

JOMMER HERNANDEZ 19

CATCHER

HT: 5-11 WT: 185

B/T: R/R

DOB: 10/20/00

HOMETOWN: Puerto Plata, DR

’22 CLUBS: Dunedin, Vancouver

ACQUIRED: MiLB FA, 9/8/21

LYLE LIN 10

HT: 6-1 WT: 200

B/T: R/R

DOB: 6/26/97

HOMETOWN: Taipei, Taiwan

’22 CLUBS: Hillsboro, Amarillo, Reno

ACQUIRED: MiLB FA, 4/10/23

KEKAI RIOS 20

CATCHER

HT: 5-10 WT: 205

B/T: R/R

DOB: 6/06/97

HOMETOWN: Kaneohe, HI

’22 CLUBS: Great Lakes, Tulsa

ACQUIRED: Waivers 03/27/2003

CADE DOUGHTY 7

INFIELDER

HT: 6-1 WT: 200

B/T: R/R

DOB: 3/26/01

HOMETOWN: Denham Springs, LA

’22 CLUBS: College, Dunedin

ACQUIRED: 2nd (CB), ’22, Louisiana State

JOSH KASEVITCH 8

INFIELDER

HT: 6-1 WT: 205

B/T: R/R

DOB: 1/17/01

HOMETOWN: Palo Alto, CA

’22 CLUBS: College, Dunedin

ACQUIRED: 2nd Rd, ’22, Oregon

ESTIVEN MACHADO 14

INFIELDER HT: 5-10 WT: 180

B/T: S/R

DOB: 10/4/02

HOMETOWN: Barlovento, VZ ’22 CLUBS: Dunedin

ACQUIRED: INT FA, 7/3/19

ANDERS

TOLHURST 36

PITCHER

HT: 6-4 WT: 190

B/T: R/R

DOB: 09/13/99

HOMETOWN: Santee, CA

’22 CLUBS: Dunedin

ACQUIRED: 23rd Rd, ’19, Grossmont College

CJ VAN EYK PITCHER

HT: 6-1 WT: 198

B/T: R/R

DOB: 09/15/1998

HOMETOWN: Tampa, FL

’22 CLUBS: DNP

ACQUIRED: 2nd Rd, '20, Florida State

DE JESUS 27

ALEX

INFIELDER

HT: 6-2 WT: 185

B/T: R/R

DOB: 3/22/02

HOMETOWN: Santo Domingo, DR

’22 CLUBS: Great Lakes (LAD), Vancouver

ACQUIRED: Trade (LAD), 8/2/22

ANGEL DEL ROSARIO 5

INFIELDER

HT: 6-0 WT: 170

B/T: R/R

DOB: 1/11/2003

HOMETOWN: La Romana, DR ’22 CLUBS: FCL, DUN, NH

ACQUIRED: INT FA, 7/2/19

RYAN McCARTY 22

INFIELDER

HT: 5-9 WT: 182

B/T: R/R

DOB: 4/22/1999

HOMETOWN: Yardley, PA

’22 CLUBS: Dunedin

ACQUIRED: FA, 7/26/22

ABIEZEL RAMIREZ 34

INFIELDER

HT: 5-10 WT: 175

B/T: S/R

DOB: 1/26/00

HOMETOWN: Azua, DR ’22 CLUBS: CSC, BG, MTG (TB)

ACQUIRED: MiLB FA, 4/30/23

JEFF WEHLER 32

PEYTON WILLIAMS 40

DASAN BROWN 6

DEVONTE BROWN 5

OUTFIELDER

HT: 5-10

GABBY MARTINEZ 11 OUTFIELDER

HT: 6-0 WT: 175

B/T: R/R

DOB: 7/24/02

HOMETOWN: Maracaibo, VZ ’22 CLUBS: Dunedin, Vancouver

ACQUIRED: INT FA, 7/24/18

GLENN SANTIAGO 36

INFIELDER

HT: 6-0 WT: 175

B/T: R/R

DOB: 12/14/00

HOMETOWN: Guanica, PR

’22 CLUBS: Dunedin, Vancouver

ACQUIRED: 10th Rd, ’19, Lazaro HS (PR)

GARRETT SPAIN 13

OUTFIELDER

HT: 6-0 WT: 185

B/T: L/R

DOB: 9/21/00

HOMETOWN: Clarksville, TN ’22 CLUBS: Vancouver

ACQUIRED: 15th Rd, ’21, Austin Peay State

ROELVIS VARGAS ATHLETIC TRAINER

KATIE REYES ATHLETIC THERAPIST

TOMMY LaBRIOLA STRENGTH & CONDITIONING

YUKA SANUI DIETITIAN

RAUL PIMENTEL MENTAL COACH

LUKE STATLER TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANT

JESSE MENDEZ CLUBHOUSE MANAGER

CANADIANS TO REACH THE MAJOR LEAGUES

The Vancouver Canadians Baseball Club has welcomed more than 800 players onto its rosters since 2000. That’s a lot of guys all striving to one day reach the bright lights of the Major Leagues. Here is a list of every one of our players who has arrived at the game’s highest stage and play in Major League Baseball.

Supporting local charities in our community

APRIL 12

SUPPORTING

APRIL 26

SUPPORTING

MAY 10

SUPPORTING

MAY 31

SUPPORTING

JUNE 14

SUPPORTING

JUNE 28

SUPPORTING

JULY 26

SUPPORTING

AUGUST 9

SUPPORTING

AUGUST 23

SUPPORTING

AUGUST 30 SUPPORTING

HOW TO SCORE A BASEBALL GAME

Different fans have different methods of keeping a scorecard, and many use their own notations. But here's a simple method: For example, If the hitter grounds out to shortstop, for example, write in "6-3," which shows the shortstop threw him out at first base. If the hitter flies out to left field, write a "7."

If the batter gets a hit, write in the hit according to which base he reached. Each corner of the box represents a base, with the lowerright corner being first.

If he singles, put a "-" in the lower right. If he doubles, write a "=" in the upper right, and so on. For a walk, use "BB" in the lower right. As the runner advances, mark the appropriate symbol in the appropriate corner.

