2024 Program 2

OFFICIAL PROGRAM OF THE VANCOUVER CANADIANS

2024 SEASON - ISSUE 2

NWL PLAYER OFTHE WEEK

RYAN McCARTY

DON’T MISS WHITE SPOT

FAMILY FUN SUNDAY

APRIL 14

CHAMPIONSHIP PENNANT GIVEAWAY JUNE 16

FATHER’S DAY TRAVEL MUG GIVEAWAY AUG 11

APRIL 28

MAY 12

MASCOT PUZZLE GIVEAWAY

MOTHER’S DAY TRAVEL MUG GIVEAWAY

JUNE 30

DRAWSTRING BAG GIVEAWAY

CAR FLAG GIVEAWAY

AUG 25

JULY 21

MASCOT SOCKS GIVEAWAY

LUNCH BAG GIVEAWAY

JUNE 2

FOAM GLOVE GIVEAWAY AUG 4

HELMET BOWL GIVEAWAY SEPT 8

PENCIL CASE GIVEAWAY

GATES OPEN AT NOON. FIRST PITCH 1:05 2 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024

GIVEAWAYS ARE LIMITED TO THE FIRST 500 KIDS 12 & UNDER

MARK STEFFENS/FOTOGUY PHOTOGRAPHY

CONTENTS

9 GET TO KNOW YOUR CANADIANS FRONT OFFICE STAFF

34 RYAN McCARTY NAMED NWL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

14 2024 PROMOTIONAL SCHEDULE

38 SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER, ROBINSON REMAINS MOST VALUABLE

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

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 2024 VANCOUVER CANADIANS

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

30 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.

Monster weekend at the plate – highlighted by 10 RBI over four games – earns him inaugural honor of ‘24 On Nov. 18, 1949, neighborhood children gathered at the Robinson home in Queens to celebrate Jackie Robinson Jr.’s third birthday. For Jackie Sr., the party highlighted an offseason full of commitments: Teaching athletics at the Harlem YMCA, selling appliances, co-hosting a sports radio show and appearing in a movie about his life – where he played himself – to name a few.

44 A LIFETIME OF PERSISTENCE BROUGHT JIM LEYLAND TO THE HALL OF FAME

Tears welling in her eyes, Katie Leyland explained exactly why she was happy to see her husband receive baseball’s highest honor.

52 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.

54 KIDS FUN PAGE

Fun kids activities

The Souvenir Program is published by the Vancouver Canadians Professional Baseball Club. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without prior written permission of Vancouver Canadians Professional Baseball Club is prohibited. Copyright 2024 Vancouver Canadians Professional Baseball Club. 4601 Ontario Street, Vancouver, BC Canada V5V 3H4. Phone: 604-872-5232 Fax: 604-872-1714 Email: staff@canadiansbaseball.com Web: www.canadiansbaseball.com

VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024 / 3

VANCOUVER CANADIANS, WE’VE GOT THEM COVERED. Get the scoop on your favourite players and team.

READ NOW theprovince.com/baseball

4 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2017 2024

VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024 / 5

8,000,000+ Kilometers | 500,000+ Passengers Every year | We're going your way Whatever the event, no matter how large, Universal has the experience and the fleet to make it happen in comfort and style. From customer shuttles, team buses, student transportation, to major conventions and multi-departure tour programs, we do it all.

FRIDAYS

Gates Open at Noon. First Pitch 1:05 BUY TICKETS 7 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2019

VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024 / 7

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.

8 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024

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.

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 the Team Operations handling everything from player housing and travel right through to Information Technology (IT).

Born in Victoria, B.C., Allan was raised on the North Shore and up on the 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.

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

STEPHANI ELLIS

ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER 2024 is Stephani’s tenth season with the Vancouver Canadians. She was promoted to the role of Assistant General Manager in 2019 and was the recipient of the 2019 Northwest League Female Executive of the Year for her work with the C's.

Stephani has led the Canadians Group Sales, Social Media, and Community platforms during her time out at historic Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium.

After a standout collegiate softball career at California University of PA where Stephani played for the Vulcans, 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 to The Nat. Even with the demands that come with that responsibility alone, Stephani still lends her time to the Vancouver Canadians Baseball Foundation and its fundraising efforts.

VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024 / 9

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.

Steamworks Brewing.

With a B.A. from the University of New Brunswick, Walter has worked with Proctor & Gamble, Molson Canada, Granville Island Brewing and

With a longstanding corporate partnership with the Canadians prior to his arrival in May of 2019, Walter joined the organization fully aware of the standard that has put the C's among the best in Minor League Baseball.

BRENDA CHMILIAR

FINANCIAL CONTROLLER Brenda enters her 16th season at Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium and her sixth as Financial Controller for the Canadians. She spent the first 10 of those years with Aramark Food Services in the company's financial division, dividing her time between the ballpark and Rogers Arena.

Her knowledge of stadium operations thanks to her time with both Aramark and the Canadians have proven to be invaluable during her tenure.

Brenda is responsible for all aspects of the financial operations and is right at home here at The Nat; much of her childhood was spent on local baseball fields up in Kamloops.

JACOB NAKHLEH

MANAGER, TICKET OPERATIONS Jacob returns for his eighth season with the C’s and his first as Manager, Ticket Operations.

He first joined the club for the 2016 season, when he began his time with the C’s in the Box Office. Jacob was first hired as a member of the game day staff, then promoted to Box Office Assistant before joining the sales team at the conclusion of the 2021 season. After spending the last couple of years working in sales and community relations, Jacob is excited to be back at home in the Box Office.

Prior to joining the C’s in a full-time role, Jacob graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance).

When Jacob’s away from The Nat, you can find him watching Blue Jays baseball, Seahawks football, or dreaming about ice fishing in Saskatchewan.

10 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024

ROSEMARY ALBERTS

COORDINATOR, MARKETING SERVICES Rosemary enters her first year with the Canadians as a Marketing Services Coordinator. She recently graduated from the University of British Columbia with her Bachelor of Arts in May 2023 and her Master of Management in December 2023.

Born in Richmond, Rosemary was raised in Victoria, B.C. where she grew up playing volleyball. Her previous work experience includes being the Communications & Administrative Coordinator for Athletics for Kids and a Varsity Game Day Statistician for UBC Athletics. She is excited to help the C’s organization in any way she can.

When Rosemary is not at the Nat, she enjoys her time watching the Canucks, kickboxing, or spending time with family and friends.

CHARLENE YAROSHUK

ACCOUNTING COORDINATOR Charlene is excited to be entering her sixth 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 2024 is Tyler’s fourth with the Canadians, seventh within the Toronto Blue Jays organization and 10th in Minor League Baseball.

Before the C's, Tyler served as the Director of Promotions & Entertainment and Radio Broadcaster for the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Over the course of three seasons in Manchester, he oversaw the entire ingame presentation and promotions departments while traveling throughout the Eastern League calling 'Cats games. He has especially fond memories of the 2018 campaign, when he worked alongside current Jays (and former C’s) skipper John Schneider and the likes of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio and Jordan Romano.

He began his MiLB career in 2014 as a communications intern for the Advanced-A Lake Elsinore Storm in the California League. He made his professional baseball radio debut with the Storm in 2015 and handled the middle innings of road games for the rest of his tenure.

Tyler, his wife Kate and dog Rosie make their offseason home in Portland, OR, where they play copious amounts of pickleball and obsess over the University of Texas Longhorns football season each fall. Born and raised in San Diego, Tyler is a lifelong Padres fan and will always “Keep The Faith.

Proud to support the

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

VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024 / 11

LEVI WEBER

HEAD GROUNDSKEEPER Levi―the 2023 Northwest League Groundskeeper of the Year―is no stranger to this circuit, with prior experience as the Head Groundskeeper for the Spokane Indians at Avista Stadium. His talents have also taken him to the desert, where he was 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 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.

LIAM GUERRIERO

CO-ORDINATOR, SALES 2024 is Liam’s second season with the C’s, and first as a Sales Coordinator.

The 24-year old 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.

COOPER MISIC

IZZY DINO

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

A native of North Vancouver, Izzy grew up playing competitive softball in both Vancouver and Richmond. She went on to log five NCAA Division I seasons between the University of Hawaii and Seattle University. In her spare time, she coaches youth softball pitchers on the North Shore.

Izzy’s hobbies include watching and playing softball, yoga, going to the beach, and travelling to new places.

CO-ORDINATOR, SALES Cooper enters his third season with the Canadians and his second season as Coordinator, Sales. He is excited to take on more responsibilities during the 2024 season.

When Cooper’s away from The Nat, you can find him enjoying even more baseball, playing golf, or trying out every new restaurant in town.

SALES ASSOCIATE Izzy joins the C’s as a Sales Associate for the 2024 season. She recently graduated from Seattle University with her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and Media Studies.

