February 17, 2024

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

He was a 14-year-old when he caught Montreal Expos fever.

Or it might have been a bug or maybe even possibly love ... (the way I fell in love with the Milwaukee Braves in 1957 and the way you found passion following the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox or whomever).

It was manager Felipe Alou’s first season running the Expos taking over for Tom Runnells 37 games into the 1992 season. When he was an Expos coach and Alou was asked a question about someone he’d managed in the minors, Alou would put his finger to his mouth and whisper “Shhhh.” As manager, he turned out to be the wisest man in the room, the clubhouse, the stadium and most of the 514 area code.

Now, Alex Anthopoulos is the wisest Canadian in baseball -- maybe in the game itself -- and he is the winner of our 17th annual Most Influential Canadian in baseball. It is the third time he has been named No. 1 along with 2015 and 2021. Former Blue Jays president Paul Beeston (2008-09, 2012) Hall of Famer Larry Walker (2018-20) and Joey Votto (2010, 2016-17) are our other three-time winners.

Said one veteran Canadian scout when told Anthopoulos was the winner ...

“Your term ‘influence’ can be taken many ways. I say influence is hiring a Canadian pitching coach in Mike Steed at age 51. How many Canadian coaches are hired in pro ball? I would say influence is drafting Canadians. Alex drafts Canadians.

“And locking up one of the best rosters in the game is certainly influence. He should have been No. 1 in 2022 as well.”

And away we go with the show ...

1. Alex Anthopoulos Braves (2).

Michael Yermus, now a Toronto lawyer, would take his pal, Alex, from the Town of Mount Royal to Olympic Stadium. Delino DeShields was Anthopoulos’ favourite player. And the teenager was crestfallen when Expos GM Dan Duquette traded DeShields to the Los Angeles Dodgers for future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez. A prime example, maybe No. 1, why you can’t listen to the fans to make decisions ... he would say later.

The pair were fast learners seated on Pierre-de Coubertin Ave. and at 885 Laird Street in the Town of Mount Royal, where Anthopoulos grew up. Each year the ‘Bill James’ Baseball Handbook’ would arrive in the mail. James’ book helped him learn all the players in both leagues -- yes even guys playing in that faraway American League.

The book contained historical data on everyone so he was able to start piecing together how players evolved and made him appreciate the different statistics and deduce which were important or predictive of future performance. Despite people saying he was a whiz-bang at Fantasy League competition when he was hired by the Expos to sort fan mail, he said he has never did Fantasy games working for the Expos.

The young -- and the current Anthopoulos -- never looked at stats like home runs and RBIs sticking to the basics like walks, strikeouts and doubles. He was focused on walks and strikeouts per at bat and innings pitched. Looking at those other columns he was always impressed with Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jose Bautista because of his high walk totals. And the low strikeout totals of Cincinnati Reds infielder Edwin Encarnacion impressed him as well.

For the second consecutive off season, Anthopoulos, in his role as Braves GM and president of baseball operations, let a longtime Braves fan-favorite and all-star walk via free agency. This time it was SS Dansby Swanson, an Atlanta native, who signed a contract with the Cubs that far surpassed the offer he got from the Braves. Much like after the 2022 season when the Braves let Freddie Freeman go as a free agent.

Freeman was replaced by 1B Matt Olson via trade from the A’s. Atlanta defied the skeptics by not just having as good of a regular season in the following year, improving from 88 wins in 2021 to 101 wins in 2022 (sans Freeman) and 104 wins in 2023 without Swanson. They moved utility man Orlando Arcia to shortstop, signing him to an extremely club-friendly three-year, $7.3 million extension on opening day and watching Arcia make the NL all-star team.

The Braves, fueled by players signed to long-term, extensions under Anthopoulos, led the majors in most major offensive categories and tied the big-league, single-season home run record. Since Anthopoulos was hired away from the Dodgers after the 2017 season, the Braves have won six consecutive NL East titles and the 2021 World Series compiling a 515-354 (.593) record. The blemish in 2023 was a first-round loss to the Phillies for the second year in a row. Again the Braves were shorthanded in their rotation due to late-season injuries. Anthopoulos was knocked by some fans for not acquiring another starter at the deadline.

If Max Fried had not been rusty after missing time with a blister, and if the Braves hadn’t been without veteran Charlie Morton, who missed the NLDS with a finger ligament injury, would they have had enough to get past the Phillies? Anthopoulos’ long extensions with a handful of young stars should assure Atlanta is a pennant contender for years to come. Anthopoulos traded for Red Sox LHP Chris Sale, signing him to a two-year, $38 million extension. The new deal bumps Sale’s present-day guarantee, giving him $16 million in 2024 and $22 million in 2025. The Braves added a buyout-free $18-million club option for 2026.

While the Dodgers spent over a billion dollars, the Braves added LF Jarred Kelenic, and relievers Ray Kerr, Reynaldo Lopez and Aaron Bummer. Atlanta CEO Terry McGuirk gave Anthopoulos an extension through the 2031 season. That’s a lot of Bill James handbooks.

Now his opening day lineup for 2024 (and other years looks like this:

Catcher _ Sean Murphy, year two of six-year $73 million contract with an option for 2029.

1B _ Matt Olson, year three of an eight-year $168 million deal, with an option for 2030 option.

2B _ Ozzie Albies, year six of a seven-year $35 million deal with options for 2026-27.

3B _ Austin Riley, year two of a 10 year-$212 million deal, plus a 2033 option.

SS _ Orlando Arcia, year two of a three-year, $7.3 million extension.

LF _ Jared Kelenic, $740,000, pre-arbitration.

CF _ Michael Harris, year two of an eight-year $72 million option, plus 2031-32 options.

RF _ Ronald Acuna, year six of an eight-year $100 million deal with options for 2027-28.

DH _ Marcell Ozuna, final year of a four-year $65 million deal, with an option for 2025.

2. Rob Thomson, manager, Phillies (1).

The Phillies won five of their six first October games in 2023 against the Marlins and the Braves, before losing the NLCS to the Diamondbacks. Thomson became only the third manager in big-league history to win 18 of the first 25 postseason games joining Hall of Famers: Joe McCarthy (18-7, Cubs, Yankees, 1929-39) and Casey Stengel (18-7, Yankees, 1949-53). And he is only the second manger to reach the LCS his first two years as manager, the other was Mike Matheny (Cards, 2012-13), as the 56th manager in Phillies history.

Only 13 managers have reached the playoffs their first two seasons (John Schneider, 2022-23; Rocco Baldelli 2019-20; Aaron Boone 2018-19; Jeff Banister 2015-16; Matheny 2012-13; Ron Gardenhire 2002-03;, Bob Brenly 2001-02; Larry Dierker 1997-98; Ralph Houk 1961-62; Mickey Cochrane 1934-35; Bucky Harris 1924-25 and Hughie Jennings 1907-08. Since Thomson took over on June 3, 2022, the Phils are 155-118 (.568 win percentage). The Phillies woke up on June 3 (one-year anniversary of Thomson’s first game) seven games under .500 at 25-32. They went 65-40 with (.619 win percentage) third behind only the Braves (.676) and Dodgers (.625). The Phillies slugged 220 home runs, second in club history (224 in 2009). In December, president Dave Dombrowski signed Thomson to a contract extension that runs through 2025.

3. Josh Naylor (16).

A year ago, he was lumped together with his two younger brothers, also first-rounders. Yet, you do not win the Tip O’Neill Award -- as Canada’s best player -- and share the stage with anyone. Even brothers. He led all Canadian big leaguers in average (.308), slugging (.489), OPS (.843), RBIs (97) and stolen bases (10). This despite missing more than a month with an oblique injury. In 121 games with the Guardians, he had 139 hits, including 31 doubles. He had the sixth highest batting average in the majors of any player who played 120 or more games.

Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) played a large role in Cleveland’s attack in 2023. He was one of six big leaguers and one of two AL hitters to finish with better than a .305 average and 95 RBIs, joining Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña (.337, 107 RBIs), Cubs’ Cody Bellinger (.307, 97), Rangers Corey Seager (.327, 96) and the Dodgers pair of Freddie Freeman (.331, 102) and Mookie Betts (.307, 107). For a franchise which began in 1901, Naylor is the fourth player in history to finish with better than a .305 average and 95 RBIs, while playing 125-or-fewer games. He joins Manny Ramirez (.351, 122 in 118 games) in 2000, Albert Belle (.357, 101 in 106) in 1994 and Hal Trosky (.335, 104 in 122) in 1939.

One reason for the bump was his vast improvement against left-handers, jumping his average from .173 in 2022 to .299 in 2023. Beginning May 30, he went on a 50-game tear, batting .368 (74-for-201) with 20 doubles, eight homers and 47 RBIs until the trade deadline on July 31 -- his final game before a month stint on the injured list. He was on pace for 118 RBIs. After returning Sept. 3, he hit .315 with six doubles, two homers and 18 RBIs in his final 25 games. He had a season-high six RBIs against Baltimore and shared the AL lead in RBIs in May (25, with Aaron Judge). He homered in three-straight games against the Angels knocking in seven by going deep off Matt Moore, Ryan Tepera and Carlos Estévez, all coming in the eighth to put his team in the lead - a first in club history. That feat made him the first player in Expansion Era (since 1961) to hit a go-ahead homer in the eighth or later in three straight games.