1ST INNING

1. SINGLED, ADVANCED ON NEXT BATTER'S WALK, TOOK 3RD ON FIELDER'S CHOICE, SCOREO ON NO. 4 BATTER'S DOUBLE

2. WALKED, LATER FORCED OUT, SHORTSTOP TO SECOND BASE

3. REACHED ON FIELDER'S CHOICE, ADVANCED TO 3RD ON NEXT BATTER'S DOUBLE, SCORED ON NO. 5 BATTER'S SINGLE

4. DOUBLED, SCORED ON NO. 5 BATTER'S SINGLE

5. SINGLED, ADVANCED TO 2ND ON NEXT BATTER'S SINGLE, STOLE 3RD BASE, THROWN OUT ON GROUNDER, SHORTSTOP TO CATCHER

6. SINGLED, STOLE 2ND BASE

7. REACHED 1ST ON FIELDER’S CHOICE

8. POPPED OUT TO 2ND BASE

2ND INNING

9. LEADOFF WITH DOUBLE

1. FLIED OUT TO CENTERFIELD

2. POPPED OUT TO SHORTSTOP

3. STRUCKOUT SWINGING

BASIC UMPIRE SIGNS FOR THE PLAYERS AND FANS

Umpires use a number of signals. Some of these are familiar and are associated with the Rules of Baseball, like safe, out, foul, etc. These are a few you are likely to see when scoring a game.

If a runner scores, put a circle at the bottom of the box, and inside the circle put the symbol of the play and/or the player that drove him in. For example, if the No. 5 hitter drives in two runs with a single, mark his single in the bottom right of his box and mark a circle with the number "5" in the boxes of the runners who score (Some people like to use uniform numbers here, so you can tell who did what, even after lineup changes).

At the end of each inning, total the hits and runs for that inning only. At the end of the game you'll be able to add the innings total to get the game score.

1. CENTER FIELDER

2. SHORTSTOP

3. 1ST BASEMAN

4. 3RD BASEMAN

5. RIGHT FIELDER

6. LEFT FIELDER

7. DESIGNATED HITTER

8. 2ND BASEMAN

9. CATCHER

DOUBLE

HOME RUN PLAY BALL INFIELD FLY FAIR BALL

DELAYED DEAD BALL TRAPPED BALL/SAFE HOLD UP PLAY COUNT TIME/DEAD BALL

FOUL BALL

FOUL TIP STRIKE OUT

BY BY JASON BECK

THIS STORY ORIGINALLY APPEARED ONLINE AT BC SPORTS HALL OF FAME

JAKE KERR & JEFF MOONEY A BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP MADE IN BASEBALL HEAVEN

There was a time in the late 1990s and early 2000s when Vancouver seemed to be on a constant losing streak. Widely deemed the ‘No Fun City,’ Vancouver was losing major events and teams almost annually over a five-year period: the Grizzlies, the Voodoo, the Ravens, the Molson Indy, the Air Canada Championship. Other cornerstones of the larger Vancouver experience also seemed threatened: the PNE Fair, the Celebration of Light, Nat Bailey Stadium, and of course the Vancouver Canadians. That was when Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney stepped in and put a stop to this.

In 2007 the long-time businessmen partnered to save iconic Nat Bailey Stadium from imminent demolition and the Canadians from likely relocation elsewhere. Over the next 16 years, it’s become clear the two long-time co-owners of the Canadians not only saved professional baseball in Vancouver, but they also elevated it to the point where the C’s are now one of the North America’s model franchises in all of minor league baseball. Taking in a ‘Nooner at the Nat’ remains one of the quintessential Vancouver experiences today. And on top of that, few have given more back to the community along the way.

So here’s a valid question: has there been a more successful professional sports ownership partnership in BC history than Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney? The turnaround they engineered with the help of long-time C’s president Andy Dunn has been positively stunning, one of the great sports success stories not just in BC but recent Canadian history. It’s why the pair were unanimous selections as the 23rd and 24th inductees in the BC Sports Hall of Fame’s W.A.C. Bennett Award category and the first ever to be selected as a pair. Jake and Jeff were born a few months apart in 1944, the former in Vancouver, the latter in Regina, Saskatchewan although his family moved to Winnipeg when he was just a year old. Both grew up playing many different sports and baseball featured prominently. Jake played Little League at West Point Grey, while Jeff played with a team sponsored by St. Boniface Optimist. Jeff loved to watch the Winnipeg Goldeyes, a Class C affiliate team in the Northern League, which featured future major league legends such as Hank Aaron. Likewise, Jake began watching the Vancouver Mounties play at Capilano Stadium (now Nat Bailey) as early as 1956.

“It was a great era for baseball in Vancouver,” Jake recalled during an interview at the BC Sports Hall of Fame earlier this year. “Brooks Robinson, Lefty O’Doul. I saw those guys and it had a lot to do with how we ended up buying the baseball team forty years later.”

Both went off to university after high school: Jake at UBC and later the University of California, Berkeley, playing on the tennis team at both institutions; Jeff at the University of Saskatchewan. From there both men went on to be remarkably successful in their respective business ventures, albeit taking much different paths. After university, Jake worked in the advertising business in San Francisco from 1966-69, his experience resembling something out of the hit television drama series Mad Men. While in California, he was actually

drafted for the war in Vietnam but narrowly avoided service due to a childhood bone disease in his knees. He was drawn back to BC by his father who was in ill health and struggling with his sawmill business. While Jake was helping out, his father suddenly passed away. Although initially Jake had limited interest in the struggling sawmill business and wanted nothing more than to get back to the advertising business in San Francisco, he was unable to sell the business. So as chair and CEO he slowly began rebuilding it using his marketing know-how and relying on those who knew the nuts and bolts of sawmill operations. Lignum Ltd. grew from a company that Jake couldn’t sell into one of the largest and most successful privately owned forestry companies in Canada. Jake became so well regarded in the lumber industry that he served as the chief negotiator for Canada in the 1996 softwood lumber negotiations with the US.

After university, Jeff was working at The Bay in Winnipeg when he was transferred to fill a position in Vancouver in 1970 and has remained here ever since. After short stints with Eaton’s and ICBC, he landed at A&W in 1973 with a role in their HR department. As A&W weathered the challenges from American fast-food chains like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s invading from the south, Jeff helped the company solidify its position as one of the top restaurant chains in Canada. He served as A&W’s CEO from 1991-2005 and in 1995 along with other management he bought out Unilever to become the company’s owner. Jeff still serves as chairman emeritus today as A&W stands as Canada’s second largest fast good restaurant burger chain with 1029 franchises across the country as of 2022.

They first met many years before partnering on purchasing the Canadians. It was 1982 and Jake was the membership chair of the Vancouver chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization.