DREW HOWSON

ZACH MAHAFFY

SALES ASSOCIATE 2024 marks Drew’s third season in the Toronto Blue Jays organization and second full season in Vancouver. This season will be his first in an office role as a Sales Associate.

After graduating St. Clair College with a degree in Sport and Recreation Management and interning with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, Drew began his career in professional baseball as a member of the Canadians Grounds Crew. He would go on to gain experience with the Toronto Blue Jays Facility Department, assisting with the renovation and clean-up of Rogers Centre before returning to Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium.

Drew is a baseball junkie. He played and coached at many levels in his hometown community of Windsor, Ontario, most notably with the Tecumseh Rangers. In his off time, you’ll usually find him hiking, playing his guitar, or cheering on the Detroit Tigers and his beloved Michigan Wolverines. Go Blue!

12 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024

SALES ASSOCIATE Zachary returns to The Nat for his third season with the Canadians and his first in sales. He spent the previous two seasons as Box Office Assistant for the club.

Strategic Analysis.

In April 2023, Zachary graduated with a BBA from the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University, concentrating in Marketing and

A native of Surrey, Zachary played rep hockey with Semiahmoo MHA from U15 to U18, while also playing one season in the Pacific Junior Hockey League with the White Rock Whalers and Port Moody Panthers. During the baseball offseason, Zachary officiates hockey, from U15 all the way up to the Pacific Junior Hockey League. He achieved his Member High Performance certification with Hockey Canada in December 2023.

STADIUM OPERATIONS

GROUNDS CREW

ADAM HAUXWELL

BROOKS PRIMO

TRAVIS PORTER

CAMERON CARELSE

VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024 / 13

2024 PROMOTIONAL SCHEDULE

SHOP THE TEAM STORE

OR ONLINE AT CANADIANSBASEBALL.COM

14 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024

ASK ABOUT BiRTHDaY'S AT The NaT COME TO THE GAMES YOU WANT TO SEE WITH

10,15 OR 25 VOUCHER NATPACKS!

SEATS AS $ LOW AS

HOME 7:05 START HOME 1:05 START AWAY GAME

EUG - EUGENE (SAN FRANCISCO) EVE - EVERETT (SEATTLE) HIL - HILLSBORO (ARIZONA) SPO - SPOKANE (COLORADO) TRI - TRI-CITY (LA ANGELS) VAN - VANCOUVER (TORONTO)

16

BENEFITS INCLUDE:

• Great savings over single game ticket prices • Flexibility to pick the games you want.

• Redeem your vouchers online with your ‘My C’s Tickets’ account

PLAN A GROUP OUTING $ WITH SEATS STARTING AT 17 BENEFITS INCLUDE:

• Great savings over single game ticket prices • Personalized service from your Canadians representative • Flexibility to attend any game you like, based on availability • Reserved seating so your group enjoys the game together

• Promotional materials to assist you in organizing your event • Special group welcome on C's Diamond Vision • Each group leader receives an invite to the 2024 Group Leader Appreciation Night

VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024 / 15

I

L O C E C

S E R F D

T F A R C

R E E HB

R E N R CO

D E T A LOC

E H IN T

T R U O C D O O F E S A B D 3R -

PROUDLY SERVING

16 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024

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.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (MLB) | TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA (416) 341-1000 | BLUEJAYS.COM DON MATTINGLY

JOHN SCHNEIDER MANAGER

MARK BUDZINSKI

LUIS RIVERA

FIRST BASE COACH

GIL KIM

PETE WALKER

BENCH COACH

HUNTER MENSE

THIRD BASE COACH MAJOR LEAGUE HITTING STRATEGIST

MANAGER

BENCH COACH

HITTING COACH

JEFF WARE

ASSISTANT HITTING COACH

ASSISTANT PITCHING COACH, BULLPEN

ADAM YUDELMAN

ALEX ANDREOPOULOS

DAVE HUDGENS

FIELD COORDINATOR

GUILLERMO MARTINEZ

PITCHING COACH

MAJOR LEAGUE COACH

DAVID HOWELL

ASSISTANT PITCHING COACH, STRATEGY

LUIS HURTADO

BULLPEN CATCHER

BULLPEN CATCHER

BUFFALO BISONS (AAA) | BUFFALO, NEW YORK (716) 846-2000 | BISONS.COM CASEY CANDAELE

HITTING COACH

DONNIE MURPHY

PITCHING COACH

RYAN LONG

POSITION COACH

DREW HAYES

BULLPEN COACH

JUSTIN ECHEVARRIA

ANTHONY GOMEZ

NEW HAMPSHIRE FISHER CATS (AA) | MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE (603) 641-2005 | NHFISHERCATS.COM MANAGER

BENCH COACH

CESAR MARTIN

HITTING COACH

JAKE MCGUIGGAN

PITCHING COACH

MITCH HUCKABAY

POSITION COACH

JOEL BONNETT

BULLPEN COACH

GEORGE CARROL, DELTA CLEARY JR.

ERIC YARDLEY

VANCOUVER CANADIANS (HIGH A) | VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA (604) 872-5232 | CANADIANSBASEBALL.COM BRENT LAVALLEE

DEIFERSON BARRETO

MANAGER

ROB SHIFRIN

HEAD ATHLETIC TRAINER

RYAN WRIGHT

BENCH COACH

KATIE REYES

ASSISTANT ATHLETIC TRAINER

HITTING COACH

BAILEY FORST

AUSTIN BIBENS-DIRKX ZANE HUNT

HEAD S&C COACH

ASHLEY STEPHENSON

PITCHING COACH

ALEXIS MAIER

ASST S&C COACH

CARSON PHILLIPS

POSITION COACH

BULLPEN COACH

RAUL PIMENTEL

DIETITIAN

CRISTIAN CORDOVA

MENTAL COACH

TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANT

DUNEDIN BLUE JAYS (LOW A) | DUNEDIN, FLORIDA (727) 733-9302 | DUNEDINBLUEJAYS.COM MANAGER

JOSE MAYORGA

BENCH COACH

MATT VON ROEMER

HITTING COACH

PITCHING COACH

NASH KNIGHT

CORY RIORDAN

POSITION COACH

BULLPEN COACH

PETR STRIBRCKY

YOEL HERNANDEZ

GULF COAST BLUE JAYS GULF COAST LEAGUE (ROOKIE) | DUNEDIN, FLORIDA (727) 734-8007 MANAGER

ANDY FERMIN

BENCH COACH

CHRIS SCHAEFFER

HITTING COACH

PAUL ELLIOTT, FRED LANDERS

PITCHING COACH

ANTONIO CACERES, ALEX KACHLER

DEVELOPMENT COACH

ALEX KACHLER

DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE BLUE JAYS DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE (DSL) | BOCA CHICA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MANAGER

DANNY CANELLAS

BENCH COACH

ASHLEY PONCE

HITTING COACH

RICARDO NANITA

PITCHING COACH

ROBELIN BAUTISTA

BULLPEN COACH

RAFAEL MONSION

VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024 / 17

PITCHERS HT WT 30 Alex Amalfi 6-1 185 11 Pat Gallagher 6-0 200 3 Ryan Jennings 6-0 190 9 Justin Kelly 6-1 210 25 Conor Larkin 6-1 215 28 Johnathan Lavallee 6-4 240 26 Chris McElvain 6-0 205 17 Kevin Miranda 5-10 180 40 Josh Mollerus 6-3 215 32 Rafael Ohashi 6-1 185 4 Naswell Paulino 5-11 205 16 Kendry Rojas 6-2 190 23 Rafael Sanchez 6-1 215 34 Grayson Thurman 6-3 205 10 Anders Tolhurst 6-4 190 36 Geison Urbaez 6-1 185 20 Chay Yeager 5-11 180

CATCHERS (3) HT WT 19 Jommer Hernandez 5-11 205 31 Jackson Hornung 6-2 215 5 Kekai Rios 5-10 205

INFIELDERS (6) 21 Jean Arnaez 1 Nick Goodwin 14 Estiven Machado 22 Ryan McCarty 15 Brennan Orf 5 Glenn Santiago 7 Jeff Wehler

OUTFIELDERS (4) 8 Jace Bohrofen 6 Dasan Brown 27 Dylan Rock 24 Jaden Rudd

HT WT 5-10 175 6-1 205 5-10 190 5-9 185 6-4 230 5-11 185 6-0 195

HT WT 6-2 205 6-0 195 6-0 210 5-11 190

B/T AGE R/R 23 R/R 23 R/R 24 R/R 25 R/R 25 R/R 24 R/R 23 R/R 25 R/R 24 R/R 21 L/L 23 L/L 21 R/R 24 R/R 25 R/R 24 R/R 23 S/R 21