Along with brother, Bo, they became first set of Canadian and Cleveland brothers to homer in the same game and the seventh set of brothers to homer in same inning since 1900. They were the first since BJ and Justin Upton in 2013. Baseball America ranks him ninth among first basemen behind Braves’ Matt Olson, Jays’ Vlad Guerrero, Phillies’ Bryce Harper, Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman, Mets’ Pete Alonso, Red Sox Triston Casas, Tigers’ Spencer Torkelson and free agent Cody Bellinger. He’ll earn $6.55 million in 2024.

(There will not be a picture of the Rogers Communications chairman. We received a lawyer’s letter a few years ago asking us to take a picture of Tony Staffieri down. We did and in November of 2022 we asked for permission to use stock photos. We still await an answer from the lawyers.)

4. Edward Rogers, Rogers Communications (4).

Huge props to him for giving Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins the budget to chase both Angels’ free agent Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto from the Padres via trade. Had they landed Ohtani he would have been No. 1. Again. And attendance and kids registration would have gone through the roof. Edward’s Jays were in a luxury tax situation paying $5.5 million. Not the same as the Interbrew S.A. era. Yet, close only counts in horseshoes and grenades. From Plan A and Plan B ... turned to what Plan F?

The day the Dragon’s Den star’s flight headed from John Wayne’s private airport to Pearson was known as a Black Friday for reporting. Not from the Toronto perspective. Reports out of Los Angeles and Michigan had Ohtani signing in Toronto and flying here. Yet, neither Ohtani’s agent, the player, nor the Blue Jays spoke up and said it was not true. We’re told people stormed the ticket windows to get in on the Ohtani-mania only to find out a day later he was staying in southern Cal. Ohtani didn’t come but what we hear from fans, friends and sandlot coaches is outrage over next year’s ticket prices. Even moreso than Ohtani not coming.

As for Edward’s manager, John Schneider, he was the good solider taking heat for lifting Jose Berrios after 47 pitches. It appeared that the Jays had planned for everything -- save for Berrios having one of his best starts. And who can forget Cy Young candidate Kevin Gausman giving up a homer to Ohtani? 3B Matt Chapman stormed into the dugout and yelled at the manager, “Why are we pitching to that freaking guy -- he’s the only hitter they have?” How many times did Chipper Jones yell at Bobby Cox? We remember Brett Lawrie hooting at John Gibbons when Adam Lind was told to stay at third on a short fly ball to left when the Jays were down by two. Gibbons response: “Sit down and shut up, we don’t care about your RBIs, we’re trying to win a ball game.” Which they did. Josh Donaldson and Gibbons went 1-on-1 but Donaldson downplayed it later saying the manager wanted “to know what cologne I was wearing.”

National treaasure Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.) with his own statue in his hometown

5. Fergie Jenkins and Larry Walker, Hall of Famers (6/13).

Jenkins was in his old stomping grounds for the unveiling of his statue in front of the Chatham-Kent Civic Centre — in downtown Chatham. The statue is a replica of sculptor Lou Cella’s which was unveiled outside of Chicago’s Wrigley Field in spring 2022 (at the McCormick Place, where team offices, retail stores -- you know where the car wash once was). Jenkins wants to move his museum from St. Catharines to his hometown in Chatham. The National Treasure invited National Treasure 2.0 Walker to the event. After the ceremony the pair sat and enjoyed a fine cigar -- a Fergie Jenkins San Giuseppe, a company which also makes stogies for ex-Met and Blue Jay Jose Reyes and golfer John Daly.

Jenkins has also released his new signature Devan & Jones vest and adidas polos -- a dozen in each size. Jenkins made sure to drop by when Canada played an exhibition game against the Cubs in Mesa, prior to the WBC in March. From growing up at 217 Colborne St. in Chatham, to Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia, to Wrigley, to Arlington Stadium in Arlington, Tex., to Fenway, to Cooperstown. A 25-game winner for the 1974 Rangers, he was at Globe Life when the Rangers won their first World Series.

HOFer Larry Walker is a hip salesman with his own brand of cigars.

Besides coaching Team Canada (2-2) in the WBC, Walker’s year went up in smoke. Cigar smoke. Walker released a Home Plate Box of his own signature cigars along with a hand numbered and autographed baseball card. Whomever pulls card No. 33 of No. 33, wins an autographed Hall of Fame bat from Walker’s own collection. Walker is not a big cigar smoker, sometimes taking 45 minutes to finish one. At Cooperstown in 2023, No. 33 came up with the name for his brand: Tres-Trois since French was the language spoken in the seats in Montreal and Spanish is spoken where he lives some of the year in Cabo San Lucas, Mex.

Sports Collectors Daily said Walker has had 6,745 total cards produced -- by Bowman, Donruss, Fleer, Leaf, Topps, Upper Deck and more -- from the 1985 class-A Utica Blue Sox to a 1999 walk-off homer with the Rockies facing John Rocker of the Braves which will be included in the cigar box. Walker has contracts to sign for Topps and Panini. Like Harmon Killebrew told Justin Morneau: “If someone asks for your autograph make sure the person can read your writing by the time he gets home.” Walker also stars in the tribute to Tom Brady’s Expos fictitious career, along with Expos Hall of Famers Pedro Martinez and Guerrero. The commercial was filmed in a bar in Brooklyn, N.Y.

6. Jordan Romano Blue Jays (3).

A closer needs the memory of a goldfish (which we’ve read is about 10 seconds). Romano (Markham, Ont.) did not have many blown saves -- four -- in 40 chances. Included in the 36 saves was a run of 26 consecutive from May 13 to Sept. 22, the longest single-season streak in franchise history. The streak ended Sept. 27 at Tropicana Field after he passed Tom Henke’s run of 25 straight in 1991. His 36 saves were tied for fifth in the majors on his way to his second-straight all-star game.

Romano now has 97 career saves, fifth most in team history behind Henke (217), Duane Ward (121), Roberto Osuna (104) and Billy Koch (100). He is fourth in saves by a Canadian behind Eric Gagne (Mascouche, Que.) 187, John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.) 144 and John Hiller (Toronto, Ont.) 125. His 88th career save came in the Jays’ 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. That moved him ahead of Ryan Dempster (Gibsons, BC). Romano has now appeared in 216 games, which ranks 16th amongst Canadian pitchers, five behind Dick Fowler (Toronto, Ont.). The former Ontario Blue Jay worked in 59 games despite missing 16 days due to back inflammation. He’ll earn $7.75 million in 2024.

7. Farhan Zaidi, GM Giants (8).

His club made Shohei Ohtani the same offer but geography won out. Zaidi was coming off a year in which he chased but missed both Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa. His Giants missed the playoffs for the fourth time in five years since he took over, posting only one winning record, although it was a franchise-record 107 wins in 2021. The Giants did sign free-agent Jorge Soler to a three-year, $42-million deal after he hit 36 home runs with an .853 OPS in 137 games with the Marlins in 2023 and South Korean OF Jung Hoo Lee, who batted .318 with six homers and 48 RBIs in 86 games in 2023 for the Kiwoom Heroes before breaking his left ankle July 22 and missing the rest of the season. In 2022, he hit .349 with career-bests of 23 home runs and 113 RBIs in 142 games to earn MVP honours.

The search for another starter ended when he dealt OF Mitch Haniger and ex-Jay RHP Anthony DeSclafani to Seattle for former Jay LHP Robbie Ray, who is coming off Tommy John surgery and is expected to be ready after the All-Star break. The GM signed Blue Jays free agent reliever Jordan Hicks to a four-year, $44 million deal. Hicks, 27, will start rather than pitch out of the bullpen. He has only made eight career starts and has never pitched more than 78 innings.

Newcomers in 2023 were RP Taylor Rogers (6-4, 3.83 ERA, two saves in 60 games), RF Michael Conforto (.239, 15, 58, .718 in 125 games), LHP Sean Manaea (7-6, 4.44, in 37 games) RHP Ross Stripling (0-5, 5.36 in 22 games) and Haniger (.209 batting average, 15 homers, 65 RBIs, .631 OPS in 61 games). They all had ups and downs in a season that cost manager Gabe Kapler his job. Stripling was sent to the A’s with the Giants paying $3.25 million of his $12.5 million 2024 salary. Zaidi (Sudbury, Ont.) did bounce back with an upgrade in hiring manager Bob Melvin away from the San Diego Padres. Melvin was given a two-year extension.

Wasserman Group heavy hitter Joel Wolfe …

8. Joel Wolfe, agent, Wasserman Group (5).

So you thought Shohei Ohtani got a big deal -- a 10-year, $700 million which will see him paid $2 million each year and $680 million in deferred compensation starting in 2034. Well, Wolfe was able to get the Dodgers to give RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto more in years (12) and more than Yankees Gerrit Cole ($325 million) on the all-time pitching contract leader board by a million dollars. Wolfe also negotiated the richest deal ever for a relief pitcher: a five-year, $102 million contract for Edwin Diaz of the Mets. Diaz was injured during the World Baseball Classic and did not pitch in 2023. Wolfe’s parents are from Montreal. His mom went to school with William Shatner. They spent summers in the Eastern Townships. Wolfe is in year four of having his Canadian passport.

Other Wolfe men include RHP Jose Berrios, who signed a seven-year, $131-million extension with the Jays and will earn $17 million in 2024, Cards 3B Nolan Arenado, year four of his eight-year, $260 million deal, Yanks’ Giancarlo Stanton (year eight of a 13-year, $325 million deal), Padres’ RHP Yu Darvish (fourth year of a six-year, $126 million package), INF DJ LeMahieu (year four of a six-year, $90 million deal), RP Kenley Jansen (second year of two-year $32 million deal) and OF Seiya Suzuki (year three of a five-year, $85 million contract with the Cubs).