“He made an error in judgement and he allowed me

in, that’s how we first met,” joked Jeff. “Then our relationship and friendship deepened ever since.”

They later regularly worked together in the Young Presidents’, running conferences and meetings. In fact, there is a group of them called the YPO Forum that has been meeting together about once a month for about forty years now.

“We used to talk about our great big business deals,” laughed Jake. “Now we talk about medical problems.”

“Well said, partner!” chimed in Jeff.

Outside of this connection, before the Canadians neither ever thought they’d be in partnership together.

“Not owning a sports team certainly,” said Jeff. “We were both businessmen in very different businesses. I don’t think we ever thought about doing something together until the baseball thing happened.”

So how did that ‘baseball thing’ happen?

Oregon businessman Fred Herrmann had owned the Canadians since late 1999 when he relocated his Single-A Northwest League franchise, the Southern Oregon Timberjacks, from his home state to Vancouver. In the ensuing six seasons beginning in 2000, the Canadians saw their share of ups and downs and the city’s sporting landscape had changed shape dramatically with Vancouver winning the right to host the 2010 Winter Olympics.

“The long and the short of it was Fred ran a very momand-pop ragtag deal,” summed up Jake. “It wasn’t altogether his fault. He couldn’t get a lease at Nat Bailey Stadium. The Park Board was planning to tear it down for the Olympics and build the Hillcrest facility on that site and use the rest for soccer fields. There was a nice group of folks called ‘The Friends of Nat Bailey Stadium’ and they were trying very hard to save the deal and were a thorn in the side of the Park Board. But they had a budget of about $12 and at one meeting I attended they

debated whether they should get pins or just ribbons that season.”

Jake’s brother Tim heard the Canadians might be for sale and so the Kerr brothers went over to Nat Bailey Stadium one morning to meet Fred Herrmann. It was nothing if not memorable. They met in the bowels of Nat Bailey where it’s quite likely Fred lived when staying up in Vancouver.

“There was a big old desk and a chair,” remembered Jake. “Fred probably weighed in around 285 lbs. and he was on about his fourth Budweiser. He was also eating popcorn at a high rate of speed. He suggested we sit down, but there was only one chair for my brother and I. So I sat in the chair and Tim stood there, until Fred said, ‘You can sit in there.’ There was an old, abandoned Coke machine with no innards, just the outside casing and a stool. So Tim sat at the Coke machine and I tried to talk to Fred. Every time I looked at my brother I started to laugh.”

While doing their due diligence Jake travelled down to California to meet Billy Beane, the Oakland A’s general manager at that time, who later found fame when portrayed by Brad Pitt in the 2011 film Moneyball. The Canadians were the A’s Single-A affiliate then.

“We’d sure like that [if they bought the team],” Billy said to them. “Vancouver’s a good market and Fred runs a pretty lean operation. You’re gonna have trouble though because Fred knows something that maybe you haven’t figured out. He’s not going to negotiate with you much because he has something you want and there’s only one of them and he knows it.”

“Billy was absolutely right,” said Jake. “Fred was rock solid. He said, ‘This is my price.’ I said, ‘Could we see your financial statements?’ He said, ‘No, we don’t have any.’ So no financial statements, didn’t care about asset values, the place was pretty run down. He just said, ‘This is my

PHOTO: ROB KRUYT

price.’ I couldn’t figure out where he got it from, just that that was it. I ended up paying that price because I wanted to do it. Thank God for Jeff coming with his A&W people, but it was quite a run at the beginning.”

As the negotiations, such as they were, moved along, Jake reached out to Jeff and asked him if he’d consider partnering with him.

“I thought for a moment, well that could be fun,” recalled Jeff. “Two old guys sitting in the sun falling asleep watching their baseball team.”

Before committing, as he did with all investments Jeff said he’d need to discuss the idea with his wife Suzanne. Jake had known Suzanne for a long time so thought that was fine.

“So I was driving home that night and thought to myself, ‘What an idiot you are?!’” laughed Jeff. “Why wouldn’t you just say no?! Now you have to go home and ask your wife if you want to buy a minor league baseball team. Like a good husband I waited until I thought the mood was right. I said, ‘Jake wants us to partner with him in buying the local baseball team.’ She looked me right in the eye. You could have knocked me over with a feather. She said, ‘You mean the one that plays at Nat Bailey Stadium?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ She said, ‘You have to do it!’”

“Good ol’ Suzanne!” chuckled Jake.

So that was that. Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney were suddenly new owners of a professional baseball team in Vancouver. All they had to do now was sit back and enjoy the spoils of endless summers of baseball glory. Jake remembered he had an almost childlike vision of what owning the team would be like.

“I bought it almost on a whim,” he said. “I just thought, this is great. It’s like Yankee Stadium and I’m going to coach third base, all sorts of ideas. Very shortly I realized I had no idea what I was doing. It was quite an operation. We had no accounting.”

An example of how the team had been run from those early days of ownership?

“The opening night of the 2007 season, the first game since we’d bought the team, we had a big crowd because we were the new owners and made a special deal of it,” recalled Jake. “At the end of the game this rather large woman with very dyed blonde hair came up to me and she said, ‘Where do you want the bag?’ I said, ‘What?’ She was carrying what looked like a bowling ball bag. I said, ‘I don’t know, what are you talking about?’ She said, ‘Well, Fred always told me to put it in the trunk of his car.’ I said, ‘What’s in it?’ She said, ‘The receipts. The cash.’ I said, ‘What?! All the cash?!’ She said, ‘Yeah, all the receipts for tonight.’ I said, ‘Is there no bank account or don’t you deposit those?’ She said, ‘I don’t know, I just gave them to Fred.’ Then Fred, who owned a trailer park in Seaside, Oregon, drove back home after every homestand with the bag in the trunk.”

They immediately began implementing a more professional approach to all aspects of the club and operations investing millions into the team and the stadium over the years. The team eventually did begin to make money again and has made money for many years now. But Jake and Jeff never thought about taking the profits out. They always reinvested it back in to improve things.

Early on, one of the first problems that immediately became clear were issues with the food services.

“Jeff dropped a line on me that I’ll never forget,” recalled Jake. “He said, ‘Jake, you’re not in the baseball business. You have a large fast-food restaurant attached to a baseball field.’ I then thought, ‘Well, who do I know that knows something about fast food?’ Mr. Hamburger over here was a perfect choice.”

