2024 Program 2

DON’T MISS WHITE SPOT FAMILY FUN SUNDAY

CHAMPIONSHIP PENNANT GIVEAWAY MASCOT PUZZLE GIVEAWAY

FATHER’S DAY TRAVEL MUG GIVEAWAY DRAWSTRING BAG GIVEAWAY

MOTHER’S DAY TRAVEL MUG GIVEAWAY

MASCOT SOCKS GIVEAWAY

FOAM GLOVE GIVEAWAY

HELMET BOWL GIVEAWAY

CAR FLAG GIVEAWAY LUNCH BAG GIVEAWAY PENCIL CASE GIVEAWAY

GATES OPEN AT NOON. FIRST PITCH 1:05

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 2024 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 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.

34 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

38 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, 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

MARK STEFFENS/FOTOGUY PHOTOGRAPHY

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

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

COOPER MISIC 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.

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.

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.

DREW HOWSON 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!

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.

IZZY DINO 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.

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.

ZACH MAHAFFY 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.

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

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

BROOKS PRIMO TRAVIS PORTER CAMERON CARELSE

ADAM HAUXWELL

- LOCATED IN THE3RD 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.

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

JOHN SCHNEIDER MANAGER

MARK BUDZINSKI FIRST BASE COACH

GIL KIM FIELD COORDINATOR

DON MATTINGLY BENCH COACH

PETE WALKER PITCHING COACH

GUILLERMO MARTINEZ HITTING COACH

LUIS RIVERA THIRD BASE COACH HUNTER MENSE ASSISTANT HITTING COACH JEFF WARE ASSISTANT PITCHING COACH, BULLPEN

DAVE HUDGENS MAJOR LEAGUE HITTING STRATEGIST

ADAM YUDELMAN MAJOR LEAGUE COACH

ALEX ANDREOPOULOS BULLPEN CATCHER

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

DAVID HOWELL ASSISTANT PITCHING COACH, STRATEGY

LUIS HURTADO BULLPEN CATCHER

BULLPEN COACH ANTHONY GOMEZ

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

MANAGER CESAR MARTIN

BENCH COACH JAKE MCGUIGGAN

HITTING COACH MITCH HUCKABAY PITCHING COACH JOEL BONNETT

POSITION COACH

GEORGE CARROL, DELTA CLEARY JR.

BULLPEN COACH

ERIC YARDLEY

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

BRENT LAVALLEE MANAGER

ROB SHIFRIN HEAD ATHLETIC TRAINER

DEIFERSON BARRETO BENCH COACH

KATIE REYES ASSISTANT ATHLETIC TRAINER

RYAN WRIGHT HITTING COACH

BAILEY FORST HEAD S&C COACH

AUSTIN BIBENS-DIRKX PITCHING COACH

ZANE HUNT ASST S&C COACH

ALEXIS MAIER DIETITIAN

ASHLEY STEPHENSON POSITION COACH

RAUL PIMENTEL MENTAL COACH

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

CARSON PHILLIPS BULLPEN COACH

CRISTIAN CORDOVA TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANT

MANAGER JOSE MAYORGA

BENCH COACH MATT VON ROEMER

HITTING COACH NASH KNIGHT PITCHING COACH CORY RIORDAN

POSITION COACH PETR STRIBRCKY

BULLPEN COACH YOEL HERNANDEZ

MANAGER ANDY FERMIN

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

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

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

|

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

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

Jacob Mathis - Physical Performance

Mickey Clarizio - Trainer:

Joey Scott - Clubhouse Manager:

Connor Carroll - Video Coordinator

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)

FIRST 1,000 FANS. MUST BE 19+ TO PLAY PRESENTED BY BCLC SCRATCH & WIN

If you gamble, use your

Who will win the race?

CanadiansBaseball.com/Contests

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.

DEIFERSON BARRETO

BENCH COACH

13

• 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

PITCHING COACH

29

• 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.

• 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

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.