Los Angeles Dodgers 1B Freddie Freeman …

9. Freddie Freeman, Dodgers (9).

He started off playing for Canada to honour his late mother Rosemary (Windsor, Ont.) and predicting big things for Edouard Julien (Quebec, Que.) and Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) when he returned to Dodgers camp. As a scout he was right. Freeman, third in NL MVP voting, finished a double shy of becoming the first player since 1936 with 60 doubles, ending his second campaign with the Dodgers with a .331 average, two triples, 29 homers and 102 RBIs. At age 33, he set career-highs in hits, runs and extra-base hits, finishing the season eighth all-time in Dodgers single-season hits.

Freeman’s 90 extra-base hits were the most in Dodgers history and he became one of three in big-league history with more than 200 hits, 50 doubles, 25 homers and 20 stolen bases in a season, joining Alfonso Soriano (2002) and Hall of Famer Chuck Klein (1932). He had his 2,000th career hit June 25 against Astros reliever Rafael Montero. Mookie Betts and Freeman combined to bat .319 with 99 doubles, 68 homers, 209 RBIs and 257 runs scored. They became the second tandem in Dodger history to combine for a .300-plus average, more than 90 doubles, 60 homers, 200 RBIs and 250 runs scored, joining Johnny Frederick and Babe Herman, who hit a combined .363 with 92 doubles, 52 homers, 206 RBIs and 263 runs scored in 1930. Freeman led the NL in doubles and extra-base hits (first) and finished second in runs and hits, third in total bases and average, fifth in on-base (.410) and sixth in slugging (.567).

Listening to a Dodger broadcast it was pointed out that lead-off man Betts and No. 2 hitter Freeman had the highest OPS for a 1-2 hitters since the Big Red Machine. We suggest that Betts and Freeman may have been hitting third and fourth in a 1970s lineup. Freeman finished third in MVP voting, behind Ronald Acuna and Betts. He is now three doubles behind Babe Ruth in his career.

The band is back together: Dan Shulman, left and former Blue Jays catcher Buck Martinez.

10. Dan Shulman, Sportsnet (7).

Shulman made his debut on the ballot for the Ford C. Frick award presented annually for excellence in broadcasting. The winner is honoured by the National Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown. Shulman called games for the Blue Jays from 1995-2001 before returning in 2016 to call games for Sportsnet. He joined ESPN in 1995 as a play-by-play commentator and was the voice of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball package from 2011-17. Joe Castiglione, who has called Red Sox games on the radio for 41 years, was voted the Frick Award winner at the winter meetings. The 2024 Frick ballot was created by a subcommittee of the voting electorate that included past Frick honorees Marty Brennaman, Bob Costas and Pat Hughes, plus broadcast historians David Halberstam and Curt Smith.

The Jays broadcast crew along with Buck Martinez, Joe Siddall and Shulman was ranked fourth best among 2023 Best Local Broadcasters compiled by Awful Announcing. The San Francisco Giants were No. 1 with Dave Fleming and Duane Kuiper doing play-by-play with Shawn Estes, Mike Krukow, Javier Lopez and Hunter Pence as the analysts. The New York Mets were No. 2 with Gary Cohen, Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez, while in third spot is Don Orsillo of the San Diego Padres, with Mark Grant, Mark Sweeney and Tony Gwynn, Jr. (Oh my goodness his voice sounds exactly like his father).

Greg Hamilton was part of the OBA Hall of Fame class of 2023 …

11. Greg Hamilton, Baseball Canada (10).

For the first time in five World Baseball Classics, Canada was going to have three established major-league starters. Yet free agent RHP Jameson Taillon (The Woodlands, Tex.) signed a three-year, $54 million deal with the Cubs and the Red Sox reported RHP Nick Pivetta (Victoria, BC) caught COVID. So Hamilton had to scramble. RHP Noah Skirrow (Stoney Creek, Ont.) pitched five scoreless to move Canada to 2-1 and a chance to advance. Canada was losing 3-2 to Mexico in the fifth when a walk to the ninth place hitter loaded the bases. Randy Arozarena quickly unloaded them with a double.

Initially the WSBC did not invite Canada to the Pan Am Qualifier despite the fact Canada had won the tourney in 2011 and 2015. The Red and White opened the qualifier with a 6-5 extra-inning win over Panama -- No. 12 ranked in the world in 2022 -- as Matt Lloyd and Jordan Procyshen each knocked in two, then lost 8-3 to No. 28 Argentina, beat No. 39 Peru 11-1 and Honduras 10-0. Canada finished round robin play with identical records to Panama and host Argentina (3-1) in a tie for first. The tie-break system “Team’s Quality Balance” (runs scored/innings played at bat-runs allowed/innings on defence) saw Canada finish third. Canada is now ranked 16th, down two spots, and was not invited to the Premier12 tourney.

Hamilton watched every pitch of the Blue Jays Canadian Futures Showcase to select the next group of Canucks on the Junior National Team bound for the Dominican. As one coach on the field said looking up into the seats and noticing yet another coach sit down beside Hamilton, “Leave him alone, he is busy evaluating.”

Blue Jays slugging first baseman Vladimir Guerrero …

12. Vladimir Guerrero, Blue Jays (14).

The final image of the season is a lasting one. And for Jays fans it was a terrible picture for Guerrero. There he stood on second base with two out encouraging Bo Bichette -- the team’s best hitter facing a 3-2 count -- to knock him home while George Springer led off third. Sonny Gray spun as Carlos Correa saw daylight and snuck behind Guerrero for a bang-bang tag. Guerrero laid in the dust begging for a replay to show that he had beat the tag. He didn’t. Second base ump Dan Iassogna had the call right. The Jays had four more runners and four more zeros on the board. They were done. Another winless October.

“TRADE HIM!” social media cried. Yet, Guerrero (Montreal, Que.) led a team starved of pop with 26 home runs, 94 RBIs and a .788 OPS despite most scouts saying he was late getting to pitches. He was third in OPS behind Brandon Belt (141 strikeouts in 339 at-bats). How good a season did he have? Well, on an club that only saw Bichette have a better average, Guerrero had 22 fewer homers, 17 fewer RBIs and his OPS dropped by .214 compared to his 2021 season. Was 2021 a result of games at Buffalo’s Sahlen Field and Dunedin’s TD Ballpark? You don’t trade a man who put 181 balls in play at 100-plus MPH -- tied for most with Rafael Devers in the AL. If it is your bag, he won the Home Run Derby (which now gets higher ratings than the all-star game, meanwhile in 1991 it took place at 1 PM at the SkyDome) with 72 homers. In June of 2018, Sports Illustrated ranked the top six prospects as Braves’ OF Ronald Acuña, Braves’ 2B Ozzie Albies, Boston’s 3B Devers, Nationals’ OF Juan Soto, Yankees’ INF Gleyber Torres and Guerrero. And now ... we asked nine pro scouts to rank No. 1 and where Guerrero sat heading into 2024. Acuna was No. 1 and Guerrero averaged out in fourth place (4.3).

On the other hand, Baseball America ranks him second among first basemen behind Braves’ Matt Olson and ahead of Phillies’ Bryce Harper, Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman and Mets’ Pete Alonso. Guerrero ranked ninth in the September study of the top 10 most influential Canadian sports stars, according to a betting site. He can receive up to $20,400 per Instagram post, according to the site. Top ranked is soccer star Alphonso Davies, followed by hoopsters Tristan Thompson, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Andrew Wiggins. Jamal Murray and RJ Barrett. The other spots go to MMA fighters Georges St-Pierre and Adam Copeland, plus tennis player Genie Bouchard.

Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Joe Siddall (Windsor, Ont.)

13. Joe Siddall, Sportsnet (11).

People were yelling and screaming at their TVs over the early removal of Jose Berrios, who had faced two over the minimum in three scoreless innings, and then issued a lead-off walk to Royce Lewis in the fourth. On came Yusei Kikuchi for his first relief appearance since Sept. 30, 2022. Siddall was calm and composed as he explained: how data and information are part of the modern game. And how data and information are great to have and can really help, but you also have to be aware of what is happening in front of you and what you are watching.

His point was Berrios was pitching very well. The part that bothered him was that it was predetermined: Kikuchi was up in the pen early so you knew this was the plan. They wanted to force Rocco Baldelli to pinch hit for some of his lefties with right-handed hitters so that those righties would be in the game late against the Jays solid righty bullpen arms. Siddall said he was totally OK with using data and information, but he was not OK with predetermining what you are going to do as opposed to having a feel for what you are seeing -- a very effective Berrios.

More importantly, he pointed out that ultimately the Blue Jays did not hit again, which was a lingering issue and it happened again. You have to score more to win anyway. But that doesn’t hide the fact that he was not in agreement with the way the Jays handled Berrios which seemed like a very analytical decision. Siddall was the one voice of reason during Guerrero’s season-long inconsistency. Every time Guerrero would go on a mini-run, like heading into Detroit in early July (he batted .298 with four homers, 15 RBIs with a .993 OPS in series against the A’s, Giants, Red Sox and White Sox), Siddall would caution viewers he did not seeing a discernible change in the swing/approach, despite the hits. In the next 12, he batted .222 with four homers, seven RBIs and an .827 OPS. Guerrero could appear lost at the plate again when he appeared to be rolling.