“Right away we felt we had to upgrade the food,” agreed Jeff. “The place was pretty run down. It was a failing

franchise. I called up our top suppliers and we went out to these test kitchens and decided that we needed the finest beef for the hamburgers and the finest this and finest that. Then a reporter called Jake and he announced proudly on the radio that we weren’t going to raise prices. So we were driving the costs up while keeping the prices down. We’d have been dead in the water except that we found Andy Dunn, who saved us.” Jake nodded his head in emphatic agreement at that last point.

“We could do a business comedy special on the number of mistakes we made,” he laughed. “We were perfect. In the first six months before we found Andy Dunn, we lost more money than we’d made in the previous five years. The good news is that we didn’t know it because we had no accounting system! Suffice to say, we had been around long enough that we woke up to how little we knew and were very fortunate to find Andy, who has been our president and CEO out there for 15 years. He was a very experienced baseball guy who came as a consultant and liked Vancouver, moved here and has been, as we say, the straw that stirs the drink in terms of baseball.”

“He really runs the baseball operation completely,” agreed Jeff.

Andy had been a vice-president with a number of major league teams prior to coming to Vancouver, including the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins, and Washington Nationals. His last major assignment was overseeing the move of the Expos to Washington including renovating the ancient RFK Stadium for the return there of major league baseball. Needless to say, he knew the ins and outs of how to successfully run a baseball club. When Jake and Jeff were scrambling for help in their first Canadians season, Andy was recommended to them by Marv Goldklang, a New York Yankees minority owner

and involved in minor league baseball for years. Andy was only supposed to come help for two weeks and after just the first week he was horrified by the situation the Canadians found themselves in.

“Fortunately, he stayed,” said Jeff. His two-week contract ended up lasting over 15 years and counting now.

The Canadians triumvirate of Jake, Jeff, and Andy has proven remarkably successful, covering all the bases (pun intended). Jake manages governance of the club, active at both major and minor league levels. Jeff handles the community fundraising side including the Vancouver Canadians Foundation. Andy runs the baseball operations.

“We all know what the others guys are up to,” said Jake. “We’re not working in separate silos. Without a real plan, it’s just sort of the way it ended up. It certainly works for everybody.”

While the Canucks, Lions, and Whitecaps have each experienced their respective ups and downs over the last 15 years, the Canadians have maintained a steady upward trajectory. It’s a point of pride for Jake and Jeff. “Without sounding like a jerk, it sure is,” Jake said. “Jeff and I don’t meddle [in the operation] and we’re very lucky to have Andy.”

Jeff agreed.

“Thank goodness for Andy Dunn, who knew what to do. We’ve basically supported him ever since.”

Jake and Jeff very wisely have followed the counsel of the Georgia-born, Florida-raised Dunn on countless decisions and rarely has he led them astray. Many of the trademark elements that make up an afternoon or evening at the Nat originated in this way.

“Every time he’s told me about one of his marketing ideas, I’ve said, ‘Andy, that won’t work in Vancouver,’”

chuckled Jake. “Whether it’s the three-foot-long hot dog or the one that really blew my mind was when we built the left field porch. We needed a sponsor and we were going to get a beer company to do it. There was some competition, a couple of them were interested. Andy came to me and said, ‘Well, we got a sponsor.’ I thought Labatt’s or whoever. ‘No, no,’ he said. ‘This is going to be fantastic. It’s Hey Y’all!’. I said, ‘Hey Y’all!—what is that?!’ He said, ‘Well, it’s southern iced tea with vodka in it.’ I said, ‘Andy, they may work in Atlanta but people aren’t going to drink southern iced tea!’ He said, ‘You wait.’ And within one year, it outsold all of the beer in the stadium. He gets it.”

Or before that, the now-beloved sushi races, a key part of every game. Some fans even track the number of races Ms. BC Roll or Chef Wasabi has won over the course of the season.

“He did that as a joke about Vancouver,” mused Jake. “Andy had never seen sushi when he got here.”

“One of the things we got publicity for was we put sushi on the menu at the stadium and sports announcers got a big kick out of saying whoever heard of sushi at a ballpark?!” chimed in Jeff.

It was a decision that came early on when they bought the team as they toured the US looking at first-class minor league operations to gather ideas. One of the places they visited was Stockton, California, which had deep-fried asparagus on their gameday menu, something neither Jake nor Jeff had ever seen at a ballpark before. The Stockton owner said he’d owned a few teams and he liked to find something that was local. Because Stockton is the asparagus capital of the world, they put it on their menu.

“We looked at each other and said, ‘Sushi!’ and that’s how that came about,” said Jeff.

The trio has worked hard at creating memorable add-

ons at the Nat like the ‘Dog Day of Summer’ game, fireworks nights, or the dancing infield grounds crew that enhance the ol’ ball game experience. Maybe the most memorable is the nightly ‘chicken’ dance. Few take to the chicken dance with more enthusiasm than Jeff.

“Yep, I did the chicken dance last night [at the ballpark],” he confirmed.

“That is a particularly Mooney-esque type of thing,” Jake chuckled.

“He was very skeptical and I would even say somewhat critical of my chicken dancing until his grandchildren said, ‘We love to see Mr. Mooney do his chicken dance.’”

“It’s true! Next to the sushi race, people love to see Mr. Mooney dance!”

It’s obvious they both genuinely love the game, love the team, and love the stadium. It comes across in so many of the things you see at the ballpark every game and their regular involvement. You just don’t see that typically from owners in sports.

And it’s all become part of the whole Nat Bailey experience that they have cultivated. Maybe ‘experience’ is too narrow of a word to describe it. What they learned early on is that minor league baseball is all about community. Surveys done in the past show 40% of people leaving a minor league ballgame don’t know which team won or even what the final score was. Show up at any C’s game and you’ll see kids running around the stadium and their parents aren’t worried about them. It’s a family environment and almost no one is on a cell phone. People are having fun, visiting with one another as the game before them unfolds on an emerald carpet. It’s almost like going back in time a few decades to a simpler time and place, a totally different world within the confines of the outfield walls.

“It’s all about family and community and the experience of it,” Jeff said. “There’s a Nat Bailey community. A lot of

the same fans are there, not every game but they come back. The staff are great. Then after a while, it’s like family. You get a real lift just being in the place.”

