By Alexis Brudnicki
For every past, present, and future member of Team Canada, there are memories made with the national team to be cherished forever.
Playing baseball for a country is an experience that ranks among the top for those who have done it. And playing for the country north of the 49th parallel is not only a memorable experience, but it is also a relationship builder.
For infielder Pete Orr, who split the season between the Philadelphia Phillies (15 games) and triple-A Lehigh Valley (95 games) the relationships that he’s made with his national squad teammates along the way are the highlight of his Team Canada career.
“The Olympics in ’04 were great but honestly, the ’03 Olympic qualifier, that team was unbelievable, and the memories from that in Panama were amazing,” said Orr, currently a free agent. “There are so many stories that I could go on forever. The pre-Olympic tournament in Italy was amazing too, and obviously the World Baseball Classics have been outstanding as well. It’s kind of endless.”
Orr’s first shot at wearing the red-and-white jersey didn’t come early in his career, but he’s made the most of it since he got that first chance, and is incredibly grateful for every opportunity Baseball Canada has given him.
“I can’t even [put into words] how much they’ve done,” the Newmarket, Ont., native said. “It’s been tremendous – just the life experiences I’ve gained from it personally and the friends and relationships that I’ve made through it, and the honour of playing for them.
“I was someone who didn’t make Team Canada until I was in Triple-A, so I was excited about it. But since then it’s been unbelievable. Having the honour to play for all the World Baseball Classic teams and the Olympic team – it’s just been memories that I’ll never forget.”
It’s because of the incredible amount of gratitude that Orr has for Baseball Canada that he often looks for ways to give back to the organization. The 34-year-old was given one such chance on Wednesday by former national teammate Adam Stern, who hosted the first day of two-day major league clinic in support of Baseball Canada at his facility, Centrefield Sports.
Scott Thorman, three-time MLB All-Star Sean Casey and Orr gave hitting instruction Wednesday for participants. Former big leaguers Chris Reitsma, Paul Quantrill, Milwaukee Brewers closer Jim Henderson, and free agent Jeff Francis, provided pitching instruction on Thursday.
“Adam has talked about this for years and he’s always thought we should do something to raise money for Baseball Canada,” Orr said. “We’re real close friends so of course I wanted to be involved once he got everything organized … It’s all about awareness for Baseball Canada and trying to raise some money for it, so if it can grow every year, that would be great …
“This group of us are at stages in our lives where it’s fun to stay involved and help out kids along the way,” Orr said. “Who says a kid’s got to be in the big leagues to enjoy the game? We all love baseball and want every kid to enjoy it, whatever level they’re at.”
Reitsma, Henderson and Francis were a part of the inaugural event at Centrefield a year ago, which also saw proceeds from their first pitching clinic donated to Baseball Canada at the National Teams awards banquet and fundraiser in Toronto.
“It’s great to be a part of,” Reitsma said. “I think Adam and I, have similar visions. We want to help out, we want to be there for Baseball Canada, support it, in person and financially; we want to be a part of the growth.
“We’re passionate about the sport, about the country; about the people who are heading up Baseball Canada, so we want to do our part. It’s great that Adam has a facility where that’s not an issue and we can just kind of have fun growing it internally, and we’ll see where it goes.”
It was Reitsma’s influence – and friendship – that got Pennsylvania native Casey to make the drive to London in support of the Canadian organization. Over 100 participants will see time with Reitsma and the six other big leaguers in attendance when the two-day event is all said and done.
“It’s so completely respected from my perspective and our perspective at Baseball Canada,” director of national teams Greg Hamilton said. “[Reitsma] doesn’t have to do these things. He doesn’t have to be involved and he does it because he cares. He cares about the program and the next generation of Canadian players. He wants to give back and we’re really fortunate to have him.”
The event will raise $7,500 dollars to support the junior and senior national teams, a gesture that has overwhelmed Hamilton.
“We’re really fortunate to have the commitment of our alumni, that group of guys, Adam and Jimmy and Jeff and all the gang really care enough to do things in support of the program, and care enough to give back to the next generation of kids,” Hamilton said. “It’s what allows the program to grow; to flourish and make it extra special for those who come after these guys. To be able to touch players that have walked in their shoes and had the same dreams, goals and aspirations and accomplished those things at the highest levels of the game.
“It makes it realistic, especially when the young player can connect and realize, this was a major league player, somebody who had a tremendous amount of success, but they’re not different than I am. They bring it to the level of a 16-to-18-year-old kid which I think is tremendously important and incredibly valuable for our program. We’re very fortunate that they care so much.”
Orr has seen baseball come a long way since he was a young big-league hopeful. And with facilities, instructors and clinics like the London event in support of Canadian baseball, Orr believes that the sport will only continue its growth.
“It’s night and day,” Orr said. “If you look at the numbers of the players who are coming up, whether it be through college to the minors and then to the big leagues, it’s growing every year. And not just with certain guys but the quality of baseball around is growing.
“When I was young we used to have to go hit at the SkyDome. That was the only indoor place we could go hit. They used to let us go hit in there in their batting cages in the winter. Now there are places all over, and this one here in London is pretty spectacular.”
This article was originally published at the Canadian Baseball Network.