John Ircandia, founding and managing director of the Okotoks Dawgs.

14. John Ircandia, Okotoks Dawgs (15)

It is still difficult to fathom after all these years. Basically turned away from Calgary and Burns Stadium when a relationship with a failed independent league franchise became intolerable, the Dawgs broke ground on new state of the art facilities -- Seaman Stadium -- in the foothills community of Okotoks, a town of 30,000 residents, half an hour south of Calgary. In 2023 the Dawgs sat third in attendance of 160 summer college teams, according to Baseball Digest. The Dawgs averaged 4,558 fans (a total of 127,622) in 28 game dates. Atop the standings were the Madison Mallards of the Northwoods loop who averaged 6,353 and second were the Trenton Thunder of the Draft League with an average of 4,558.

Seaman is one of the newer collegiate yards, opening in 2007 and continually upgrading since. At Ircandia’s behest a tribute to the original Kore 4 in left field and Da Dawgs Beach Bar (a converted Volkswagen), the Golden Sombrero cantina, another section of seats, an expanded anthem patio, two ground level suites adjacent to the first-base dugout and a 80-by-5 ribbon video board in left. The yard won Ballpark Digest’s Best of the Ballparks voting as Seaman defeated Travis Field, a former champ (home of the Brazos Valley Bombers), Copeland Park (La Crosse Loggers); Jackson Stadium (Jackson Rockabillys), defending champ Robin Roberts Stadium (Springfield Lucky Horseshoes) and Centennial Field (Vermont Lake Monsters) in the final.

And oh yes, the summer college Dawgs won for a second straight season -- make it eight Western Canadian Baseball League championships since 2004. Rings “pour Tu de Monde?” Ircandia (Calgary, Alta.) and the Dawgs Academy continues to be a powerhouse in Alberta and a recruiting giant from the west coast to the Atlantic provinces thanks to Tyler Hollick, Jeff Duda, Lou Pote and Tyler Milton.

Pat Gillick when he was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame

15. Pat Gillick, Phillies minority owner, Hall of Famer (12).

On a sunny day in Cooperstown in 2011, Gillick was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Seven years later he was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame along with fellow Hall of Famers Jim Thome and ex-Jay Roy Halladay, who Gillick’s scouts -- Bus Campbell, Chris Bourjos, Tim Wilken and Bob Engle -- drafted with the Blue Jays. Now a minority owner, Gillick was in Phoenix to watch his Phillies eliminated by the Diamondbacks.

The Phillies were evaluated by Forbes magazine in March of 2023 as being worth $2.575 billion, ninth best in the majors, down one spot from 2022, an increase of 35.5% with $398 million revenue. If you are calculating along at home, the club was worth $893 million in 2012. Combined the Montgomery family and Gillick own 2.5% of the club. In 27 seasons as a GM, his teams (Blue Jays, Orioles, Mariners and Phillies) recorded winning records in 20 seasons, with the four clubs reaching post-season play 11 times. Gillick won three World Series rings with the Jays (1992-93) and Phillies (2008).

Canada’s all-time best catcher Russell Martin (Montreal, Que.).

16. Russell Martin, Canada’s greatest catcher (48).

There were 93 names on the ballot for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024 and Martin’s name jumps off the page like a front page 60-point headline usually reserved for “TITANTIC SINKS” while the majority of the other players are in much, much smaller type. And Martin was the sole former Canadian major leaguer selected. Martin’s final game was Sept. 28 and it was like so many other games he squatted. He put down all the right fingers as the Dodgers blanked the Giants 2-0 for their 105th win of the season. Hyun Jin Ryu (seven innings), Kenta Maeda (one) and Kenley Jansen (with the save) combined on the seven-hit shutout.

Martin didn’t retire until May 28, 2022, via an Instagram post. When it comes to Canadian major leaguers, Martin ranks third all-time in walks (792), fourth in games (1,693), fifth in runs scored (893), sixth in hits (1,416), doubles (255) and RBIs (771), as well as seventh in homers (191) and stolen bases (101). In 14 seasons, his team was in the playoffs 10 times. The Russell Martin Award, presented by the Toronto Blue Jays, is given annually to the Junior National Team MVP. This year’s winner was first rounder Myles Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.).

(There will not be a picture of the Rogers Communications CEO. We received a lawyer’s letter a few years ago asking us to take a picture of Tony Staffieri down. We did and in November of 2022 we asked for permission to use stock photos. We await an answer from the lawyers.)

17. Tony Staffieri, CEO Rogers Communications (18)

On Dec. 12 -- Black Friday as it is known in the reporting business -- JP Hoornstra, former Dodger and Angel beat writer, of Dodger Nation, wrote Shohei Ohtani was signing with the Blue Jays and then J.P. Morosi, a Sportsnet regular, said Ohtani was on a private jet headed to Pearson. What made Jays fans into believers about the Hoornstra piece was the following sentence: “A half-billion dollar (or more) investment in the game’s greatest talent is relatively small for Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri, who has been intimately involved in the process, according to a source.”

All roads may lead to 1 Blue Jay Way, but all paths, trails and bread crumbs lead to Staffieri’s office when it comes to spending Rogers Communications’ dough. Ohtani was not a Ross Atkins deal. Nor was it a Mark Shapiro negotiation. Staffieri was the Rogers deal maker for Ohtani. Not that it was his fault the Newport Beach resident decided to stay in state ... and make the 45-minute drive from the Beach to Dodger Stadium at 1000 Vin Scully Drive or move closer to Elysian Park. A member of the eight-person Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment board, Staffieri approved the $300 million renovations of Rogers Centre, now nearing completion of Phase 2.0.

The Jays are ranked the 14th best franchise, according to Forbes, up two spots from 2022. They are behind the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Cubs, Giants, Mets, Angels, Braves, Phillies, Cardinals, Rangers and Mariners. The Jays were valued at $2.1 billion in 2023, an increase of 40%. Forbes showed $294 million in operating revenue.

18. Jeffrey Royer, General Partner, Diamondbacks (23).

Well, at least one Toronto cable giant started the 2023 big-league season with optimism and wound up in the World Series. Ken Kendrick and Royer (Toronto, Ont.) are equal partners of the ownership group which took over the Diamondbacks in 2004. In April, Shaw Cable -- including Royer’s 18,244,534 shares -- was sold to Rogers Communications. Royer, a dual citizen since 2015, had been in the cable business for 35 years and was one of Shaw’s largest shareholders.

Royer, along with his sons Blake and David, who used to work for the Blue Jays baseball operations, and Royer’s two grandchildren, were in Phoenix as the Diamondbacks lost three straight to the Texas Rangers. Yet, Arizona won 10 of its first 14 playoff games: sweeping a best-of-three wild-card against the Brewers, sweeping a best-of-five NLDS set against the mighty Dodgers, winning the NLCS in seven games against the Phillies and splitting the first two games in Arlington, Tex. The Diamondbacks, like the Braves, are set for the future.

The Dodgers have won the NL West in 10 of the last 11 seasons yet have one World Series win to show (2020 in the COVID-19 shortened season going 43-17 over the regular season). Yet they lost five times in the NLDS, three times in the NLCS and twice in the World Series. There is something to be said about the rhythm of the game and how winning the division begats layoff/bye doldrums which begats a stale NLDS.

The Diamondbacks were valued at $1.38 billion in 2023, an increase of 9%, according to Forbes, 23rd best. Forbes showed $276 million in operating revenue. There are many approaches to ownership: on one end of the spectrum would be the George Steinbrenner model and at the other low-key end would be Royer, who does not even have his name on his office door in downtown Toronto.

Longtime Cincinnati Reds slugger Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.)

19. Joey Votto, Reds (22).

He ended the season ranked 91st on the all-time, home run list (356), two behind Hall of Famer Yogi Berra and Carlos Lee, 100th on the all-time extra-bases list (837), 30th in walks (1,365) 24 behind Hall of Famer Tris Speaker and tied for 100th in doubles with Orlando Cabera (459), 41 doubles shy Hall of Famer Goose Goslin and John Olerud for 63rd, 47 behind Babe Ruth. Among Reds leaders, Votto is tops in total walks and is second in: doubles (behind Pete Rose), homers (behind Hall of Famer Johnny Bench), on-base (.409, behind only Hall of Famer Joe Morgan) and OPS (.920, behind Hall of Famer Frank Robinson). He is also third in RBIs (1,144), fifth in hits (2,135) and sixth in slugging (.511).

Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) began the season on the 15-day injured list recovering from surgeries to repair the left biceps and torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder and joined the Reds after 22 rehab appearances during (two stints) with triple-A Louisville. He returned June 19 and homered in his second plate appearance with a solo homer off Austin Gomber. He joined Hall of Famer Tony Perez as the only Reds players since 1900 to homer in their season debuts four times. He has 316 go-ahead RBIs, most by any Red since the 1961 expansion (Bench 295, Perez 290, Hall of Famer Barry Larkin 270 and Dave Concepcion 217).