B/T AGE R/R 23 R/R 23 R/R 26

B/T AGE R/R 21 R/R 22 S/R 21 R/R 25 L/R 22 R/R 23 R/R 25

DOB 02/18/01 06/30/00 06/23/99 12/02/98 03/17/99 08/11/99 09/15/00 11/14/98 10/06/99 10/08/02 4/17/00 11/26/02 08/22/99 12/27/98 09/13/99 07/05/00 09/11/02

DOB 10/20/00 02/06/01 06/06/97

DOB 08/22/02 09/06/01 10/04/02 04/22/99 09/06/01 12/14/00 01/10/99

B/TAGE – DOB L/R 22 10/19/01 R/R 22 9/25/01 R/R 25 08/21/98 L/L 21 08/16/02

HOMETOWN ‘22 CLUBS Ashland, MA Dunedin Leominster, MA Dunedin, Vancouver New Braunfels, TX Dunedin, Vancouver Salt Lake City, UT Vancouver Royersford, PA Vancouver Simi Valley, CA Fort Myers (MIN) Thompson Station, TN Daytona, Dayton (CIN) Dolega, PAN Dunedin, Vancouver Campbell, CA Dunedin Mogi Guacu, BR Dunedin San Cristobal, DR Vancouver Ciego De Avila, CU Dunedin Antilla, CUB Dunedin, Vancouver Lynch Station, VA Dunedin, New Hampshire Santee, CA FCL, DUN, VAN Cabral, DR DNP Fort Wayne, IN FCL, Dunedin

HOMETOWN Puerto Plata, DR Ashland, MA Kaneohe, HI

HOMETOWN Aguadulce, PAN Overland Park, KS Barlovento, VZ Yardley, PA Wildwood, MO Guanica, PR St. Marys, PA

HOMETOWN Oklahoma City, OK Oakville, ON Sugar Land, TX Panama City, FL

TOR SYSTEM: BUF – AAA | NH – AA | VAN – A+ | DUN – A | FCL – R

‘23 CLUBS Vancouver College, Dunedin New Hampshire, Vancouver

’23 CLUBS Dunedin College, DUN, VAN Dunedin Dunedin College, Dunedin Vancouver, Dunedin College

’23 CLUBS College, FCL, Dunedin Dunedin, Vancouver FCL, DUN, NH Dunedin

ACQUIRED MiLB FA, 07/26/22 11th, ’22, Connecticut 4th Rd, ’22, Louisiana Tech ND FA, 07/21/21 9th Rd, ’21, Penn State MiLB FA, 02/02/24 Trade w/CIN, 03/20/24 INT FA, 08/04/22 10th, ’23, Oregon INT FA, 07/02/19 INT FA, 07/04/16 INT FA, 10/14/20 INT FA, 05/13/22 MiLB FA, 03/24/23 23rd Rd, ’19, Grossmont INT FA, 10/14/20 12th, ’23, Pasco-Hernando State JC

ACQUIRED MiLB FA, 09/08/21 16th, ’23, Skidmore Waivers (LAD), 12/7/22

ACQUIRED INT FA, 7/2/19 7th Rd, ’23, Kansas State INT FA, 7/3/19 ND FA, 7/26/22 13th, ’23, So. Illinois-Edwardsville 10th, ’19, Lazaro HS (PR) ND FA, 6/9/23

ACQUIRED 6th, ’23, Arkansas 3rd Rd, ’19, Abbey Park HS (ON) 8th, ’22, Texas A&M 7th, ’21, Mosley HS (FL)

PRONUNCIATIONS: 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 | Wehler – WHALE-er Dasan – duh-SAWN | Angel – awn-hell | B. Lavallee – luh-VALLEY | Deiferson – DAY-fer-son | Bibens-Dirkx – BIB-ins DURKS | Stephenson – Stevenson MANAGER: 33 Brent Lavallee BENCH COACH: 13 Deiferson Barreto PITCHING COACH: 29 Austin Bibens-Dirkx HITTING COACH: 12 Ryan Wright POS. PLAYER COACH: 2 Ashley Stephenson BULLPEN COACH: XX Carson Phillips

18 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024

STRENGTH & CONDITIONING: Bailey Forst ASSISTANT S&C: Zane Hunt ATHLETIC TRAINER: Rob Shifrin MENTAL COACH: Raul Pimentel ATHLETIC THERAPIST: Katie Reyes TECH ASSISTANT: Cristian Cordova

NO. PITCHERS 10 Blake Adams 9 Zach Agnos 12 Tyler Ahearn 35 Luis Amoroso 45 Anderson Bido 50 Brayan Castillo 24 Chase Dollander 43 Mason Green 25 Braxton Hyde 6 Victor Juarez 27 Davis Palermo 41 Felix Ramires 30 Sergio Sanchez 32 Carson Skipper 16 Connor Staine 22 Sean Sullivan 18 Carlos Torres

HT. 6-2 6-0 6-2 6-1 6-3 6-0 6-2 6-1 6-3 6-0 6-4 6-4 6-0 6-2 6-4 6-4 6-4

WT. 215 210 200 190 205 170 200 195 195 175 200 175 180 210 200 190 240

B-T R-R R-R R-R R-R R-R R-R R-R L-L R-R R-R R-R L-L R-R R-R R-R R-L R-R

DOB 9/11/2000 8/15/2000 8/25/1998 12/12/1999 5/7/1999 9/11/2000 10/26/2001 2/5/1999 6/6/2001 6/19/2003 12/16/1999 9/26/1999 1/13/2001 8/12/1999 1/12/2001 7/22/2002 5/3/2001

ACQUIRED 13th/2022 10th/2022 20th/2021 IFA/2017 IFA/2017 IFA/2017 1st/2023 12th/2021 14th/2022 IFA/2019 8th/2022 IFA/2017 IFA/2018 11th/2022 5th/2022 2nd/2023 20th/2022

LAST SCHOOL Kansas State East Carolina Florida State N/A N/A N/A Tennessee Central Missouri Butler CC (KS) N/A North Carolina N/A N/A Auburn Central Florida Wake Forest Lehigh

HOMETOWN Springdale, AR Reston, VA Palm Beach Gardens, FL Valencia, Venezuela Las Matas de Farfan, D.R. Santiago, D.R. Evans, GA Lenexa, KS Liberal, KS Monterrey, Mexico Chapel Hill, NC Sabana de la Mar, D.R. San Cristobal, D.R. Birmingham, AL Clinton, NJ Boston, MA Ponce, Puerto Rico

PREVIOUS Spokane Fresno Spokane Spokane Spokane Spokane Tennessee Spokane Fresno Spokane Fresno Spokane Fresno Fresno Fresno Fresno Fresno

HT. 6-3 6-3 6-5 6-3 5-10

WT. 170 200 220 220 180

B-T R-R S-R R-R R-R R-R

DOB 3/18/2003 5/8/2002 7/26/2002 3/18/1999 7/20/2002

ACQUIRED IFA/2022 CB-B/2023 5th/2023 FA/2022 IFA/2019

LAST SCHOOL N/A San Diego State UCLA Texas Tech N/A

HOMETOWN Havana, Cuba Modesto, CA Los Angeles, CA Wichita Falls, TX Boca, Chica, D.R.

PREVIOUS Fresno Fresno Fresno Spokane Spokane

NO. CATCHERS 7 Bryant Betancourt 19 Jose Cordova 3 Jesus Ordonez

HT. 5-11 6-0 5-8

NO. OUTFIELDERS 8 Trevor Boone 44 Jesus Bugarin 14 Juan Guerrero 29 Robby Martin Jr. 1 Braiden Ward

HT. 6-2 5-10 6-1 6-3 5-11

NO. INFIELDERS 11 Dyan Jorge 4 Cole Carrigg 2 Kyle Karros 15 Parker Kelly 20 Jean Perez

WT. 170 180 180

WT. 210 180 160 190 160

B-T L-R R-R R-R

B-T R-R R-R R-R L-R L-R

NO. FIELD STAFF 37 Robinson Cancel - Manager 38 Blaine Beatty - Pitching Coach 21 Tom Sutaris - Hitting Coach 23 Joe Mikulik - Bench Coach Jacob Mathis - Physical Performance Mickey Clarizio - Trainer: Joey Scott - Clubhouse Manager: Connor Carroll - Video Coordinator

DOB 10/12/2003 1/11/2000 12/26/1999

DOB 9/9/1997 12/2/2001 9/10/2001 8/17/1999 1/18/1999

ACQUIRED IFA/2021 IFA/2018 IFA/2019

ACQUIRED 18th/2019 IFA/2018 IFA/2018 8th/2021 16th/2021

LAST SCHOOL N/A N/A N/A

LAST SCHOOL Oklahoma State N/A N/A Florida State Washington

HOMETOWN Valencia, Venezuela Guayana, Venezuela Coro, Venezuela

HOMETOWN Oklahoma City, OK Ciudad Piar, Venezuela San Pedro de Macoris, D.R. Tampa, FL Merced, CA

PREVIOUS Fresno Spokane Fresno

PREVIOUS Albuquerque Fresno Spokane Spokane Spokane

PRONUNCIATIONS: Luis Amoroso (AM-uh-ROH-soh), Anderson Bido (Bee-dough), Jesus Bugarin (Hey-soos Boo-guh-reen), Cole Carrigg (Care-igg) Chase Dollander (Dough-lander), Brayan Castillo (Brian), Dyan Jorge (Dee-on Hor-hey), Connor Staine (Stain), Davis Palermo (Pa-lair-mo)

VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024 / 19

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3

4

CanadiansBaseball.com/Contests 20 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024

5

VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024 / 21

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 126-57 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.