They’ve done everything possible to foster that community. They created the Canadians Foundation shortly after buying the team to give back to the larger local community. To date the Foundation has put more than 3000 underprivileged kids through their first baseball experience and awarded over a hundred university scholarships to young athletes. It’s also created the Vancouver Canadians Baseball League, which allows thousands of kids to play ball at Nat Bailey each summer, as well as the Challenger Baseball field, the first wheelchair accessible baseball field and facility in Canada specifically for children with disabilities just an outfielder’s throw away from Nat Bailey. The club’s annual Hot Stove Luncheon supports all of these initiatives. What started as 60 people munching on A&W breakfast sandwiches in the basement of Oakridge Shopping Centre now regularly draws 700 guests to the Hotel Vancouver.

“It’s sort of a link to so much we’ve seen over the last 15 years,” summed up Jeff. “We used to take our kids when they were little to Canadians games, so we had all these fond memories of summer baseball games with the children at Nat Bailey Stadium.”

“I have a lot of grandchildren and they love to go to Nat so much, it’s what we do in the summers with them,” said Jake. “If I didn’t own the team and had nothing to do with it, I’d still keep buying tickets and probably still be there anyhow.”

On top of all this, the Canadians have also been extremely successful on the field as well. During Jake and Jeff’s ownership the C’s have won four Northwest League championships (three consecutive from 2011-13, plus 2017) and five division titles. In 2013, the Canadians

received the John H. Johnson President’s Award for the top organization in Minor League Baseball, one of the few Class A clubs to receive this award and the first Canadian team ever to win.

Attendance for Canadians games has nearly doubled since they took over the club and records were set almost annually in the first decade. In 2017, they averaged 6300 fans a game and totaled over 239,000 tickets sold for the entire season. In 2019, the last full season before the Covid-19 pandemic, the C’s sold 97% of their available tickets. They’re back on track to reaching that level of support once again. The club has a reputation as the only team in minor league baseball with scalpers outside the stadium hawking tickets. Most games you can’t just walk up to get a ticket at the booths. There are none available. They’ve already been sold long ago.

“Our attendance dwarfs a lot of Triple AAA teams,” confirmed Jeff.

Usually the only Single A team in North America that can rival the Canadians in terms of attendance is the Dayton Dragons in Ohio.

One of the biggest coups of their ownership run was negotiating the affiliation with the Toronto Blue Jays, which was signed in 2011 and remains in place to this day. Countless Blue Jays prospects who later made the big club have taken key steps in their development on Nat Bailey’s lush grass in that time adding another angle of appeal for fans.

“That was a very fortuitous thing,” said Jeff. “It’s good for both sides. The Blue Jays really are a Canadian institution and our connection to them helps us both. If you talk to the guys at Rogers, they’ll tell you it’s been great for them too because it establishes outposts for them in the west.”

At its most basic, the C’s have helped cultivate Canadian baseball fans. The massive crowds of Canadian baseball

fans who travel south to watch the Jays play the Mariners in Seattle each year, sometimes 30,000 of them, are a perfect example of how successful the affiliation has become.

Over the last thirty years, there had been another exodus south of a much different kind: a flood of Canadian minor league affiliated teams relocated south of the border never to return. Gone are the Calgary Cannons, Edmonton Trappers, Winnipeg Goldeyes, Ottawa Lynx, among many others. Today, the C’s stand as Canada’s last remaining minor league affiliated team and are thriving. If not for Jake and Jeff, who changed the direction and fortunes of the struggling Canadians, this club too would have vanished.

“This team would have been gone if not for Jake stepping up and us doing this,” said Jeff, modestly giving his partner the lion’s share of credit that he also deserves a portion of. “If we step back, it was a great piece of leadership on his part. There is no question in my mind that the team was gone. Americans had bought every team and moved them. That’s what happened to the Triple AAA C’s. They moved to Sacramento. It was gone. He stepped in, bought it, as I say, and I’m grateful he asked me to be a partner. It’s been an incredible experience.”

When tourists arrive in Vancouver in the spring and summer and ask what they should do, most recommend Stanley Park, Grouse Mountain, or Granville Island as quintessential Vancouver experiences. Over the last 15 years, high up on that list—maybe right at the top—is taking in a Nooner at the Nat, which fully refurbished is considered by many among the best minor league ballparks in North America.

During the pandemic Major League Baseball took over the minor leagues and shrunk the number of teams down to 120. The Canadians were fortunate to be among

the remaining 120 as the last Canadian affiliated minor league team. MLB sent their people out to inspect Nat Bailey and they came back saying, “Oh my god, it’s like Wrigley Field or Fenway. We’re not touching that.”

Even with the recent sale of the Canadians to New Yorkbased Diamond Baseball Holdings, that’s not going to change. Nor is the golden triumvirate of Jake, Jeff, and Andy, who will each remain in their roles overseeing their respective areas of the Canadians that they have guided for the past 15 years. They’ve been assured the character of Nat Bailey won’t change despite new additions planned to upgrade player facilities, one of the conditions MLB has imposed on minor league clubs.

“DBI are committed to financing, along with the city, major expansion down the right field line, a 10,000-square-foot building with batting cages, weight rooms, and all sorts of player wellness amenities,” explained Jake. “The sophistication of minor league baseball has gone up phenomenally. Example was when we bought the team, there were three people sent to us by the Oakland A’s: the manager, the coach, and the trainer. Today the Blue Jays have 14 staff in Vancouver including two nutritionists, all sorts of strength and training people. MLB will no longer let you play a ‘momand-pop’ game.”

The sale, announced just a week before Jake and Jeff sat down for this interview at the BC Sports Hall of Fame, takes some of the pressure off both of them to maintain the club’s strong recent history as they look to the future.

“We took a dying franchise, turned it into the best in baseball, and now we’ve managed to transition, which doesn’t happen all that often,” said Jeff. “It will only make it better. After we’re gone, that was our worry. We’re both 78 years old. We’re not going to be here forever. Another generation will be enjoying the things we just talked about.”

“We both exhaled a massive sigh of relief that ensures baseball remains here in Vancouver,” agreed Jake. It was just another crucial decision in a long chain guided by a key principle, one they both have lived by and may explain much of the success they have achieved.

“I think the secret to the success is both of us throughout our careers in our business lives have known there is a right way to do things,” explained Jeff. “Early on, we didn’t know how to do that—we found Andy Dunn—but we’ve been very supportive of doing it the right way. If it takes investment to do it, you make the investment, because in the long term if you do it the right way, it pays off well. I think a big thread in our friendship is that’s who we are. We know that’s how you do things. There’s a right way and you do it.”