CONOR

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 OHASHI 32

HT: 6-1 WT: 185

B/T: R/R

DOB: 10/08/02

HOMETOWN:

PAT

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

JOHNATHAN

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

HT: 6-0 WT: 200

B/T: R/R

DOB: 06/30/00

HOMETOWN: Leominster, MA

23 CLUBS: Dunedin, Vancouver

AQUIRED: 11th, ’22, Connecticut

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

RYAN JENNINGS 3

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

KEVIN

MIRANDA 17

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

JUSTIN 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

JOSH 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

ANDERS TOLHURST 10

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

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

GEISON URBAEZ 36

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

JEAN ARNAEZ 21

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

CHAY YEAGER 20

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

HT: 6-1 WT: 205

B/T: R/R

DOB: 09/06/01

HOMETOWN:

JOMMER HERNANDEZ 19

HT: WT: 205

B/T: R/R

DOB: 10/20/00

HOMETOWN: Puerto Plata, DR

23 CLUBS: Vancouver

AQUIRED: MiLB FA, 09/08/21

JACKSON HORNUNG 31

HT: WT: 215

B/T: R/R

DOB: 02/06/01

HOMETOWN: Ashland, MA

23 CLUBS: College, Dunedin

AQUIRED: 16th, ’23, Skidmore

RYAN McCARTY 22

HT: 5-9 WT: 185

B/T: R/R

DOB: 04/22/99

HOMETOWN: Barlovento, VZ

23 CLUBS: Dunedin

AQUIRED: INT FA, 7/3/19

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

ZANE HUNT ASSISTANT STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACH

COLE HOWES VISITOR CLUBHOUSE MANAGER

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)

STEPHANIE BOVILLE DIETICIAN

ROB SHIFRIN HEAD ATHLETIC TRAINER

KATIE REYES ASSISTANT ATHLETIC TRAINER

BAILEY FORST HEAD STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACH

RAUL PIMENTEL MENTAL PERFORMANCE COACH

CRISTIAN CORDOVA TECH ASSISTANT

GLENN HALL HOME 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.

2003 POS C'S MLB TEAM ALUMNI DEBUT

Rich Harden P 2001 21-Jul Oakland

Neal Cotts P 2001 12-Aug Chicago (AL)

Mike Wood P 2001 21-Aug Oakland

2004 POS C'S MLB TEAM ALUMNI DEBUT

Santiago Casilla P 2002 09-Aug Oakland

Nick Swisher OF 2002 03-Sep Oakland

Joe Blanton P 2002 24-Sep Oakland

2005 POS C'S MLB TEAM ALUMNI DEBUT

Mark Teahen INF 2002 04-Apr Kansas City

Dan Johnson INF 2001 27-May Oakland

Omar Quintanilla INF 2003 31-Jul Colorado

Freddie Bynum INF 2000 30-Aug Oakland

Nelson Cruz OF 2002 17-Sep Milwaukee

2006 POS C'S MLB TEAM ALUMNI DEBUT

John Rheinecker P 2001 22-Apr Texas

Andre Either OF 2003 02-May Los Angeles (NL)

Chris Mabeus P 2001 29-May Milwaukee

Kurt Suzuki C 2004 12-Jun Oakland

Jason Windsor P 2004 17-Jul Oakland

Jeremy Brown C 2002 03-Sep Oakland

Mark Kiger INF 2002 13-Oct Oakland

2007 POS C'S MLB TEAM ALUMNI DEBUT

Travis Buck OF 2005 02-Apr Oakland

Jared Burton P 2002 04-Apr Cincinnati

Danny Putman OF 2004 23-Apr Oakland

Dallas Braden P 2004 24-Apr Oakland

Connor Robertson P 2004 17-May Oakland

Marshal McDougall INF 2000 05-Jun Texas

Kevin Melillo INF 2004 24-Jun Oakland

Bill Murphy P 2002 03-Sep Arizona

2008 POS C'S MLB TEAM ALUMNI DEBUT

Gregorio Petit INF 2004 18-May Oakland

John Baker C 2002 09-Jul Florida

Jeff Gray P 2005 08-Sep Oakland

2009

POS C'S MLB TEAM ALUMNI DEBUT

Andrew Bailey P 2006 06-Apr Oakland

Landon Powell C 2004 11-Apr Oakland

Tommy Everidge INF 2004 28-Jul Oakland

Brad Kilby P 2005 02-Sep Oakland

Jeff Baisley INF 2005 09-Sep Oakland

2010 POS C'S MLB TEAM ALUMNI DEBUT

A.J. Griffin P 2010 24-Jun Oakland

Alexi Ogando P 2004 15-Jul Texas

2011 POS C'S MLB TEAM ALUMNI DEBUT

Justin Sellers INF 2005 12-Aug Los Angeles (NL)