22 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024

DEIFERSON

BARRETO

13

BENCH COACH • Moving up to Bench Coach after spending the last two seasons as Position Coach for the DSL Blue Jays...Started his coaching career in 2018 with Advanced-A Dunedin by assisting the coaching staff...In 2019, was assigned as Assistant Pitching Coach at The Toronto Blue Jays Dominican Academy...That July, he transitioned to the infield coach for the J2 signed players...In 2020, served as Infield Coach for the Dominican Academy and was instrumental in assisting the club with the Venezuelan players who were unable to get back home because of the pandemic.

• Signed with the Toronto Blue Jays as an international free agent in September of 2011....Played as an infielder in the Blue Jays system from 2012-2017, reaching as high as Triple-A Buffalo..

AUSTIN

BIBENS-DIRKX

29

PITCHING 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.

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 (2018-2019), 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

2

POSITION COACH • 2024 is Ashley’s second 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.

CARSON

PHILLIPS

35

BULLPEN COACH • Joins the Vancouver Canadians for his first season in the organization...Was working at the University of Arizona as a Graduate Assistant Pitching Coach.

• Played at Dixie State University where he completed a Bachelors in Exercise Science...

Also attended the University of Arizona.

• 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.

• 2024 Inductee into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024 / 23

24 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024

2024 ROSTER

CONOR

LARKIN

OHASHI

AMALFI

JOHNATHAN

32

NASWELL

HT: 6-1 WT: 185 B/T: R/R DOB: 10/08/02 HOMETOWN: Mogi Guacu, BR 23 CLUBS: Dunedin AQUIRED: INT FA, 07/02/19

30

PAT

28

CHRIS

4

KENDRY

HT: 6-1 WT: 185 B/T: R/R DOB: 02/18/01 HOMETOWN: Ashland, MA 23 CLUBS: Dunedin AQUIRED: MiLB FA, 07/26/22

25

HT: 6-1 WT: 215 B/T: R/R DOB: 03/17/99 HOMETOWN: Royersford, PA 23 CLUBS: Vancouver AQUIRED: 9th Rd, ’21, Penn State

RAFAEL

ALEX

LAVALLEE

HT: 6-4 WT: 240 B/T: R/R DOB: 08/11/99 HOMETOWN: Simi Valley, CA 23 CLUBS: Fort Myers (MIN) AQUIRED: MiLB FA, 02/02/24

PAULINO

HT: 5-11 WT: 205 B/T: L/L DOB: 4/17/00 HOMETOWN: San Cristobal, DR 23 CLUBS: Vancouver AQUIRED: INT FA, 07/04/16

GALLAGHER

11

RYAN

26

KEVIN

16

RAFAEL

HT: 6-0 WT: 200 B/T: R/R DOB: 06/30/00 HOMETOWN: Leominster, MA 23 CLUBS: Dunedin, Vancouver AQUIRED: 11th, ’22, Connecticut

McELVAIN

HT: 6-0 WT: 205 B/T: R/R DOB: 09/15/00 HOMETOWN: Thompson Station, TN 23 CLUBS: Daytona, Dayton (CIN) AQUIRED: Trade w/CIN, 03/20/24

ROJAS

HT: 6-2 WT: 190 B/T: L/L DOB: 11/26/02 HOMETOWN: Ciego De Avila, CU 23 CLUBS: Dunedin AQUIRED: INT FA, 10/14/20

JENNINGS

3

JUSTIN

17

JOSH

23

GRAYSON

HT: 6-0 WT: 190 B/T: R/R DOB: 06/23/99 HOMETOWN: New Braunfels, TX 23 CLUBS: Dunedin, Vancouver AQUIRED: 4th Rd, ’22, Louisiana Tech

MIRANDA

HT: 5-10 WT: 180 B/T: R/R DOB: 11/14/98 HOMETOWN: Dolega, PAN 23 CLUBS: Dunedin, Vancouver AQUIRED: INT FA, 08/04/22

SANCHEZ

HT: 6-1 WT: 215 B/T: R/R DOB: 08/22/99 HOMETOWN: Antilla, CUB 23 CLUBS: Dunedin, Vancouver AQUIRED: INT FA, 05/13/22

9

KELLY

HT: 6-1 WT: 210 B/T: R/R DOB: 12/02/98 HOMETOWN: Salt Lake City, UT 23 CLUBS: Vancouver AQUIRED: ND FA, 07/21/21

MOLLERUS

40

HT: 6-3 WT: 215 B/T: R/R DOB: 10/06/99 HOMETOWN: Campbell, CA 23 CLUBS: Dunedin AQUIRED: 10th, ’23, Oregon

THURMAN

34

HT: 6-3 WT: 205 B/T: R/R DOB: 12/27/98 HOMETOWN: Lynch Station, VA 23 CLUBS: Dunedin, New Hampshire AQUIRED: MiLB FA, 03/24/23

VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024 / 25

ANDERS

TOLHURST

10

GEISON

5

JEAN

15

GLENN

HT: 6-4 WT: 190 B/T: R/R DOB: 09/13/99 HOMETOWN: Santee, CA 23 CLUBS: FCL, Dunedin, Vancouver AQUIRED: 23rd Rd, ’19, Grossmont

KEKAI

RIOS

HT: 5-10 WT: 205 B/T: R/R DOB: 06/06/97 HOMETOWN: Kaneohe, HI 23 CLUBS: New Hampshire, Vancouver AQUIRED: Waivers (LAD), 12/7/22

BRENNAN

ORF

HT: 6-4 WT: 230 B/T: L/R DOB: 09/06/01 HOMETOWN: Wildwood, MO 23 CLUBS: College, Dunedin AQUIRED: 13th, ’23, So. IllinoisEdwardsville

URBAEZ

36

CHAY

21

NICK

5

JEFF

HT: 6-1 WT: 185 B/T: R/R DOB: 07/05/00 HOMETOWN: Cabral, DR 23 CLUBS: DNP AQUIRED: INT FA, 10/14/20

ARNAEZ

HT: 5-10 WT: 175 B/T: R/R DOB: 08/22/02 HOMETOWN: Aguadulce, PAN 23 CLUBS: Dunedin AQUIRED: INT FA, 7/2/19

SANTIAGO

HT: 5-11 WT: 185 B/T: R/R DOB: 12/14/00 HOMETOWN: Guanica, PR 23 CLUBS: Vancouver, Dunedin AQUIRED: 0th, ’19, Lazaro HS (PR)

26 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024

YEAGER

20

JOMMER

1

ESTIVEN

7

JACE

HT: 5-11 WT: 180 B/T: S/R DOB: 09/11/02 HOMETOWN: Fort Wayne, IN 23 CLUBS: FCL, Dunedin AQUIRED: 12th, ’23, PascoHernando State JC

GOODWIN

HT: 6-1 WT: 205 B/T: R/R DOB: 09/06/01 HOMETOWN: Overland Park, KS 23 CLUBS: College, Dunedin, Vancouver AQUIRED: 7th Rd, ’23, Kansas State

WEHLER

HT: 6-0 WT: 195 B/T: R/R DOB: 01/10/99 HOMETOWN: St. Marys, PA 23 CLUBS: College AQUIRED: ND FA, 6/9/23

HERNANDEZ

19

JACKSON

14

RYAN

8

DASAN

HT: WT: 205 B/T: R/R DOB: 10/20/00 HOMETOWN: Puerto Plata, DR 23 CLUBS: Vancouver AQUIRED: MiLB FA, 09/08/21

MACHADO

HT: 5-10 WT: 190 B/T: S/R DOB: 10/04/02 HOMETOWN: Barlovento, VZ 23 CLUBS: Dunedin AQUIRED: INT FA, 7/3/19

BOHROFEN

HT: 6-2 WT: 205 B/T: L/R DOB: 10/19/01 HOMETOWN: Oklahoma City, OK 23 CLUBS: College, FCL, Dunedin AQUIRED: 6th, ’23, Arkansas

HORNUNG

31

HT: WT: 215 B/T: R/R DOB: 02/06/01 HOMETOWN: Ashland, MA 23 CLUBS: College, Dunedin AQUIRED: 16th, ’23, Skidmore

McCARTY

22

HT: 5-9 WT: 185 B/T: R/R DOB: 04/22/99 HOMETOWN: Yardley, PA 23 CLUBS: Dunedin AQUIRED: ND FA, 7/26/22