Perhaps the most surprising part of owning the team which neither man expected was the praise each would receive almost on a daily basis. They could be walking down the street or in an elevator and a complete stranger will bring it up and thank them.

“Jake has the same story just a different industry,” said Jeff. “A&W does $2 billion dollars in sales a year. We employ 24,000 Canadians. We have over a thousand restaurants. We’re the second biggest customer next to McDonald’s for most suppliers of food and packaging in Canada. We pay taxes and are big charity givers. Not once has someone come up and said, ‘Excuse me, Mr. Mooney, I just want to thank you for all you do for our community through A&W.’ We buy this broken-down baseball team, fix it up, and not a day goes by someone thanks us. It’s a joy. It’s a joyful thing. Going to the games, all the connections and so on. It’s just a delight.”

This is undoubtedly also partly the fuel that has sustained them both through their ownership run. “We thought owning a ball club was going to be a walk in the park,” said Jake. “It wasn’t. We also didn’t realize

it would be as fulfilling owning the team as it’s been.”

Both Jake and Jeff have been recognized with various awards for their contributions to business and sport in BC. Jake received the Order of Canada in 2002, while Jeff was awarded it in 2019. Jake received the Order of BC in 1997, while Jeff was inducted into the Business Laureates of British Columbia Hall of Fame in 2015. Both men were named the 2013 recipients of the Jack Diamond Award by the Jewish Community Centre. They can now add induction into the BC Sports Hall of Fame with the Hall’s most prestigious honour, the W.A.C. Bennett Award.

“It’s just terrific,” said Jake. “For a sports guy that was never that good at anything much, it’s a fabulous honour. I mean, I know a number of people who are in the Hall for a variety of reasons, but I never dreamt either one of us would get near the place.”

“It’s an honour,” agreed Jeff. “One of the things we both believe, and Andy does too, and why it’s such an honour and so exciting to be in the Hall, is we believe deeply that sports really affects in a positive way young people. The things I learned through sport that I’ve carried through my life, my career, my personal life, I learned on the playing field or hockey rink. You learn how to win, how to lose, you learn how to show up, teamwork, and carry your share of the responsibility and it sticks with you through life. So the Hall does a great job of that and so it’s a great honour. It’s one of those things when I stop and think about it, I think ‘is that really happening?! You’re going to be in the Sports Hall of Fame.’ So it’s a great honour.”

As part of the Class of 2023, Jake Kerr & Jeff Mooney were formally inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in the W.A.C. Bennett Award category at the annual Induction Gala held June 1, 2023 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.

CELEBRATE WITH CANADA’S MVP

Canadians’ baseball and Keg Caesars. There’s nothing more synonymous with summer. All season long, you can enjoy our famous cocktail at The Keg Caesar Bar, located along the third-base line at Scotiabank Field. And once the game ends, you can enjoy a Caesar and mouth-watering steak at one of 13 locations in the Lower Mainland area.

Proud Partner of the Vancouver Canadians

JEFF WEHLER

BY NIALL O’DONOHOE / PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK STEFFENS

2023 Vancouver Canadians infielder/outfielder Jeff Wehler digs into the batter’s box for the latest C’s Chat.

The St. Marys, Pennsylvania native put the “multi” in multi-sport athlete during his high school days. The Western PA Sports Blog says Wehler played basketball, football and golf as well as baseball. His freshman and sophomore years were spent at Elk County Catholic High School in St. Marys where he batted .437 and .415 in 2014 and 2015, leading the Crusaders to the 2014 state final. The last two years of Wehler’s high school career were at St. Marys Area High School where he hit .508 for the Flying Dutch in his junior campaign in 2016. He also played safety for the football team where he had seven interceptions and was a three-year letterwinner in basketball and a two-year letterwinner in golf.

In 2018, Wehler left the Keystone State for the Buckeye State to attend Youngstown State University in Ohio. He batted. 241 with 15 extra-base hits and 25 runs batted in his freshman season while stealing 25 bases. That led to a spot on the Second-Team AllHorizon League and the league’s All-Freshman Team. He later played for the Butler Blue Sox of the Prospect Summer League where he batted .275/.352/.450 in 23 games.

WEHLER

Wehler was named a Second-Team All-Horizon League in his sophomore campaign of 2019, batting .290 with an on-base-plus-slugging percentage of .814 while swiping 30 bases.

In the COVID-truncated 2020 season, Wehler had an on-base percentage of .373 in 14 games but his breakthrough season came in 2021 with the Penguins. That’s when he won First-Team All-Horizon League honours by slashing .332/.390/.552 with 27 extra-base hits, 28 RBI and 25 steals. That was among 88 swipes during his four-year stay at YSU. Wehler then went to the Coastal Plain League where he played 11 games for the Morehead City Marlins where he hit .278 and slugged .472.

The 2022 season saw Wehler return to his home state of Pennsylvania as he joined the University of Pittsburgh. He led the Panthers with 17 doubles and 10 stolen bases and had an OPS of .834 in 48 games. Wehler was named to the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) All-Tournament Team by hitting .438 and belting two homers with six RBI. Those homers came in one game against number-three-ranked Louisville. He joined the Mahoning Valley Scrappers of the MLB Draft League and had nine extra-base knocks, 22 RBI and 10 swipes while hitting .287/.387/.426 in 38 games.

A turn in independent ball was next for Wehler in 2023 as he hooked up with the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League. That allowed him to join forces once again with former Toronto Blue Jay and FerryHawks skipper Homer Bush, who managed Wehler in Mahoning Valley last season. Bush was a big backer of Wehler after telling DK Pittsburgh Sports last summer that Wehler is “an elite player. From my perspective he’s got ‘plus’ tools in pretty much every aspect of the game. He barrels the ball up very consistently, and that’s pretty impressive.” The story adds that “Wehler runs well and has a good arm, and is ‘above average’ as a prospect” according to Bush. With the FerryHawks, he batted .282 and slugged .427 with 11 XBH, 13 RBI and 12 SB in 27 games.

The professional opportunity Wehler was waiting for finally came on June 9 as he signed as a free agent with the Toronto Blue Jays. On just the second pitch he faced as a Dunedin Blue Jay, Wehler singled in his first professional at-bat and stole second at Bradenton on June 10. He went 2-for-4 with three RBI and a stolen base versus Lakeland on June 16. His first professional home run walked off Clearwater on June 25 after walking twice earlier in the game.