Anthony Recker C 2005 25-Aug Oakland

Corey Brown OF 2007 06-Sep Washington

2012

POS C'S MLB TEAM ALUMNI DEBUT

Pedro Figueroa P 2007 21-Apr Oakland

Sean Doolittle P 2007 05-Jun Oakland

Dan Straily P 2009 30-Aug Oakland

2013 POS C'S MLB TEAM ALUMNI DEBUT

Ian Krol P 2009 05-Jun Washington

Kevin Pillar OF 2011 14-Aug Toronto

Max Stassi C 2009 20-Aug Houston

Michael Choice OF 2010 02-Sep Oakland

2014 POS C'S MLB TEAM ALUMNI DEBUT

Bo Schultz P 2009 23-Mar Arizona

Marcus Stroman P 2012 04-May Toronto

Aaron Sanchez P 2011 23-Jul Toronto

Dalton Pompey OF 2012 02-Sep Toronto

Daniel Norris P 2012 05-Sep Toronto

2015 POS C'S MLB TEAM ALUMNI DEBUT

Miguel Castro P 2014 06-Apr Toronto

Roberto Osuna P 2012 08-Apr Toronto

Noah Syndergaard P 2011 12-May New York (NL)

Justin Nicolino P 2011 20-Jun Miami

Dusty Coleman INF 2008 03-Jul Kansas City

David Rollins P 2011 04-Jul Seattle

2016 POS C'S MLB TEAM ALUMNI DEBUT

Andy Burns INF 2011 09-May Toronto

Matt Dermody P 2013 03-Sep Toronto

2017

POS

Dwight Smith Jr. OF 2012 18-May Toronto

Seth Frankoff P 2010 09-Jun Chicago (NL)

Ian Parmley OF 2013 23-Jun Toronto

Franklin Barreto INF 2014 24-Jun Oakland

Taylor Cole P 2012 09-Aug Toronto

Tim Mayza P 2014 15-Aug

Jairo

Carlos

Tim

2018

Ryan Borucki

Zach

Supporting local charities in our community

APRIL 10

SUPPORTING

APRIL 24

SUPPORTING

MAY 8

SUPPORTING

MAY 29

SUPPORTING

JUNE 12

SUPPORTING

JUNE 26

SUPPORTING

AUGUST 7

SUPPORTING

AUGUST 21

SUPPORTING

JULY 3 SUPPORTING

SEPT 4 SUPPORTING

JULY 31

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.

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

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.

7.

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.

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.

BASIC UMPIRE SIGNS FOR THE PLAYERS AND FANS

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).

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)

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.

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

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.”

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.”

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.

“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

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.”

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.

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.

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)

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.

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

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.

NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME Trivia

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

A. Ralph Branca

B. Bobby Thomson

C. Joe Carter

D. Bill Mazeroski

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

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

S

1939, the Hall of Fame has served as the keeper of baseball’s history, preserving the majesty of The Game for future generations.

MARCO ESTRADA

Home Field Advantage

Award-winning BC VQA wine available at all concessions.

CAN’T MAKE IT TO THE NAT?

CATCH THE ACTION LIVE ON MiLB.TV SUBSCRIBE NOW

Fans looking to watch Minor League games during the upcoming season have access to additional features with an At Bat subscription. At Bat subscribers can stream more than 7,000 Minor League games LIVE or on-demand on MiLB.com or in the MiLB app, watch their favorite MLB team's affiliates on MLB.TV and listen to EVERY out-of-market MLB game LIVE or on-demand throughout the 2024 season.

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.

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.

Baseball BC is the recognized governing body for baseball in British Columbia. Through its programs and leadership, Baseball BC in cooperation with its affiliates, suppor ts the development of baseball and aspirations of its members, by offering activities that are non-discriminator y 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. Reserve your team’s spot by calling the Vancouver Canadians at 604-872-5232.

THURSDAY SATURDAY THURSDAY

PRESENTED BY FORTISBC

PRESENTED BY BCLC

PRESENTED BY ENCORP

THURSDAY THURSDAY SATURDAY

PRESENTED BY SLEEMAN BREWING

PRESENTED BY NÜTRL PRESENTED BY SLEEP COUNTRY