BROWN

6

HT: 6-0 WT: 195 B/T: R/R DOB: 09/25/01 HOMETOWN: Oakville, ON 23 CLUBS: Dunedin, Vancouver AQUIRED: 3rd Rd, ’19, Abbey Park HS (ON)

DYLAN

ROCK

27

HT: 6-0 WT: 210 B/T: R/R DOB: 08/21/98 HOMETOWN: Sugar Land, TX 23 CLUBS: FCL, Dunedin, New Hampshire AQUIRED: 8th, ’22, Texas A&M

JADEN

RUDD

24

HT: 5-11 WT: 190 B/T: L/L DOB: 08/16/02 HOMETOWN: Panama City, FL 23 CLUBS: Dunedin AQUIRED: 7th, ’21, Mosley HS (FL)

ROB

KATIE

BAILEY

HEAD ATHLETIC TRAINER

ASSISTANT ATHLETIC TRAINER

HEAD STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACH

SHIFRIN

REYES

FORST

ZANE

STEPHANIE

RAUL

CRISTIAN

GLENN

ASSISTANT STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACH

DIETICIAN

MENTAL PERFORMANCE COACH

TECH ASSISTANT

HOME CLUBHOUSE MANAGER

HUNT

BOVILLE

PIMENTEL

CORDOVA

HALL

COLE

HOWES

VISITOR CLUBHOUSE MANAGER

VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024 / 27

28 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024

VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024 / 29

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.

2003 POS C'S ALUMNI

MLB DEBUT

TEAM

2010

POS C'S ALUMNI

MLB DEBUT

TEAM

2018

POS C'S ALUMNI

MLB DEBUT

TEAM

Rich Harden Neal Cotts Mike Wood 2004

P P P

2001 2001 2001

21-Jul 12-Aug 21-Aug

Oakland Chicago (AL) Oakland

A.J. Griffin Alexi Ogando 2011

P P

24-Jun 15-Jul

Oakland Texas

MLB DEBUT

TEAM

POS C'S ALUMNI

MLB DEBUT

TEAM

POS C'S ALUMNI

Santiago Casilla Nick Swisher Joe Blanton 2005

P OF P

09-Aug Oakland 03-Sep Oakland 24-Sep Oakland

Justin Sellers Anthony Recker Corey Brown 2012

INF C OF

12-Aug Los Angeles (NL) 25-Aug Oakland 06-Sep Washington

2014 2014 2009 2013 2014 2014 2011

26-Jun 18-Aug 27-Aug 30-Aug 01-Sep 05-Sep 26-Sep

Toronto Toronto Toronto Detroit Toronto Toronto Toronto

MLB DEBUT

TEAM

MLB DEBUT

INF INF INF INF OF

2002 2001 2003 2000 2002

04-Apr 27-May 31-Jul 30-Aug 17-Sep

Kansas City Oakland Colorado Oakland Milwaukee

P P P

21-Apr Oakland 05-Jun Oakland 30-Aug Oakland

MLB DEBUT

Mark Teahen Dan Johnson Omar Quintanilla Freddie Bynum Nelson Cruz 2006

Pedro Figueroa Sean Doolittle Dan Straily 2013

POS C'S ALUMNI

TEAM

POS C'S ALUMNI

POS C'S ALUMNI

Ryan Borucki Justin Shafer Murphy Smith Dawel Lugo Jose Fernandez Jonathan Davis Jon Berti 2019

POS C'S ALUMNI

MLB DEBUT

TEAM

POS C'S ALUMNI

MLB DEBUT

TEAM

John Rheinecker Andre Either Chris Mabeus Kurt Suzuki Jason Windsor Jeremy Brown Mark Kiger 2007

P OF P C P C INF

2001 2003 2001 2004 2004 2002 2002

22-Apr 02-May 29-May 12-Jun 17-Jul 03-Sep 13-Oct

Texas Los Angeles (NL) Milwaukee Oakland Oakland Oakland Oakland

Ian Krol Kevin Pillar Max Stassi Michael Choice 2014

P OF C OF

2009 2011 2009 2010

05-Jun 14-Aug 20-Aug 02-Sep

Washington Toronto Houston Oakland

POS C'S ALUMNI

MLB DEBUT

TEAM

POS C'S ALUMNI

MLB DEBUT

TEAM

P P P OF P

2009 2012 2011 2012 2012

23-Mar 04-May 23-Jul 02-Sep 05-Sep

Arizona Toronto Toronto Toronto Toronto

Travis Buck OF Jared Burton P Danny Putman OF Dallas Braden P Connor Robertson P Marshal McDougall INF Kevin Melillo INF Bill Murphy P 2008 POS

2005 2002 2004 2004 2004 2000 2004 2002

02-Apr 04-Apr 23-Apr 24-Apr 17-May 05-Jun 24-Jun 03-Sep

Oakland Cincinnati Oakland Oakland Oakland Texas Oakland Arizona

Bo Schultz Marcus Stroman Aaron Sanchez Dalton Pompey Daniel Norris 2015

POS C'S ALUMNI

MLB DEBUT

TEAM

Miguel Castro P Roberto Osuna P Noah Syndergaard P Justin Nicolino P Dusty Coleman INF David Rollins P 2016 POS

2014 2012 2011 2011 2008 2011

06-Apr 08-Apr 12-May 20-Jun 03-Jul 04-Jul

Toronto Toronto New York (NL) Miami Kansas City Seattle

MLB DEBUT

TEAM

C'S ALUMNI

MLB DEBUT

TEAM

C'S ALUMNI

Gregorio Petit John Baker Jeff Gray 2009

INF C P

2004 2002 2005

18-May Oakland 09-Jul Florida 08-Sep Oakland

Andy Burns Matt Dermody 2017

INF P

2011 2013

09-May Toronto 03-Sep Toronto

POS C'S ALUMNI

MLB DEBUT

TEAM

POS C'S ALUMNI

MLB DEBUT

TEAM

Andrew Bailey Landon Powell Tommy Everidge Brad Kilby Jeff Baisley

P C INF P INF

06-Apr 11-Apr 28-Jul 02-Sep 09-Sep

Oakland Oakland Oakland Oakland Oakland

Dwight Smith Jr. Seth Frankoff Ian Parmley Franklin Barreto Taylor Cole Tim Mayza Jairo Labourt Carlos Ramirez Richard Urena Tim Locastro

OF P OF INF P P P P INF INF

18-May 09-Jun 23-Jun 24-Jun 09-Aug 15-Aug 01-Sep 01-Sep 01-Sep 29-Sep

Toronto Chicago (NL) Toronto Oakland Toronto Toronto Detroit Toronto Toronto Los Angeles (NL)

2002 2002 2002

2006 2004 2004 2005 2005

30 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024

2010 2004 2005 2005 2007 2007 2007 2009

2012 2010 2013 2014 2012 2014 2014 2012 2014 2014

TEAM

P P P INF P OF INF

John Schneider MGR 2011/14-15 28-Mar Travis Bergen P 2015-17 29-Mar Cavan Biggio INF 2016 25-May T.J. Zeuch 2016 03-Sep Lane Thomas OF 2015 17-Apr Ryan McBroom INF/OF 2014 03-Sep 2020 POS C'S MLB

Toronto San Francisco Toronto Toronto St. Louis Kansas City

ALUMNI

DEBUT

Nate Pearson Dany Jiménez Patrick Murhpy Ángel Perdomo 2021

P P P P

2017 2017 2016 2015

29-Jul 23-Jul 18-Sep 18-Aug

Toronto San Francisco Toronto Milwaukee

POS C'S ALUMNI

MLB DEBUT

TEAM

Josh Palacios Alek Manoah Riley Adams Tayler Saucedo Nick Allgeyer Otto López 2022

OF P C P P INF

2016 2019 2018 2015 2018 2018

09-Apr 27-May 08-Jun 17-Jun 02-Jul 17-Aug

Toronto Toronto Toronto Toronto Toronto Toronto

POS C'S ALUMNI

MLB DEBUT

TEAM

Zach Jackson Zach Logue Christian Lopes Vinny Capra Danny Young Josh Winckowski Jake Fishman 2023

P P INF INF P P P

2016 2017 2012 2018 2015 2018 2017

9-April 19-April 20-April 1-May 9-May 28-May 31-July

Oakland Oakland Oakland Toronto Seattle Boston Marlins

POS C'S ALUMNI

MLB DEBUT

TEAM

Samad Taylor INF Spencer Horwitz OF Davis Schneider INF/OF Hagen Danner P Cam Eden OF Jose Espada P

18-Jun 19-Jun 4-Aug 11-Aug 21-Sep 24-Sep

Kansas City Toronto Toronto Toronto Toronto San Diego

2017 2021 2022 2021 2021 2018

TEAM

Supporting local charities in our community APRIL 10 SUPPORTING

JUNE 12

SUPPORTING

AUGUST 7 SUPPORTING

APRIL 24

MAY 8

SUPPORTING

MAY 29

SUPPORTING

JUNE 26

SUPPORTING

JULY 3

SUPPORTING

JULY 31

SUPPORTING

AUGUST 21 SUPPORTING

SUPPORTING

SEPT 4

SUPPORTING

VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024 / 31

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:

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).