On his 40th birthday, Sept. 10 -- which dear friend Kevin Glew says should be Baseball Day in Canada -- he made his first appearance since Aug. 23 homering off RHP Andrew Suárez, It was his fourth birthday homer. Glew also said Votto “really became a great ambassador of the sport in 2023 ... his press conferences and thoughtful answers won him a lot of fans across North America.” Votto became the 248th big leaguer and fifth Red to appear in 2,000 games (Rose, Concepcion, Larkin and Bench). In July, he went deep off Jakob Junis to become only the 16th player in big-league history with at least 2,000 hits, 350 homers and an on-base mark of at least .410. Of the 16, 12 are in the Cooperstown. In August, he reached 16 years of service time joining active player Miguel Cabrera (20.074), Zack Greinke (19.030), Adam Wainwright (18) and Justin Verlander (17.146). He hopes to play again in 2023.

Blue Jays executive Marnie Starkman with her father Howard Starkman, a day one employee of the club.

20. Marnie Starkman, Blue Jays (17).

With all the renovations Marnie has been doing -- and with all the success -- Marnie soon could have her own show on HGTV ... a lead into Home Town maybe? Demolition was completed on Phase II of the $300 million Rogers Centre makeover in 2023. Work has to be completed and all the seats polished for the April 8 home opener against the Mariners. This phase concentrates on seating in the lower bowl behind-the-scenes and players-only areas. Rather than rows of roughly 12 seats, the new rows will be six seats across making for more room in the aisles. Rather than seats down the line focussed on the 55-yard line to see the Argos game, the view will be of home plate. An estimated 1,600 seats will see bumps in season’s tickets prices. Roughly 29.5 million pounds of materials were removed from the stadium in October. Concrete was poured on the same day demolition was completed. About 350 workers have been working away on the site each day, more than three times the number of workers who were on site during the demolition phase, according to the Jays.

Phase I of the extensive renovation was completed in April of 2023. It concentrated on spectators, better sight lines, bars like the outfield neighborhoods -- Corona Rooftop Patio, TD Park Social, The Catch Bar, The Stop -- and a change in dimensions. Most talk of the Part 1 was positive. Young people loved it. Tickets were sold. A total of 3,021,904 fans went to Blue Jays home games last year, the most since 2017 (3,203,886).

In 2021, Marnie was part of the group which saw permanent upgrades to Buffalo’s Sahlen Field due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Improvements included new light standards, batting cages, new foul poles, a resurfaced outfield and moving the bullpens from foul territory to behind the fence in right-centre. While the Bisons were homeless, they shuffled off to double-A Trenton. The Jays with help from the major leagues organization jointly funded renovations of the venue prior to the 2020 season at a cost of $5 million. With Marnie steering the ship upgrades at Sahlen, included installation of LED field lighting, instant replay technology, Statcast tracking, a resurfaced infield, and relocation of the home dugout to the third-base side of the stadium. In the two seasons, the Jays combined to play 49 games in Buffalo before returning home.

Twin rookie 2B Edouard Julien (Quebec, Que.)

21. Edouard Julien, Minnesota Twins (-)

He was with the Twins for three stints and made an impact. Julien (Québec, Que.) hit .263 with 16 homers, 37 RBIs and an .839 OPS (highest on the team for players with 100 or more games played). His longest homer was a 452-foot blast in Colorado as he hit 12 solo homers, two two-run shots and two three-run bombs. Included was a lead-off homer in September against Oakland. For a 24-year-old, he showed a patient eye at the plate with 64 walks -- fifth most by a Twins rookie.

He had a 4-for-5 day, knocking in a pair of runs against the Tigers, for a single-game career high making him the third different rookie (along with Royce Lewis and Matt Wallner) to do so. Among rookies (250 at-bats or more) he was among the leaders in OBP (.381, second), slugging (.459, 10th) and OPS (.839, seventh). In his final recall he played 90 games. In all, he made 66 starts at second, 25 at DH and two at first. In post-season play he was 1-for-6 (.167) in the two-game sweep over the Jays. Against the Astros in the ALDS, he batted .364 (4-for-11) with a double, homer and two RBIs.

Arizona Diamondbacks first-base coach Dave McKay (Vancouver, B.C.) blows out the candles on his 69th birthday, back in 2019. Photo: Arizona Diamondbacks

22. Dave McKay, Diamondbacks (69).

With the Diamondbacks’ set of athletes, McKay founded the Phoenix-based Arizona Track Club, engineering the best running game in the playoffs and arguably the most effective base-stealing club in the majors this season. The Diamondbacks geared up their running game to sweep the Brewers and Dodgers in five straight, knocked off the Phillies in Game 7 and then lost the World Series in five games to the Rangers. En route to the Series, they utilized their running game with 23 steals in 27 post-season attempts (85.2%). In 2023, McKay also became the first Canadian coach to coach three different teams in the World Series.

Arizona had the second-most steals in the majors in 2023 with 166. Only 10 teams were caught fewer times and not one attempted more than 140. Metrics rated Arizona’s steal efficiency 11 above average. No other team was better than seven. At 73, McKay (Vancouver, BC) in his 40th year as a coach and 35th straight as first-base coach, he’s the longest-tenured coach in the majors. After his brief stint with the Cubs, the Diamondbacks offered McKay a job in 2014, and he’s been there through ups and downs. Corbin Carroll led Arizona with 54 steals, followed by Jake McCarthy (26), Geraldo Perdomo (16), Christian Walker (11) and Tommy Pham (11).

Seattle Mariners right-hander Matt Brash (Kingston, Ont.).

23. Matt Brash, Seattle Mariners ().

Brash led the majors with 78 appearances, tying Ed Vande Berg (1982) for most pitching appearances in a season in M’s history. He was 9-4 with four saves (in nine opportunities), 24 holds and a 3.06 ERA walking 29 and fanning 107. His strikeouts were second most by a Canadian in 2023 behind only Boston’s Nick Pivetta (183). Brash, 25, was the youngest pitcher to make 78 or more appearances in a season since Cardinals Kevin Siegrist (81, 2015) and the youngest right-hander since Atlanta’s Craig Kimbrel (79, 2011), when Kimbrel won NL Rookie of the Year honours.

His arsenal consisted of a slider (50.2%, 88.8 mph), four-seam fastball (34.3%, 98.1 mph), curve (8.7%, 85.8) and cutter (4.0%, 92.1). He recorded his 100th K when he fanned Matt Thaiss -- as he struck out the side. He became the fifth Mariners reliever with 100 strikeouts as only Edwin Díaz (124, 2018) and Bill Caudill (111, 1982) had more. Brash (Kingston, Ont.), who played for the Kingston Thunder and attended Niagara University, held opponents scoreless in 29 of 36 outings from May 27 to Aug.13, posting a 2.54 ERA with 13 walks and 46 whiffs in that span. He earned his first career save at the Rogers Centre, tossing a scoreless 10th inning with two strikeouts to become the second Canadian-born pitcher to record his first career save in Canada, joining Bill Atkinson (Chatham, Ont.) of the Expos. Originally a fourth-round pick of the Padres, Brash was dealt to Seattle for reliever Taylor Williams.

Former Toronto Blue Jays president & CEO Paul Beeston (Welland, Ont.). Photo: CBC News Network

24. Kaye and Paul Beeston (19).

Kaye won Driver of the Year for St. Marys-Mississauga-Lawrence Park shuttle service during Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame weekend. Kaye makes her debut on this list. It has been years (2014 actually) since we have only had one Beeston on our list. You see Kaye and Paul’s son, David, has moved to the most influential Canuck baseball list to hockey’s top movers and shakers. As the co-head of Fenway Sports Management and alternate governor for the Pittsburgh Penguins, David and Penguins president of business operations Kevin Acklin addressed the media after GM Ron Hextall, assistant GM Chris Pryor and president of hockey operations Brian Burke were dismissed in April. The top dogs of FSG are principal owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner.

Jays president emeritus, Paul Beeston, is still at most Blue Jays home games and a man who gets a return phone call from anyone in the game whether it be from commissioner Rob Manfred, another club owner, Braves boss Alex Anthopoulos, Mets bench coach John Gibbons or Dunedin photographer Eddie Michels. It was Beeston (Welland, Ont.) who told writers in the middle of the Jays’ 2009 season that Anthopoulos reminded him of a young Pat Gillick. Some people scoffed and said it was unfair to drop that tag on the then assistant GM. Well, now it is 15 seasons later and guess what? Anthopoulos, now under contract until 2031, is on the same path Gillick travelled. Larry Walker (2018-20), Joey Votto (2010, 2016-17), Anthopoulos (2015, 2021, 2023) and Paul Beeston (2008-09, 2012) are our only three-time “most influential” winners.

Adnan Virk (Morven, Ont.), of the MLB Network. Photo: Twitter

25. Adnan Virk, MLB Network (25).

Virk (Morven, Ont.) grew up outside of Kingston, where the top sportscasters were Max Jackson and Ted Darling, later of Buffalo Sabres’ fame. Fellow MLB Network broadcaster Dan Plesac the ex-Blue Jays reliever (and former SkyDome grounds keeper), describes Virk as “the Swiss Army knife of sports TV: baseball, hockey, wrestling.” “You name it he’s done it,” said Plesac, “and he’s done it well. Adnan knows the players and the rules but more importantly you learn something about the sport he’s covering every time you watch Adnan.” Virk is a proud Canuck and would never have asked Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith about the Blue Jays “sitting on all that Labatt Blue money” as one MLB Network host did during the Shohei Ohtani chase. John Labatt Limited sold to Interbrew S.A. in June of 1995.

