By: Melissa Verge

Canadian Baseball Network

The last time I saw him, Dominic Tardif was attending the same Blue Jays Honda Super Camp I was in Moncton, New Brunswick.  The field had a few metal bleachers. He was a little bit shorter and a lot younger. The stands were crowded with excited parents and bottles of sunscreen.

Now he’s going into his third year attending Tournament 12, a baseball tournament at Rogers Centre that showcases the best amateur baseball talent in Canada, and he’s surrounded by 50,000 blue seats, with a lot less sunscreen (the dome is closed) and this time there are scouts- identifiable by their brown clipboards and owl eyes that somehow have the futuristic vision to see both a boy and a future MLB player.

Despite the time that passed, he says that Duane Ward still remembers him from those baseball clinics in Moncton.

“I still remember Duane teaching me some stuff on pitching and to stay down and that really helped me during the years because I used to be up and use mostly all my arm,” he says. “I really respect Duane. Every year I come to T12 he remembers me and he keeps talking and giving me tips.”

Attending the tournament three years in a row has helped Tardif a lot with facing big situations. “It’s not every day you get to play against the top players in Canada at the Rogers Centre, so I really like the pressure," he says. "It kind of elevates my game."

 “I like playing here too because it’s the Rogers Centre and there’s nothing better than that in Canada.”

Tardif can speak two languages, French and English, and he plays two positions on the field, pitcher and outfielder.

Picture a drooling baby, or whatever kids are like at two-and-a-half years old, and that’s when Dominic says he first started playing baseball.

He recently moved from New Brunswick to Montreal to attend a baseball academy there called ABC. One of the decisions that will be made eventually is whether or not he’s going to pursue pitching or being an outfielder. “I’ve been going with the flow and doing both things,” he says. “We’ll see what scouts like more and whatever schools offer me, that’s what I’m going to do.”

He says that at ABC the coaches are going to have him do 60 percent pitching and 40 percent outfield. There is a downside though for Tardif if he does become a pitcher.

“I like to hit,” he says. If I become a pitcher only it’s going to be tough because I really like to hit. But, you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.”

One of his coaches, Stephen Donahue, says that he shouldn’t make a decision until someone decides it for him. “He’s one of the best outfielders in the Maritimes, but he’s also one of the best pitchers in the Maritimes as well. I think until someone tells him otherwise he should pursue both and see what gets him somewhere.”

This year is a little different for Tardif because his brother will also be playing in the tournament. Both his parents and his grandparents will be there to watch him, along with the scouts in the stands.

“Playing with my brother, I’m away and he’s away so it’s nice to see each other and to play on the same field. It’s going to be pretty cool,” he says.