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.

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.

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.

If a runner scores, put a circle at the bottom of the box, and inside the

EXAMPLE SCOREBOARD

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

TEAM BATTING ORDER 1. CENTER FIELDER 2. SHORTSTOP 3. 1ST BASEMAN 4. 3RD BASEMAN 5. RIGHT FIELDER 6. LEFT FIELDER 7. DESIGNATED HITTER

SYMBOLS FOR PLAY

1

3 2 4 6-4 BB 3 5 FC = 5 SB 2 6-2 SB -

2 8 6 K

FC

8. 2ND BASEMAN 4 / 9. CATCHER = R H 3 4 0 1 TOTALS

Single: S or – Double: D or = Triple: T or = Homerun: HR or =

Passed Ball: Stolen Base: Double Play: Error:

Sacrifice: SH or SAC Walk: BB Strikeout: K Called Out on Strikes: K

PB SB DP E

Sacrifice Fly: SF Intentional Walk: IBB Foul Fly: F Force Out: FO Line Drive: L

Balk: BK Fielder’s Choice: FC Hit by Pitch: HP Wild Pitch: WP

Bunt: B Unassisted: U

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS BY THE NUMBERS 1 PITCHER 2 CATCHER 3 1ST BASEMAN 4 2ND BASEMAN 5 3RD BASEMAN 6 SHORTSTOP 7 LEFT FIELDER

8 7

9

6 5

4 1

3

8 CENTER FIELDER 9 RIGHT FIELDER

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.

FOUL TIP

DOUBLE

TRAPPED BALL/SAFE

DELAYED DEAD BALL

TIME/DEAD BALL

COUNT

HOLD UP PLAY

HOME RUN

PLAY BALL

INFIELD FLY

FAIR BALL

FOUL BALL

STRIKE OUT

32 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024

WE ARE YOUR CONNECTION TO THE COMMUNITY. Come along with us as we uncover what matters to Metro Vancouver.

START YOUR FREE TRIAL vancouversun.com/canadians

34 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024

RYAN MCCARTY NAMED NWL PLAYER OF THE WEEK Monster weekend at the plate – highlighted by 10 RBI over four games – earns him inaugural honor of ‘24 Minor League Baseball named Canadians infielder Ryan McCarty as the Northwest League Player of the Week for April 8-14 after he went 8-for-19 (.421) with three doubles, a triple, two homers, five runs scored, 10 RBI and two steals in five games played. He is the first C’s hitter to earn the weekly honor since Davis Schneider in June of 2022.

McCarty, 24, started the week hitless in four at-bats on April 9 against Hillsboro, though he did score a run after reaching on an error. His huge series – which turned out to be a torrid three-day stretch – began on Friday, April 12 in game one of a doubleheader. He tripled home the only two runs in a 2-0 win and legged out an infield hit later in the game. McCarty added two more knocks in game two of the double dip to finish the day 4-for-7.

The “McCarty Party” began in earnest Saturday afternoon. He sparked the offense in the bottom of the first with a hit by pitch, stole second and later scored before doubling in his next at-bat. The former DIII Player of the Year out of Penn State-Abington then cracked a game-deciding three-run homer in the sixth to lead Vancouver to a 6-5 win.

Even with the series in hand for the C’s, McCarty kept raking on Sunday. He hit another three-run bomb to erase a two-run deficit in the third, walked in the fifth then came to the plate with the game on the line in the ninth. Down to their final out, the Canadians had already rallied from a 7-3 deficit to trail 7-5. McCarty worked the count full, fouled off a pair of two-strike pitches then laced a double into the right field corner to tie the game. He scored the winning run when the next batter singled to complete an improbable comeback after the C’s saw their win probability dip to 0.1%.

Through the season’s first nine games, McCarty is among league leaders in average (.344, 6), home runs (2, T-2), RBI (11, 1), slugging (.688, 2), OPS (1.070, 4), hits (11, T-3), doubles, (3, T-4), triple (1, T-1), extra base hits (6, 1), total bases (22, 1) and runs scored (7, T-2).

VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024 / 35

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TEXT ‘CANADIANS’ TO RECEIVE ALL UPDATES TEXT ‘WEATHER’ TO ONLY RECEIVE WEATHER UPDATES TEXT ‘TICKETS’ TO ONLY RECEIVE TICKET PROMOTIONS MESSAGE AND DATA RATES MAY APPLY. TEXT ‘STOP’ TO OPT-OUT AT ANYTIME. NO PURCHASE REQUIRED. 36 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024

VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024 / 37

Jackie Robinson won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in his third season in the league in 1949. (Osvaldo Salas/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum)

38 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024

BY JUSTIN ALPERT

SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER, ROBINSON REMAINS MOST VALUABLE

On Nov. 18, 1949, neighborhood children gathered at the Robinson home in Queens to celebrate Jackie Robinson Jr.’s third birthday. For Jackie Sr., the party highlighted an offseason full of commitments: Teaching athletics at the Harlem YMCA, selling appliances, cohosting a sports radio show and appearing in a movie about his life – where he played himself – to name a few.

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But the Robinsons had more than one reason to celebrate, as Jackie Sr. had just been named the National League’s Most Valuable Player. The 1949 NL batting champion, whose league-leading 37 stolen bases complemented a .342 clip, had earned 12 of 24 first-place votes to beat out the Cardinals’ Stan Musial and Enos Slaughter.

“This award comes as a great surprise,” Rachel Robinson, pregnant with their second child, Sharon, told New York Daily News, “but we had this party planned for little Jackie for a long time, so we’ll just have to do our celebrating as a secondary feature of the birthday party.”

As 1978 BBWAA Career Excellence Award winner Dick Young of the Daily News put it: “The National League’s best pitchers couldn’t keep Jackie Robinson off base, the best catchers couldn’t keep him from running wild and the best batters couldn’t catch him for the hitting title… but a three-year-old finally managed to overshadow the Dodgers’ star second sacker.”

Robinson dazzled throughout his MVP campaign and Opening Day was no exception. Ebbets Field hosted 34,530 — a home opener record at the Brooklyn park — on April 19 as the Dodgers faced the Giants. Hitting cleanup, Robinson went 3-for-5 with a home run.

An early slump had Robinson hitting .188 at the end of April, but his uncharacteristic struggles wouldn’t last — three weeks later, the second baseman was back up to .298 and about to post one of the best performances of his career. The May 21 game at St. Louis’ Sportsman’s Park offered an early look at the MVP race. Musial singled and scored a run. Slaughter went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. But Robinson shined brightest, going 3-for-5 with a stolen base, two doubles, three runs and a career-high six RBI, aiding an eight-run ninth inning in Brooklyn’s 15-6 win.

“Pee Wee’s homer was the big blow, but the performance of the afternoon was turned in by Jackie Robinson,” Young wrote in the Daily News. “There’s a name that belongs right up on top, in capital letters, when nominations for this year’s All-Star game open.

“Robby was a hitting, fielding and running fool throughout the scrap — doing most of his magnificent work when every marker meant something. He batted in six runs, saved two more that would have put the Red Birds ahead in the sixth, and set up another with his everdaring legwork.”

Robinson was at it again three days later, leading Brooklyn to a 6-1 win over Pittsburgh with his first of eight career multi-home run games. He recorded multiple hits in 18 of 28 games in May and was hitting .360 with a 1.014 OPS by month’s end, making a strong case for an All-Star selection.

The Midsummer Classic took place at Ebbets Field on July 12, and the 16th edition was unlike any other. Robinson, teammates Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella and Cleveland’s Larry Doby became the first Black All-Stars in AL/NL history.

“While it was by no means the best contest of the star-studded competition, it will be remembered as a record breaker,” wrote the 40 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024

Chicago Tribune.

The NL committed five errors in a 11-7 loss, but Robinson, making his first of six consecutive All-Star appearances, doubled and scored three runs. Newcombe and Campanella saw action, as did fellow Dodgers Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, Ralph Branca and Preacher Roe.

While Robinson, at .364, led Slaughter (.328) and Musial (.301) at the end of July, his Dodgers trailed their Cardinals by a game and a half — a 15-12 July marked the worst full month of the season for Brooklyn. Remarkably, the clubs matched 20-11 records in August while Robinson’s average dipped slightly to .350.

“A guy my age gets tired during the late part of a season,” Robinson would later tell the Daily News. “When games were decided one way or another in the late innings, I wished I could be taken out. My legs felt tired, and the bat felt awfully heavy. I just couldn’t swing right.”