The best was yet to come for Wehler in the month of July. He went 5-for-5 with two doubles, one triple, two stolen bases and four runs scored at St. Lucie on July 1. Wehler was a triple shy of the cycle, driving five runs against St. Lucie on July 3. He reached base safely in all 16 games in July for Dunedin, hitting safety in 13 of them, including a two-home run, three-RBI effort in his final game with the D-Jays to spearhead a win at Tampa on July 25.

A promotion to Vancouver followed and just like he did with Dunedin, Wehler singled on the second pitch he saw and stole second base. He doubled in his second at-bat and later walked in the C’s victory against visiting Everett on July 27. That was the start of a six-game hitting streak for Wehler, who singled twice and walked twice in an extra-inning win at Hillsboro on August 3.

Wehler’s first home run with the C’s came in Eugene on August 19 and it turned out to be the winning run in Game 1 of a doubleheader sweep. He then doubled, singled and scored twice on August 20 to help the C’s gain a series split at P.K. Park.

C’s Plus Baseball was able to catch up with the 24-year-old Wehler prior to the homestand finale against Tri-City in August. This interview has been edited for clarity.

C’s Plus Baseball – You are a recent addition to the Toronto Blue Jays organization. How did you get here?

Jeff Wehler – A little bit of luck, a few prayers. I was in the Atlantic League with the Staten Island FerryHawks. I ended up having a pretty good month there, and I was fortunate enough for the Toronto Blue Jays to buy my contract. It’s been a heck of a road to get here and I’m excited to get my foot in the door.

CPB – Who got a hold of you from the Blue Jays?

JW – It actually all went through my head coach at Staten Island, Homer Bush so they were talking to him, but (Blue Jays assistant general manager) Joe Sheehan was the one who reached out and that’s how things got finalized, through my head coach.

CPB – Homer Bush, a former Toronto Blue Jay. What was that like playing under him?

JW – It was pretty cool. He gave me an opportunity and a shot at that level as a young kid and with not much pro ball experience, very little. So I was just honoured to be in that league at such a young age to be given the opportunity.

CPB – What was his managing style like? Was he a player’s manager?

JW – It was fun. He’s a player’s coach for sure. Laid back but he wants the game played the right way and if it’s not played the right way, he’ll let you know about it. And there could be consequences with playing time if it’s not played the right way.

CPB – The MLB Draft League, I believe you took part in that as well. What was that experience like?

JW – That experience was pretty cool as well. That’s actually where I met Homer. So Homer was my manager actually in Mahoning Valley when I played in the Draft League. And then when he got hired up in Staten Island, he wanted me to come with him. So overall, that was a good experience.

CPB – Before that, you spent quite a while at Youngstown State. When you look back at your college career, how did that shape you as a player?

JW – I definitely took the road less travelled. I played mid-major for four years. I wasn’t really highly recruited out of high school. I was kind of a late bloomer. But yeah, I went to Youngstown State for four years and became a really good player there with the help of some really good coaches and a good program. And then played good enough baseball to get an opportunity to play at a Power 5 (conference) at Pitt so it was just overall a good experience.

CPB – Playing in Pitt, what was that like getting a chance to join, a bigger name school?

JW – Yeah, I’m a Pennsylvania guy and was actually a Penn State fan growing up so it was kind of tough to go to Pitt. I got a lot of stuff, a lot of messages from my family members. ‘I guess we’ll support Pitt for a year,’ they would always say. But yeah, it was pretty cool being close to home and my parents could watch my potential final year of baseball at a Power 5 school and a good ACC conference, so that was a fun time.

CPB – When did you get started playing baseball?

JW – My Dad (Dale Wehler) played in college at Division III up in Erie called Penn State Behrend. So he was a baseball player and then my two older brothers (Andy Wehler and Eric Wehler) ended up playing baseball there as well so I was always around a baseball family. And just growing up around with older brothers, I was always playing with older guys. So I think that gave me a head start a little bit and that’s kind of, I think, how my love for the game came about.

CPB – In high school, you took part in a few different sports. Golf was one of them. How beneficial was it to be involved in so many different sports and how that helped you on the field?

JW – Where I’m from, it’s really fun and kind of popular to play a lot of sports. To be the best at all the sports is definitely something

Home Field Advantage

that’s pretty cool. I played golf my freshman, sophomore, and junior year. And then my fall sport was football my senior year, which I ended up receiving the accolade of All-State Defensive Back, which was pretty cool for me. And then basketball, four years, that was a good time. And then, obviously, baseball. So to play a lot of sports, it gives you a competitive edge, I think it gives students a break on just what’s going on with life and to just kind of mix up your thought process of not just always one sport, you know what I mean? I think people nowadays try to focus on one sport too much. And I think if you become good at a lot of sports, I think it could help you out in the long run.

CPB – You get to the Dunedin Blue Jays and had a really successful time there. Having played recently in independent ball, was it a really big transition from there to Dunedin?

JW – Not much, actually. The Atlantic League is filled up. A lot of rosters are Double-A, and Triple-A, with a couple of former MLB guys as well. So, I mean, you’re seeing good pitching there. You’re seeing real pitchers. When I came to Dunedin, the velocity was a little bit more than what the Atlantic League was. I mean, yeah, a little bit, just velocity-wise but nothing crazy as far as crazy good pitches or anything. They’re young guys so they’re still working on their stuff. And that’s where I kind of got the advantage was just coming from that league.

CPB – In Dunedin, you had a 5-for-5 game. What led to your success that day?

JW – I don’t know. It’s just kind of the game of baseball. I remember texting my brother the night before that and I was a bit frustrated. I was like, ‘I don’t think I had a multi-hit game in like two weeks.’ And it just so happened the next day I ended up having five hits. But, I mean, just a plan, just like a good approach at the plate can work wonders. And, I mean, I ended up getting fortunate enough to get five hits and get five good pitches to hit.

CPB – Speaking of approach, what is your approach when you go to the batter’s box?

JW – I don’t know if you can break it down. I mean, early in the at bat, I’m definitely looking fastball. But it obviously depends on the guy. Some guys will throw a slider a little bit more than their fastball. So that’ll kind of mix up the approach a little bit. But, I mean, I’m mostly (looking) fastball all the time. And then a bad breaking pitch is meant to be hit so that’s my approach.

CPB – In your last game with Dunedin, you hit two home runs. What was going well for you that night?