Said ex-Jay, two-time World Series winner Al Leiter and Virk deskmate: “I absolutely love Adnan. He loves his Blue Jays that’s for sure. What makes Adnan unique is he has a great combination of understanding TV, of course, but his knowledge for baseball and his obvious love of the game really comes out when you’re sitting next to him doing a live show. His mix of humor and pertinent intelligent conversation is a great balance and very enjoyable to engage with him.”

Women’s National Team legend, Vancouver Canadians coach and 2024 Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Ashley Stephenson (Mississauga, Ont.). Photo: Baseball Canada

26. Ashley Stephenson, coach, Vancouver Canadians (46).

There was a time when ball fans used to say Helen Nicol Fox (Ardley, Alta.), the Canadian pitcher who won the most games in All-American Girls Professional League history, was the best Canuck to play. Ever. The “Who was the best?” question still exists. Yet, the answer has changed. The answer is now Ashley (Mississauga, Ont.). Ashley played for Canada’s national team for 15 years, winning three bronze medals and a silver at the Women’s World Cup and a silver in the 2015 Pan Am games in Ajax. In 2022, Ashley became the first woman to manage the women’s national team when Canada played Team USA in Thunder Bay, Ont. Ashley would also be on a list of top skaters or athletes, playing hockey in the National Women’s League, the Canadian Women’s League and Laurier University (2005-to-12). I once asked her if Laurier beat a certain school once ... and she answered “we beat a lot of teams,” matter of factly.

Now the stud athlete is mentoring young players with the High-A Vancouver Canadians in the Jays system in 2023. Some like the great Ted Williams were not good at teaching. Ashley is. Working with the outfielders, she helped hone the skills of Gabby Martinez, Garrett Spain and Devonte Brown, who improved on the defensive side before getting promoted to double-A New Hampshire. For her efforts, she was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in February. She is the first National Women’s Team star to be so honoured. Ashley will back in Vancouver in 2024 as well as coaching third base for the women’s national team.

Toronto Blue Jays assistant GM Andrew Tinnish (Ottawa, Ont.)

27. Andrew Tinnish, assistant GM, Blue Jays (24).

LHP Ricky Tiedemann tops the Blue Jays charts coming off a dominant performance in the Arizona Fall League. No. 2 is Tinnish sign INF Orelvis Martinez of the Dominican Republic, given a $3.51 million bonus in 2018. No. 5 INF Leo Jimenez, a 2018 signing for $800,000 from Panama, No. 10 RHP Yosver Zulueta, of Cuba, who signed for $1 million in 2021. Also on the Jays’ top 30 are Tinnish signs: No. 11 RHP Dahian Santos, a Venezuelan ($150,000 in 2021), No. 17 LHP Kendry Rojas, a 2021 Cuban sign ($220,000); No. 24 Enmanuel Bonilla, Dominican ($4.1 million), No. 26 OF Gabriel Martinez of Venezuela ($300,000) and No. 28 Manuel Beltre from the Dominican ($2.3 million).

This year’s crop from January — with Baseball America rankings — included: No. 34 Venezuelan C Franklin Rojas ($1.1 million); No. 42 Dominican OF Junior Arias ($900,000), No. 45 Venezuelan OF Pascual Archila ($850,000), No. 50 Dominican SS Angel Guzman ($770,000), No. 69 Dominican SS Juarlin Soto ($550,000). In 2023, Tinnish signed Sem Robberse, of Zeist, Netherlands, who was the trade chip sent to the Cards to acquire reliever Jordan Hicks. He was busy also checking out Arjun Nimmala, a Dover, Fla. high schooler whom the Jays chose in the first round (20th overall) and signed for $3 million.

Tinnish also brought into the Jays’ fold: free agent C Gabriel Moreno, for $25,000 in 2017, who along with Lourdes Gurriel was sent to the Diamondbacks in a deal for Daulton Varsho. He also signed C Alejandro Kirk from Mexico for $7,500 (another $22,500 going to his team, Toros de Tijuana). In January of 2024, Tinnish used the Jays’ pool of $5,152,200 to sign Venezuelan C Franklin Rojas (ranked 34th by Baseball America), Dominican OF Junior Arias (42nd), Venezuelan Pascual Archila, (45th) and Dominican SS Angel Guzman (50th).

Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae, middle, with four members of New Brunswick’s 13U squad at the national championships in Woodstock, Ont. in 2023.

28. Hazel Mae, Sportsnet (38).

The Hall of Fame inductees were lined up to head into the crowded tent in St. Marys including the class of 2023: Denis Boucher (Lachine, Que.), Rich Harden (Victoria, BC), Joe Wiwchar (Morden, Man.), Jesse Barfield, plus 2020 inductees, John Olerud and Jacques Doucet (Montreal, Que.). The question was “who are most of the people here to see?” A veteran Hall of Famer observer answered quickly. “Hazel Mae, who might be the nicest person here.” Mae was again the emcee for the event and the program moved quickly and was on pace. Mae also handled the wonderful Jose Bautista ceremony which had a lot of moving parts.

Kevin Barker and Mae were the guests of honour at the 13U nationals championships in Woodstock. When opening ceremonies ended the stampede was on. Free hot dogs or ice cream? Nope. Players -- including my grandson -- rushed to have their pictures taken with Hazel.

Mae had a strong post-season conducting lengthy sit downs with newly-elected Hall of Famer Jim Leyland on his career, his memories of managing against Cito Gaston and how disappointed he was that pal Lou Piniella missed by one vote for the second time; Rangers GM Chris Young on leading his childhood team to a World Series, and his memories of starting for the Royals in Game 4 in Toronto in the 2015 ALCS (a 14-1 KC win); ex-Blue Jay Dave Stewart about leading a diverse ownership group hoping to land an expansion team in Nashville and how heartbroken he was his hometown of Oakland had lost its franchise and Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen on what his late wife, Nicole, a former D-Backs’ cheerleader, who died of cancer in 2022, would’ve thought of their magical run to a World Series. This postseason, Hazel covered the Blue Jays-Twins Wild card series, the Rangers-Orioles ALDS, the Rangers-Astros ALCS and the Rangers-Diamondbacks World Series for Sportsnet. This is the 15th anniversary of MLB Network and Hazel was employee No. 001.

Oakland A’s scout Matt Higginson (Grimsby, Ont.).

29. Matt Higginson, scout, A’s (78).

We’ve known area scouts who have worked for 20 years and never had a first rounder. It has been 17 years since Richard Griffin introduced Higginson, who he had coached, to then Jays GM Gord Ash, who sponsored the former Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldog to big-league scout school. And in 2023, Higginson selected his first, first rounder Myles Naylor (Mississauga, Ont., 39th overall). Higginson saw Naylor for three years with the Junior National Team, the Ontario Blue Jays mainly, Doug Mathieson’s Langley Blaze and at various Canadian Premier League Showcases.

Higginson visited with Myles and his parents around Christmas of 2022 at their home, as well as having “many good conversations and interactions with them at the ballpark over the last few years.” When it comes to the draft, the A’s were known mostly for selecting college players. Their previous two high school first round selections were Californians Max Muncy in 2021 (25th) from Thousand Oaks and C Tyler Soderstrom in 2020 from Turlock (26th). Ontario Blue Jays grad Naylor was given a $2,202,500 signing bonus. The previous six-figure drafts and signs for Higginson were fourth-round pick former Toronto Mets OF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) of the Cal State Northridge Matadors, who received $700,000 and 12th rounder Ontario Blue Jays INF T.J. Schofield-Sam (Brampton, Ont.) who was given $320,000.

Legendary Montreal Expos broadcaster Jacques Doucet (Montreal, Que.)

30. Jacques Doucet, former Expos broadcaster (40).

We have made this point before, but it is getting a little old. Voting members of BBWAA -- with 10 or more years of service -- decide who gets into Hall of Fame each year. And each year they get hammered for their choices. Let’s talk Ford C. Frick voters for a second. What could the voters -- mostly former winners be thinking -- or rather not thinking? The committee has elected Spanish-language broadcasters three times since 1978: Buck Canel, who did Yankees and Mets games in 1985, Jaime Jarrín, Dodgers, 1998 and Felo Ramírez, Marlins 2001. Why not a French-language broadcaster? Doucet was a finalist in 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2020, 2022 and 2023. Enough is enough.

Doucet, who spread the word and taught the game and trust me there would not have been a Blue Jays team without an Expos team, spent 33 years broadcasting Expos games, as the play-by-play radio voice on their French network (1972-2004). Before that, he covered the team for La Presse. He returned to the booth from 2012-2022 as the Blue Jays’ French-speaking TV voice on TVA. Doucet won the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Jack Graney award in 2004 and was elected to the Canadian ball hall in 2020. Jays broadcaster Jerry Howarth did not make the Frick Award ballot in 2023, after he did in 2022.

Former Blue Jays scout Jamie Lehman, right, and ex-Toronto bopper Carlos Delgado watch a prospect hit a T-12.

31. Jamie Lehman, scout, Blue Jays/Astros (33).

Working for the Jays as their Florida cross checker, he scouted and crosschecked SS Arjun Nimmala, a Dover, Fla. high schooler, in the first round (20th overall) for $3 million and signed fourth round RHP Landon Maraudis, a Clearwater high schooler, for $1.3 million. He previously scouted and crosschecked on the West Coast, finding LHP Ricky Tiedemann from Golden West, also the Jays’ top prospect, who dominated in the Arizona Fall League, RHP Nick Frasso, a fourth rounder in 2020 (dealt with Moises Brito for RHP Mitch White) and now 65th on MLB Pipeline’s top 100, OF Cam Eden, 2019 sixth rounder from Cal State Berkeley and INF Damiano Palmegiani (Surrey, BC), a Vauxhall Jets grad, selected in the 14th round in 2021 out of the College of Southern Nevada.