Robinson, 30 years into a life of peerless athletic achievements, may have felt such late-season fatigue but he hardly showed it, hitting .304 over the final 29 games with eight steals, nine extra-base hits and 25 walks. But like the batting race, the fight for the NL pennant came down to the wire. Brooklyn and St. Louis split a Sept. 21 doubleheader, leaving the Dodgers still a game-and-a-half behind the Redbirds.

As he had in May, Robinson took charge the next day and led Brooklyn to a series victory. A 19-6 thumping saw him go 2-for-5 with two walks, two RBI and four runs, helping his Dodgers pull within half a game of the NL lead.

“The Redbirds today licked their wounds and Brooklyn’s battling Dodgers defiantly beat their chests,” wrote the St. Louis PostDispatch. “The horrible 19-6 rout last night at Sportsman’s Park before another standing-room-only crowd of 30,765 was the result of a ball game between a club that had to win or else and a team that could wait another day.”

But St. Louis went 3-4 in their remaining games. Brooklyn, meanwhile, won four of six and secured the pennant on Oct. 2 — the season’s final day — with a 10-inning victory over the Phillies. Unsurprisingly, Robinson was at the center of the clincher, reaching base three times and stealing a pair of bags while locking in his batting title. He finished with 203 hits, a .432 on-base percentage and 124 RBI. The Dodgers returned from Philadelphia to a Penn Station overflowing with fans — the Daily News’ headline read: “Welcome for Dodgers Clogs Station for Hour.” A reporter on the train platform informed Robinson he was the NL batting champion. “That’s fine,” Robinson responded. “But I’m a lot happier about winning the game today!”

Robinson and the Dodgers suffered a disappointing five-game World Series loss to the Yankees. Still, the individual and team accomplishments made 1949 a historic year for Brooklyn’s second baseman.

“It was quite a thrill to get the news,” Robinson said upon being named MVP on Nov. 18. “In fact, it was my second biggest of the year.

The first was the day we clinched the pennant.”

“For Robinson, 30-year-old former U.C.L.A. football star and an army captain in the service, the most valuable player award came as a high point in one of the most highly publicized careers in baseball history,” wrote the United Press. “One of the most fiery competitors in the game today, Robinson played in every one of the Dodgers’ 156 games despite the fact that he was hampered at several periods of the season by arm and leg ailments.”

While the on-field results indicated otherwise, Robinson felt the physical and mental toll of his big league career and was contemplating retiring. He grew tired of the travel throughout a 154game season and was eager to spend more time with his family. “The strain of the last three or four years have done something to me,” he told the Daily News. “Not that I have anything to worry about, but I’m jumpy and nervous all the time.”

before I got into this game. Neither did my wife. Now we’ve got this home, and we’re putting money away for little Jackie’s education.”

Luckily for fans and admirers nationwide, the superstar second baseman at the peak of his game wasn’t quite done with baseball.

Robinson would play seven more seasons and receive MVP votes in five of them. He hit .311 from 1950-56, accumulating an additional 97 home runs, 109 steals, 166 doubles and 477 RBI while earning a salary of over $30,000 each year.

Members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum receive free admission to the Museum, as well as access to exclusive programs, such as the Voices of the Game Series. Additionally, members receive a subscription to the Hall of Fame's bi-monthly magazine, Memories and Dreams, the annual Hall of Fame yearbook and a 10% discount and free shipping on retail purchases. For information on becoming a member, please visit baseballhall.org/join or call 607-547-0397.

One thing was certain: Robinson refused to play for any team besides the Dodgers. “If I was sold, even this year, I’d quit,” he said. ”My home is here. I’ve made friends here. I’m not going to give all that up.”

“Baseball has been mighty good to me,” Robinson had said after being named MVP. “And don’t think I’m not grateful. I didn’t have a thing

On Dec. 13, 1956 – after 10 seasons where he changed the game on and off the field – the Dodgers traded Robinson to the Giants. True to his word, Robinson retired a few hours later.

Justin Alpert was a digital content specialist at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Reprinted with permission from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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Jim Leyland managed the Pirates, Marlins, Rockies and Tigers over 22 MLB seasons, winning three Manager of the Year Awards and the 1997 World Series title. (Jed Jacobsohn/MLB Photos)

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BY JOHN PERROTTO

A LIFETIME OF PERSISTENCE BROUGHT JIM LEYLAND TO THE HALL OF FAME

Tears welling in her eyes, Katie Leyland explained exactly why she was happy to see her husband receive baseball’s highest honor.

“Jim has worked so hard for this,” she said. “He worked his way all the way up from the bottom to the top.”

The scene was the Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tenn., in December.

Leyland had been elected to the Hall of Fame a day earlier in a vote of the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee and was holding a news conference for the assembled media members at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.

Leyland has indeed covered a lot of territory during his journey to Cooperstown.

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He signed his first professional contract with the Detroit Tigers in 1964 after being a multi-sport star at Perrysburg High School in Northwest Ohio.

He received a modest $1,000 signing bonus.

“The scout mentioned $1,000, and my father told him that we didn’t have that kind of money,” Leyland cracked.

Leyland spent seven seasons as a backup catcher and 11 more managing in the Tigers’ farm system. It took 18 years in the minor leagues before he finally got a shot at the major leagues when future Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa asked Leyland to be the Chicago White Sox’s third base coach prior to the 1982 season.

Following a four-year stint with the White Sox, Leyland was hired following the 1985 season to manage the Pittsburgh Pirates. Thus began a legendary 22-year managerial career that included 11 seasons with the Pirates (1986-96) before stops with the then-Florida Marlins (1997-98), Colorado Rockies (1999) and Tigers (2006-13).

Leyland had a 1,769-1,728 record while winning six divisions titles, three pennants and three Manager of the Year awards. His crowning moment came in 1997 with the Marlins, when his team won the World Series.

However, Leyland wasn’t sure he would join the legends in Cooperstown until he finally got the word from Jane Forbes Clark, the chairman of the Hall’s Board of Directors, on Dec. 3. Leyland was one of eight candidates on a strong ballot that featured former managers Cito Gaston, Davey Johnson and Lou Piniella; retired umpires Ed Montague and Joe West; former National League President Bill White; and longtime executive Hank Peters.

Leyland becomes just the fourth Hall of Fame manager — along with Joe McCarthy, Frank Selee and Earl Weaver — who never played a game in the major leagues.

“I’m almost ashamed to say that I didn’t really take it that seriously to start with because I didn’t really think I had a chance,” Leyland said.

“There were a lot of great names on that ballot, a lot of really strong candidates.”

One of Leyland’s endearing traits when he was managing was his knack for telling funny stories. Fittingly, he had one about the night he learned he was going into the Hall of Fame.

Leyland was at his home in Thornburg, Pa., a Pittsburgh suburb, with Katie and his son Patrick, a manager in the Chicago White Sox’s farm system. After spending a good deal of the day wondering if he would get elected, Leyland decided to go upstairs to lie down and collect his thoughts.

Ten minutes later, the phone rang, with Clark calling to tell Leyland he had indeed been elected.

“My wife asked me who that was on the phone,” Leyland recounted. “I said it was Jake from State Farm.”

Despite having a rough exterior accentuated by his gruff voice, Leyland is known for wearing his emotions on his sleeve. He once summed up his managerial career as saying he went from “Jim Who to Jim Boo Hoo.” Not surprisingly, he shed some tears as he was embraced by his wife 46 / VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024

and daughter and grasped the magnitude of the moment in Nashville.

“It’s the final stop, really, as far as your baseball career goes,” Leyland said. “And to land there in Cooperstown, it doesn’t get any better than that. I mean, that’s the ultimate. I certainly never thought it was going to happen. Most people probably don’t. For it to happen to me, well that’s a little overwhelming.”

Leyland certainly was not on a Hall of Fame trajectory during his playing days. He never made it past the Double-A level in his seven seasons and had a .222 career batting average, with four home runs, in 446 games and 1,420 plate appearances.

Gene Lamont also was a catcher in the Tigers’ farm system, selected in the first round of the inaugural MLB Draft in 1965. He and Leyland became teammates a year later at Class A Rocky Mount in the Carolina League, and the two shared an apartment with fellow catcher Joe Cernich.

Lamont, who would go on to coach under Leyland in Pittsburgh and Detroit, sensed there was something special about Leyland despite his poor statistics.

“He was the kind of a guy that everybody gravitated toward, with his personality,” Lamont said. “He had a quick wit, was a guy that people wanted to be around. You could tell he really loved baseball, had a real keen interest in the game.”

It was that love of the game that sustained Leyland through 11 years as a minor league manager with the Tigers, during which he had seven winning seasons.

“I never really thought about getting to the big leagues,” Leyland said.

“I enjoyed managing, and I liked trying to help young players get to the big leagues.”

