THE CANADIAN PRESS
Never before has the talent in Canadian baseball been as deep or impressive as it was during the 2007 season.
At the big-league level, Russell Martin was outstanding behind the plate, Erik Bedard and Jeff Francis were dominant on the mound while Justin Morneau continued to instill fear in the hearts of American League pitchers.
In the minor leagues, Joey Votto and Mike Saunders were among many to make major strides in their burgeoning careers.
At the amateur level, flamethrower Phillippe Aumont became the third-highest Canadian ever chosen in the baseball draft at No. 11, one of 33 players from up north selected overall.
And internationally, a very young Canadian team finished ninth at the IBAF World Cup after a respectable showing, while the junior national team gained valuable experience before hosting the 2008 world junior baseball championship.
"We just seem to add more depth and more Canadians every year," says Kevin Briand, the director of Canadian scouting for the Toronto Blue Jays. "That’s real important for Canada."
Martin, the Los Angeles Dodgers catcher from Chelsea, Que., led the charge as a new generation of Canadians established themselves as stars in the majors.
He was voted an NL starter for the all-star game in his sophomore season, batted .293 with 19 homers and 87 RBIs and joined Larry Walker as the only Canadians to win a Gold Glove award. The Dodgers were 78-65 in games Martin started, 4-15 in contests he did not.
Add a Silver Slugger award to all that and it’s easy to see why some feel Martin may one day be an MVP candidate.
"Russell Martin’s year was pretty special," says Greg Hamilton, director of national teams for Baseball Canada.
Bedard also showed he deserves mention among the game’s elite, going 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA in 28 starts for the woeful Baltimore Orioles. The left-hander from Navan, Ont., was in the running for the AL Cy Young Award until a pulled muscle near his ribcage ended his season early.
Despite that, he was third in the majors with 221 strikeouts in 182 innings.
Francis became a household name after helping the Colorado Rockies reach the World Series with their unlikely run of 21 wins in 22 games. The lefty from North Delta, B.C., went 17-9 with a 4.22 earned-run average while becoming just the fourth Canadian to start a post-season game.
He also became part of the answer to a trivia question, as he and Boston Red Sox reliever Eric Gagne of Mascouche, Que., are the first Canadians to ever face off in a World Series. No previous World Series had featured more than one Canadian, either on the same team or on opposite sides.
They were just the fifth and sixth pitchers and 13th and 14th Canadians overall to play in the World Series. Gagne was the eighth Canuck to earn a title.
Morneau, meanwhile, silenced his few remaining doubters by following up his MVP season with another strong campaign. The slugging Minnesota Twins first baseman from New Westminster, B.C., .271 with 31 homers and 111 RBIs.
Pittsburgh Pirates star Jason Bay of Trail, B.C., who played through a knee injury, Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Matt Stairs of Fredericton and Chicago Cubs closer Ryan Dempster of Gibsons, B.C., also enjoyed solid years.
Washington Nationals starter Shawn Hill of Georgetown, Ont., Oakland Athletics starter Rich Harden of Victoria, Twins reliever Jesse Crain of Toronto, Orioles lefty Adam Loewen of Surrey, B.C., Seattle Mariners reliever Chris Reitsma and Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Corey Koskie of Anola, Man., all had their seasons marred by health problems.
Votto, the Cincinnati Reds first base prospect from Toronto, may be the next Canadian to secure full-time employment in the majors. After starring in triple-A again this season, he batted .321 with four homers and 17 RBIs in 24 games with the Reds as a September call up.
He’ll get a shot at an everyday job next spring.
Saunders, an outfielder from Victoria in the Seattle Mariners system, reached double-A this season and is shooting for a September call up in 2008. At just 21, he’s shooting through the minors and earning himself plenty of fans along the way.
Other Canadian minor-leaguers to keep an eye on in 2008 include: Outfielder Jimmy Van Ostrand of Richmond, B.C. (Houston); outfielder Nick Weglarz of Stevensville, Ont. (Cleveland); left-hander David Davidson of Thorold, Ont. (Pittsburgh); outfielder Jamie Romak of London, Ont. (Pittsburgh); right-hander Scott Mathieson of Aldergrove, B.C. (Philadelphia); and infielder Emerson Frostad of Calgary.
Aumont is another Canadian people will watch with interest.
The six-foot-seven, 225-pound right-hander won’t turn 19 until Jan. 7 but he already hits 98 miles an hour with his fastball and shows no fear on the mound. He really impressed at the World Cup, when he threw two scoreless innings against a veteran, talent-laden Cuba.
Only Loewen (fourth) and Francis (ninth) have been chosen higher in the draft than Aumont.
Finally, Canada’s year in international baseball was a veritable mixed bag.
The core of the team Canada hopes to field at March’s Olympic qualifier in Taiwan was identified during the recent World Cup. Several young players, including Saunders, Van Ostrand, Romak and Frostad, showed themselves ready to help Canada earn a spot at the 2008 Beijing Games.
But a huge issue will be whether or not those players and others will be made available.
The timing of the qualifier conflicts with North American spring training and many players will be reluctant to ask for leave — and teams will be reluctant to grant it — at that time. Canada, Australia and Mexico all asked the IBAF to postpone the tournament to April, to no avail.
So who Canada is able to field is a big question mark heading into the eight-team event, which will have three Olympic berths up for grabs.
"We have to get it right," says Hamilton of Baseball Canada.
Canada failed to reach the quarter-finals at the World Cup after losing a tiebreaker to South Korea and had to settle for ninth instead.
The world junior championship will be held in Edmonton this summer. Canada has won the event once before, 1991 when the tournament was played in Brandon, Man.