New Astros GM Dana Brown, one of Alex Anthopoulos’s most trusted aides, both with the Jays and the Braves, asked for permission to talk to Lehman. The Jays said yes and Lehman (Brampton, Ont.) has been reunited with Brown, who had signed him as the Expos’ 29th round pick in 2003. With Houston, Lehman returns to the West Coast as the Astros cross checker, in charge of the Western 10 states and Hawaii.

32. Buddy Black, manager, Colorado Rockies (26).

In our article about the 2022 most influential list, we suggested that Black be in Phoenix to help advise Canada skipper Ernie Whitt during the World Baseball Classic. Looking back, it would have been a better suggestion that lefty Black was there to pitch a couple of innings as Canada was again short of arms. His father Harry Black was born in the Edmonton area and his mom was born in Melville, Sask.

The 2023 season was Black’s 16th managing and his first as the skipper of a 100-loss team. His Rockies were 59-103 (a .364 winning mark), 41 games behind the Dodgers. Nolan Jones, Ryan McMahon and Ezequiel Tovar were his best players. Black’s teams (nine with the Padres, seven with the Rockies) have a 1,125-1,269 record (.470 win percentage).

Co-owner of the San Francisco Giants, Jeff Mallett …

33. Jeff Mallett, co-owner, Giants (21).

If this list was strictly based on net worth, Mallett might be in the top five. He is a principal owner -- one of 31 -- and executive committee member of the San Francisco Giants. When Gametime, a San Francisco-based platform for last minute tickets for games, concert and shows, needed funding, it raised $30 million. Mallett was involved along with Nimble Partners (Golden State Warriors owner John Burbank), Maven Ventures, Accel, GV, Palapa Ventures, Bolt Ventures (David Blitzer, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils), Tenere Capital, Blitzscaling Ventures, Next Play Capital, Alumni Ventures, University Growth Fund and others.

Mallett joined the Giants in 2002, the year San Fran won 95 games but lost the World Series to the Anaheim Angels. He has World Series rings from 2010, 2012 and 2014. Besides the team that Willie Mays made, he owns partial ownership in management of Oracle Park, the Bay Area’s regional sports cable network Comcast SportsNet and the class-A San Jose Giants. Forbes valued the Giants at $3.7 billion in 2023, fifth in the industry (behind the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox and Cubs). That’s an increase of 23.3% with $421 million in revenue. Mallett (Victoria, BC) owns part of the Vancouver Whitecaps with former hoopster Steve Nash, Greg Kerfoot and Steve Luczo.

Yet another shot of the Brewers prospect running out from underneath his helmet … he is quick …

34. Tyler Black, Brewers; Owen Caissie, Cubs; Denzel Clarke, A’s (-).

It has been a while since we have had three Canucks on the cusp of the majors. Black played 39 games with the triple-A Nashville Sounds and 84 with the double-A Biloxi Shuckers. Black (Stouffville, Ont.) brings speed which is accentuated under the new rules. He was 55-for-67 on the base paths (82%). Combined at the two stops, the 22-year-old batted .284 with 25 doubles, 12 triples, 18 home runs and 73 RBIs. In 2023, his OPS was .930. He won the Robin Yount award as co-player of the year in the Brewers system and the Randy Echlin award from the Canadian Baseball Network as the best Canuck hitter in the minors. The former Toronto Met is ranked No. 46 on Jim Callis’s top 100 prospects on MLB Pipeline and 70th on Baseball America’s list. He was part of the Brewers Spring Break Out contingent.

Cubs farmhand Owen Caissie with a mighty cut …

At age 20, Caissie played 120 games at double-A Tennessee. The former FieldHouse Pirate batted .289 with 31 doubles, two triples and 22 homers. His .918 OPS led his team. Caissie announced his presence with the Junior National Team by taking a third-year pro over the hitting back drop in centre field at Dunedin. He is the best left-handed hitting Canadian prospect since Edouard Julien. Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) is ranked No. 47 on both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America top 100 lists of prospects. He was part of the Brewers Spring Break Out group.

Clarke was 23 at double-A Midland in 2023, when he hit .261 with 11 doubles, four triples, 12 homers and 43 RBIs. He had an .877 OPS in 64 games and went 11-for-12 stealing bases. He might have the quickest path to the majors since the A’s are constantly moving players who do not earn a lot. Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) is ranked No. 83 on Baseball America’s top 100.

Former Expo scout Alex Agostino, right, and ex-Expo RHP Pedro Martinez, a member in good standing of Halls of Fame in Cooperstown and St. Marys.

35. Alex Agostino, crosschecker, Phillies (48).

Not a bad year for Agostino, who enters his 30th year (seven with the Expos, four with the Marlins and 19 with the Phillies, the last five as crosschecker): While with the Expos, he drafted Russell Martin (Montreal, Que.) in the 35th round in 2000. Martin did not sign and headed to Chipola in Marianna, Fla. Martin was elected to the Canadian Hall of Fame in St. Marys in early February. CF Brandon Marsh appeared in 133 games with the Phillies, acquired in 2022 from the Angels for C Logan O’Hoppe a Long Island high schooler. A 23rd round choice by Agostino in 2021, he played in 51 games for the Angels with 14 homers, 29 RBIs and a .795 OPS. The Angels have two catchers on their roster in Matt Thaiss and O’Hoppe. Agostino drafted RHP Ben Brown, a 6-foot-6, 33rd rounder from East Setauket, N.Y., who was sent to the Cubs for David Robertson in 2022. Brown was 8-8 with a 4.27 ERA in 26 games -- making 19 starts mostly at triple-A Iowa. He fanned 130 in 92 2/3 innings and was invited to big-league camp.

Another sign, undrafted 6-foot-8 OF Carlos De La Cruz of Yonkers, N..Y in 2018, hit .259 with 25 doubles, 24 homers, 67 RBIs and an OPS of .815 in 129 games at double-A Reading (where he was first in games and hits, second in runs scored, third in doubles and homers, seventh in average and RBIs) to earn end of year Eastern League all-star selection and an invite to Clearwater. He is No. 6 on the Phillies top 30 list, according to MLB Pipeline. Agostino cross-checked RHP Griff McGarry from Virginia, who enjoyed a solid year at Reading (1-1, 3.13), struggled in triple-A Lehigh Valley and was invited to big league camp (No. 5 on the Phillies list); 13th round OF Cade Fergus in 2022 from George Washington who had 12 homers and 14 steals in 88 games at class-A Jersey Shore and Clearwater; RHP Noah Skirrow (Stoney Creek, Ont.) who put up five zeros for Canada against Colombia in a must-win WBC game and led Lehigh Valley in wins (eight), undrafted RHP Tommy McCollum (No. 21) who had 67 strikeouts in 44 innings with eight saves at Reading and Jersey Shore,

Plus area scout Jeff Zona, Jr. and Agostino signed 14th round INF Bryan Rincon (No. 28), a Pittsburgh high schooler who finished at Jersey Shore, with eight homers, 52 RBIs and 27 steals at age 19. During his winter, Agostino still runs youth camps in St-Bruno with Baseball Empire and does part-time radio-TV with FM 98.5 and RDS.

Sambat CEO Arlene Anderson, Joe Carter, the first big-leaguer to use the bat and creator Sam Holman at Diamondbacks reception in Toronto in 2016.

36. Arlene Anderson, CEO Sam Bat (31).

With the 2023 season being a farewell tour for Tigers future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera, the victory lap meant an abundance of last minute game and trophy bats. Said Anderson: “He has been an amazing player to have, all of Team Sam Bat have been very proud.” Mother nature wasn’t kind to the bat company’s Carleton Place factory, which was hit by several major power outages. Plus a tree went through the roof and a machine died at peak season. Despite all of that, sales grew online for Canada and the world. A big win. Ben Milinkovich, Sam Bat’s pro guru, wed Alyssa at the National Arts Centre in February on one of coldest days of the year. Milinkovich lost his wedding band in the snow shortly after pictures were taken.

Blue Jays who use Sam Bat as their offensive weapons include Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.), Alejandro Kirk, Santiago Espinal and Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.). Canuck minor league clients include Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.), Dylan O’Rae (Sarnia, Ont.) and David McCabe (Oshawa, Ont.). Sam Bat forged into the market in Japan and claims to have the most Japanese pros for a North American company. Inroads were made into Korea and Taiwan with the pros. They signed 69 players in Japan, including Kazuma Okamoto of the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants, who hit 41 home runs to become the home run king in the Central League in 2023.