While managing the Tigers’ Triple-A Evansville affiliate in the American Association, Leyland caught the eye of La Russa, who was then managing the White Sox’s Iowa farm club. Leyland also made a small connection with a young member of the White Sox front office named Dave Dombrowski, and those two would eventually team up in the major leagues.

Dombrowski was the general manager and Leyland the manager when the Marlins won the World Series in 1997, and again with the Tigers when they won American League pennants in 2006 and 2012.

In the summer of 1980, Dombrowski was in Des Moines watching the Iowa club. He wound up joining Leyland and Pete Ward, then Iowa’s manager, for dinner one evening.

“I didn’t know Jim (at that time), but I knew of his reputation as a manager and the type of great baseball person that he was,” said Dombrowski, now the Philadelphia Phillies’ president of baseball operations. “My first impression was very good. You could see why he had such an outstanding reputation. It really stood out. He had great knowledge of the game and a lot of personality.”

Leyland burnished those credentials during his four years on the White Sox’s staff and caught the attention of Syd Thrift, who had been hired as the Pirates’ GM following a dismal 1985 season.

The Pirates were coming off a 57-104 campaign, but that was only part of their problems. The team was almost sold by the Galbreath family to out-of-town interests before Pittsburgh mayor Richard Caliguiri put together a coalition of public and private investors who kept the Pirates from moving.

Things were so bleak that Leyland held a champagne toast in the clubhouse when the Pirates avoided 100 losses in 1986, on the way

to a 64-98 finish. The Pirates gradually improved, though, and broke through with three National League East titles in a row from 1990-92.

“I think everyone thought Jim was a good manager for that situation because he had a lot of experience working with young players,” Lamont said. “What I think he really showed, though, was that he was probably a better manager than people expected. They found out he was more than just a teacher. They found out he understood the game and knew how to run a game.”

It was in Pittsburgh that Leyland established his reputation as a manager who connected with his players. He could relate just as well to a superstar like Barry Bonds as he could to a bench player like outfielder Gary Varsho.

Leyland displayed that trait at every stop across his career.

“Jim was so far ahead of his time,” Varsho said. “Now teams have a mental skills coach; they have psychiatrists. Jim was the master of that long ago. He knew when to talk to players, when to pat them on the rears or kick them in the rears. He was the master of getting 25 guys pulling at the same end of the rope. You wanted to win for him. We didn’t want to let him down. It would be like letting down your father.”

The winning didn’t last. As a small-market team operating on a low budget with underfunded ownership, the Pirates could not keep the nucleus of their team together.

Bonds, who went on to become the major league’s all-time home run leader, was allowed to leave as a free agent, and other stars either walked away or were traded.

That began a string of 20 consecutive losing seasons in Pittsburgh, which lasted through 2012 and remains the longest streak of sub-.500 seasons in major North American professional sports history. Leyland grew tired of losing and left the Pirates by mutual accord following the 1996 season.

A managerial free agent with multiple teams interested in hiring him, Leyland chose to go to the Marlins and a reunion with Dombrowski.

Florida had not had a winning season since entering Major League Baseball as an expansion franchise in 1993. However, owner Wayne Huizenga gave Dombrowski a large budget with the mandate to put together a championship-caliber roster.

Dombrowski assembled a star-studded crew that included Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Moisés Alou, Kevin Brown and Al Leiter. The Marlins went 92-70 to gain the NL wild card berth, then won it all, beating the Cleveland Indians in extra innings in Game 7 of the World Series.

Rich Donnelly, who had been on Leyland’s coaching staff in Pittsburgh and followed him to Miami, remembers that expectations were high, but Donnelly wasn’t so much impressed by how Leyland handled a roster filled with veteran stars. Instead, Donnelly made note of how Leyland motivated rookie pitcher Liván Hernández, who went on to become a key member of the starting rotation after being called up from the minor leagues in June.

“Liván was about 30 pounds overweight when he reported to Spring Training,” Donnelly remembered. “Jim went to the kid and told him: ‘If you lose 20 pounds and do good, I’ll bring you up. But right now, you’re not going to make the team because you’re out of shape.’

“Liván lost 20 pounds, and Jim kept his word. Liván got called up and ended up winning a lot of big games.”

Leyland’s tenure with the Marlins was short. Because of financial challenges, Huizenga ordered Dombrowski to slash the payroll and

Miami cratered to a 54-108 record in 1998 while relying on young players.

Huizenga let Leyland out of his contract to become manager of the Colorado Rockies, but things did not work out for Leyland in Colorado.

He did not like managing in the offensively charged atmosphere at Coors Field. The Rockies stumbled to a 72-90 finish and Leyland stepped away after that season.

“I felt like I wasn’t making a difference,” Leyland said.

Leyland walked away from managing for six years and joined the St. Louis Cardinals as a special adviser. He would assist La Russa, then the Cardinals’ manager, during Spring Training and scout teams that came through Pittsburgh during the regular season.

It was a great gig, as it kept Leyland in baseball without having all the responsibilities that come with being a manager. However, Leyland attended the 2005 All-Star Game festivities in Detroit with his son, and those couple of days in Detroit started giving him the itch to manage again.

Dombrowski was the Tigers’ GM at that point. When he dismissed Alan Trammell as manager following that ’05 season, the top name on his list of potential replacements was Leyland.

The Tigers made it all the way to the World Series in Leyland’s first season before falling to the Cardinals in five games. It was Detroit’s first trip to the Fall Classic since 1984.

While Leyland had long ago earned his reputation as a players’ manager, he had to do things differently when he got to Detroit. The veteran skipper did not make many friends early in his first Spring Training, recalled Lloyd McClendon, who was on the Tigers’ coaching staff and had played for Leyland in Pittsburgh.

“It was a unique situation,” McClendon said. “We were taking over a team that had some talent on it but had some flaws, and more than anything, the players just weren’t very disciplined. I’ll never forget [Leyland’s] initial meeting with his staff in Spring Training. He talked about the fact that we were going to have to be very tough and very disciplined with these guys and let them know there is no substitute for hard work.

“It was tough, and [the players] didn’t like it in a lot of respects. But we showed them what they had to do. It was a tough spring, but it paid off.”

Leyland also took the Tigers to the World Series in 2012, when they were swept by the San Francisco Giants. However, Detroit had only one losing season in his eight-year tenure.

Now 79 years old, Leyland remains involved in the game. He is a special assistant to Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris. He also gets together regularly for lunch during the season with Pirates manager Derek Shelton.

“It’s in his blood,” Katie Leyland said. “It’s been his life.”

John Perrotto is a freelance writer from Beaver Falls, Pa.

Reprinted with permission from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum receive free admission to the Museum, as well as access to exclusive programs, such as the Voices of the Game Series. Additionally, members receive a subscription to the Hall of Fame's bi-monthly magazine, Memories and Dreams, the annual Hall of Fame yearbook and a 10% discount and free shipping on retail purchases. For information on becoming a member, please visit baseballhall.org/join or call 607-547-0397.

VANCOUVER CANADIANS 2024 / 47

NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME

1 2 3 4 5

What player hit the famous “Shot Heard ’Round The World” in 1951?

A. Ralph Branca B. Bobby Thomson C. Joe Carter D. Bill Mazeroski

a i v Tri

S

ince 1939, the Hall of

Fame has served as the

JIM LEYLAND

HOF Class of 2024

keeper of baseball’s history, preserving the majesty of The Game for

Who was the first player to win Most Valuable Player honors in both leagues?

A. Roger Maris B. Miguel Cabrera C. Frank Robinson D. Rogers Hornsby

future generations.

Which of these Hall of Fame managers never played in the big leagues?

A. Jim Leyland B. Whitey Herzog C. Dick Williams D. Tommy Lasorda Who, in 1982, became the first baseball player to be depicted on a U.S. postage stamp?

A. Babe Ruth B. Hank Aaron C. Lou Gehrig D. Jackie Robinson Who was the first player to hit a pinch-hit home run in the World Series?

A. Ty Cobb B. Johnny Mize C. Yogi Berra D. Bernie Carbo

1: B: Bobby Thomson; 2: C: Frank Robinson; 3: A: Jim Leyland; 4: D: Jackie Robinson; 5: C: Yogi Berra

Connect with Cooperstown at

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baseballhall.org | @baseballhall

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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.

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.

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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!

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!

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'.

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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PHOTO MOCKUP. ACTUAL PRODUCT MAY VARY.

Baseball BC is the recognized governing body for baseball in British Columbia.

Through its programs and leadership, Baseball BC in cooperation with its affiliates, supports the development of baseball and aspirations of its members, by offering activities that are non-discriminatory and value-based.

To learn more about playing baseball in your neighbourhood contact Baseball BC

www.baseball.bc.ca 604-586-3310

Baseball BC is proud to present the Vancouver Canadians Baseball Buddies Program, where a youth baseball team gets to take a position on-field for the National Anthems.

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