JW – I just got a fastball in and then a fastball away. And I ended up hitting them pretty good. And obviously, I was on a fastball. That was a cool situation. I think that’s the second time I’ve ever did that in college in pro ball so that was awesome.

CPB – And the next day you’re here. I was shocked. We got word that you were coming up from Dunedin but you were here the next day. I mean, that must have been a very long travel day for you.

JW – I ended up having that game. And they called me in the office. And they were talking baseball stuff. And they said I was heading to Vancouver probably at about 10 o’clock at night. It was just a cool experience to hear from those guys. They had some nice things to say about me. And saying that, you know, it’ll be a little bit more competitive up here. But I think you’re ready for it for sure. And

that was good to hear from Maddie (Dunedin hitting coach Matt Young) and Donnie (Dunedin manager Donnie Murphy) for sure. They’re two great guys. We ended up travelling back from Tampa, which is like 45 minutes. And we got back probably at about 11:30, 12 o’clock. I get a text message that I’m leaving at 5:00 a.m. the next morning. So I got picked up at the hotel at 5:00 a.m. and I jumped on the plane at 7:00 a.m.. And then the rest is history. I flew up here for six hours, seven hours and it was a long day. A quick turnaround and I remember sitting on the side of the field right before the game. And I was like, ‘Dang, I was just across the country 12 hours ago and playing in Florida 24 hours ago. So it was actually a pretty cool situation.

CPB -From Tampa, where did you connect? Seattle?

JW – I flew into Seattle, yep. And then Seattle to Vancouver so that’s how I got here.

CPB – And you still managed to take part in batting practice anyway. You must have been running on adrenaline at that point.

JW – Yeah, it was adrenaline for sure. And I remember going back into the clubhouse, having my meal. And I just remember, ‘Wow, I could use a nap right now.’ But yeah, I was definitely running off of adrenaline there for a while.

CPB – How’s it been so far playing in the Northwest League? Has it been a huge adjustment from the Florida State League?

JW – I’d say a little bit, yes, for sure. I think guys definitely pitch up here a little bit better. They’re around the zone a lot more so I think it’s a little bit tougher. But at the end of the day, it’s baseball. And the game’s always going to be tough, no matter what, you know?

CPB – Defensively, I know you played some outfield before you got to the pros but you’ve been in the infield only so far. Do you have a preference when it comes to a position?

JW – No, it doesn’t really matter. I want to try to be the best at every position I play. And wherever that opportunity is during that day or that game, I’m going to take it on.

CPB – If you had to give a scouting report of yourself, how would you describe yourself as a player?

JW – I give it my all, I can tell you that. That’s one thing for sure. I’ll always try to play the game at a high level. And that’s something you can control, you know what I mean? There are a lot of uncontrollables in this game but I think playing the game hard is most important. And I’d probably say a gamer. I just always want to compete, and I always want to be there, you know?

CPB – Did you have a favourite major League team or player growing up?

JW – The Pittsburgh Pirates. I’m about two-and-a-half hours from Pittsburgh so I just kind of grew up being a Pirates fan. And then Bryce Harper was my favourite player growing up. I just always looked up to him, how he handled adversity, and obviously being young and taking on what he did, so that was always pretty cool to me.

CPB – Final question, a bit off the wall. The Canadians have five different jerseys—-red, white, black, gray and retro blues. Do you have a favourite?

JW – I really like the black ones. I like the logo on the black ones. I think those are my favourite jerseys by far.

BY LINA SETAGHIAN

MEET OUR MASCOTS

The Vancouver Canadians have an army of mascots that are all designed with one common goal – ensure everyone out at historic Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium has fun! From a loveable bear to a trio of sushi that are ready to rock – not to mention a condiment and utensil? The Canadians mascots are truly one of a kind!

BOB BROWN BEAR

Debut: 2007

Occupation: Canadians’ official mascot

Favourite Pastime: Meeting fans, giving high fives and hugs, posing for photos

About BBB: Makes more than 150 local community appearances every year and named after Vancouver’s Mr. Baseball, Bob Brown who dedicated his whole life to the game we love so dearly.

CHEF WASABI

Debut: 2008

Occupation: Chef, professional racer

Favourite Pastime: Running, cooking

Make-Up: Whether you buy wasabi in root form or as a green powder, there is one thing that is for sure - Chef Wasabi is one spicy addition to our Sushi Race!

MS. BC ROLL

Debut: 2008

Occupation: Pageant queen, professional racer

Favourite Pastime: Beating Chef Wasabi in Sushi Races and hanging out at the ballpark

Make-Up: Combination of barbecue BC smoked salmon and fresh cucumber with a little mayonnaise to keep her rollin'.

MR. KAPPA MAKI

Debut: 2008

Occupation: Staying cool, Professional Racer

Favourite Pastime: Attending birthday parties, winning races

Make-Up: Few slices of cucumber wrapped in rice and then rolled in a piece of dried seaweed. Sleek and light - Mr. Kappa Maki is always a tough competitor.

SADAHARU SOY

Debut: 2015

Occupation: Pot Stirrer, Professional Racer

Favourite Pastime: Cooking, meeting fans, running

Make-Up: Known to add a little saltiness to any meal, Sadaharu Soy was named after the legendary baseball slugger Sadaharu Oh who’s legend is global. Sadaharu is both physical and a little trickly during the sushi races!

CHOP N’ STIX

Debut: 2018

Occupation: Hand Tools, Professional Racers

Favourite Pastimes: Helping people, racing

Make-Up: Renewable, reusable and environmentally friendly! Chop & Stix come to the ballpark to keep the peace between the super competitive sushi and sauce. Connected at the top, Chop & Stix have a few challenges to iron out during the race – but they always get an A for effort.

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FIRST 500 KIDS 12 & UNDER

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CATCH THE FLY BALL

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BASEBALL WORD SEARCH

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FINISH

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ACROSS

1. Baseball players are usually safe here

5. Leather object worn on hand to catch baseballs

6. Metal or wooden object used to hit the ball

7. Hat worn by baseball players

8. A ball hit out of bounds

10. Player who throws the ball over homeplate

13. The area between the three bases and home plate

DOWN

1. A game played on a diamond

2. A baseball game has nine such divisions

3. Catches the ball thrown by the pitcher

4. The area of the field furthest from the batter and outside the diamond

9. Calls strikes and balls

11. Group of people playing a game

12. When a player can run around all the bases on just one hit

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