Major-league clients include Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll, Gabriel Moreno, Lourdes Gurriel and Pavin Smith; Braves’ Marcell Ozuna, Orlando Arcia and Sam Hilliard; Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson and Josh Lester; Red Sox’s Alex Verdugo and Bobby Dalbec; Cubs Alfonso Rivas and Dom Nunez; White Sox’s Yasmani Grandal, Carlos Perez and Seby Zavala; Reds Elly De La Cruz; Guardians’ Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.), Jose Ramirez, Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.), Will Brennan and Ramon Laureano; Rockies’ Ezequiel Tovar; Tigers Carson Kelly, who played peewee for the Markham Mariners and Cabrera; Astros’ David Hensley; Royals’ Maikel Garcia; Angels’ Jared Walsh, Brandon Drury and Brandon Drury; Dodgers’ Austin Barnes and Yonny Hernandez; Marlins’ Avisail Garcia; Brewers’ Luke Voit; Twins’ Willi Castro; Mets’ Mark Vientos; Yankees’ Oswaldo Cabrera; A’s Esteury Ruiz, Lawrence Butler and Shea Langeliers; Phillies’ Edmundo Sosa, Johan Rojas and Garrett Stubbs; Pirates’ KeBryan Hayes, Ji-Man Choi and Oneil Cruz; Giants’ Joc Pederson and Blake Sabol; Mariners’ Teoscar Hernandez, Ty France, Cooper Hummel, Cal Raleigh, Taylor Trammell, AJ Pollock and Colin Moran; Cardinals’ Lars Nootbaar and Nolan Gorman; Rays’ Brandon Lowe, Taylor Walls and Curtis Mead; Rangers’ Nathaniel Lowe and Nationals Stone Garrett.

Reds crosschecker Bill Byckowski has looked through many a chain-link fence …

37. Bill Byckowski (Erin, Ont.) Reds (57).

Early in the spring, we made a trip to see Matt Duffy (Burlington, Ont.) pitch for the Canisius College Griffins in Buffalo (fourth rounder, Red Sox). Arriving early, there were six crosscheckers there -- two I knew. Somehow the conversation turned to the Reds and the names began to roll: SS Elly De La Cruz ... INF Matt McLain ... 1B Christian Encarnacion-Strand ... LHP Andrew Abbott. I’d only heard of one. A few weeks later the arrivals began to arrive ... Switch hitter De La Cruz batted .235 with 15 doubles, seven triples, 13 homers, 44 RBIs, stole 35 bases, had a .710 OPS in 98 games and was a highlight every other night ... McLain, .290, 23 doubles, four triples, 16 homers, 50 RBIs and an .864 OPS in 89 games ... Abbott, 8-6, 3.87 ERA striking out 120 in 109 1/3 innings ... Encarnacion-Strang, .241 with seven doubles, 13 homers, 37 RBIs and an .805 OPS in 63 games.

Byckowski chose Abbott in the second round of 2021 from the University of Virginia and gave him a $1.3 million bonus. A large part of the Reds’ evaluation process is from Byckowski scouting from the Carolinas north, as well as Michigan. Ohio, Indiana and Canada. He tracked RHP Rhett Lowder of Wake Forest, a first rounder, given a $5.7 million bonus (seventh overall), second round high schooler SS Sammy Stafura, a Cortlandt Manor, N.Y. high schooler, $2,497,500 and sixth rounder Virginia OF Ethan O’Donnell, $307,500.

Lowder is No. 2 on MLB Pipeline’s top 30, 3B Cam Collier, a 2022 second rounder, ($3.66 million bonus), is fifth, 3B Sal Stewart, a 2022 first rounder (32nd), a Florida HSer ($2.37 million), seventh, Stafura, 11th, RHP Lyon Richardson, a 2018, second rounder ($1,997,500), 14th, OF Blake Dunn, Western Michigan, 2021 15th rounder (125,000), 22nd, C Logan Tanner, Mississippi State, 2022 second rounder, ($1.37 million), 25th; OF Austin Hendrick, 2020 first rounder (12th) a Pittsburgh area high schooler ($4 Million), 27th and LHP Adam Serwinowski a 2022 15th rounder, a South Carolina high schooler ($125,000), at 29. Outside of the Jays, the Reds had the most scouts working Canada in John Ceprini, Alec Benavides, son of former Expo Freddie Benavides and Byckowski. Plus Myles Gordon (Oakville, Ont.) is a new hire as a video co-ordinator.

38. Nick Pivetta, Red Sox (30).

He was a workhorse pitching in 38 games, going 10-9, with a 4.04 ERA and one save in 2023. He was sixth in starts made on the Boston staff with 16, three behind LHP James Paxton (Ladner, BC). He walked 50 and struck out 183 in 142 2/3 innings to lead all Canucks in whiffs. He finished strong, pitching seven scoreless in his final two starts. He became the fourth Red Sox hurler to pitch seven-plus scoreless in his final two starts, joining Cy Young (1904), Mel Parnell (1953) and Roger Clemens (1987). The first was a no decision against the White Sox and the second was getting his 10th win, a 3-0 victory against the Orioles. It was also his 50th career win. In his final four starts, he had a 1.75 ERA, holding opponents to a .149 average, striking out 33 in 25 2/3 innings.

He had wins starting against Brewers, Blue Jays, Mariners, Royals and Orioles, plus five wins in relief against the A’s (twice), Astros, Braves, Orioles and Yankees. Pivetta led Sox pitchers in strikeouts -- 51 more than Brayan Bello. Of 94 pitchers with 125 innings, he sat fourth in strikeouts. In his seventh season, he recorded career bests in ERA, opponent average (.208), WHIP (1.12) and strikeout rate (31.2%). Pivetta has signed a one-year contract for $7.5 million for 2024.

New York Mets executive Elizabeth Benn …

39. Elizabeth Benn, Mets (29).

Pre-season contenders for the World Series under owner Steven Cohen, the Mets won 75 games, finishing 29 games back of the first-place Braves. Brewers’ David Stearns replaced Billy Eppler as the head decision maker and Carlos Mendoza took over for manager Buck Showalter, the three-time skipper of the year. Despite all of the upheaval, Benn survived as director of major league operations.

The former High Park Brave tracks the waiver wire and is in charge of interpretation of big-league rules and the Basic Agreement. The former senior coordinator, Baseball Operations in the commissioner’ office, also gives the Mets support for the administration of transactions, waivers and roster management. Besides Benn, the other Canuck on the Mets’ staff is bullpen catcher Eric Langill (Kirkland, Que.), one of three in the majors along with Jamie Pogue (Guelph, Ont.) Cardinals, who has been elevated to a bullpen coach as well, and Alex Andreopoulos (Etobicoke, Ont.) Blue Jays. Also a member of the WSBC Women's development commission.

40. Bo Naylor, Myles Naylor and Chris Naylor (16).

Promoted June 17, Bo Naylor hit .183 with four home runs, 14 RBIs and a .602 OPS in his first 38 games. After Aug. 19, he batted .321 with eight doubles, seven home runs, 18 RBIs and a 1.113 OPS over his final 28 games, leading the AL in OPS (minimum 90 plate appearance) during that stretch and was second in the majors behind Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna (1.165). The last Cleveland catcher to post a batting average of .320-or-better and an OPS of 1.100-or-better over a 28-game span was Victor Martinez in 2009.

Bo had extra-base hits in 13 of his last 23 games and according to the great Sarah Langs, at 23 years 189 days, became the youngest Cleveland player to homer in three straight contests since Manny Ramírez in 1995. He is also the second-youngest Clevelander with an extra-base hit in six-or-more consecutive starts since Hal Trosky in 1934. And he was the third youngest Cleveland catcher to hit two homers in a game since Ray Fosse in 1970 and Hank Ruszkowski in 1947.

Myles Naylor, shown here with the Ontario Blue Jays.

Myles went 39th overall to the Oakland A’s, receiving a $2,202,500 signing bonus. He was scouted and signed by A’s Matt Higginson (Grimsby, Ont.). In 34 games in two stops in the Oakland system -- rookie-class Athletics in the Arizona Complex League and class-A Stockton - he hit .214 with three doubles, six homers, 17 RBIs and an .669 OPS. Myles made the Naylors only the second brother trio who all were selected in the first round, joining the Drew siblings (OF J.D. Drew, fifth overall, to St. Louis, INF Stephen Drew, 15th, Diamondbacks and RHP Tim Drew, 28th, Cleveland). Myles was in the same stratosphere as his older brothers: Josh went 12th to the Marlins for a $2.2 million and Bo 29th by Cleveland for $2,578,137 bonus. If I had a dollar for every scout who asked, “Are there any more Naylor brothers coming?” I’d have a vacation home in Arizona. Myles was part of the A’s Spring Break Out selections.

Mom Jenice Naylor, eldest son Josh — first of the three first-round picks — and dad Chris Naylor

Papa Chris coached all three of his sons with the Mississauga North Tigers when they started. The father threw batting practice and chased down foul balls in this province, in Florida and Arizona as the Ontario Blue Jays were on tour. All three sons had major influences. For Josh, it was coaches Danny Bleiwas and Sean Travers. For Bo, it was Mike Steed and Travers. For Myles, it is Corey Eckstein and Steed. The one constant for all three is papa Chris.

Radio legend and podcaster Robert McCown …

41. Bob McCown, podcaster, Bobby’s Hideaway regular (35).

A friend of mine, a radio/podcast junkie, says listening to McCown has always reminded him of the last verse of Frank Sinatra’s song ‘My Way’ which ends like this:

“For what is a man, what has he got?

If not himself then he has naught

Not to say the things that he truly feels

And not the words of someone who kneels

Let the record shows I took all the blows and did it my way.”

McCown (Mississauga, Ont.) took some blows in the form of being sidelined by more than one stroke in 2023. He bounced back quicker than my father did in 1968. Yet, he took the blows and was back in January hosting the ‘Bob McCown Podcast’ with John Shannon (Mississauga, Ont.) and pinch hitter Sir David Hodge (Ancaster, Ont.). When McCown worked at The Fan as the prime time host of Prime Time Sports, he made celebrities out of newcomers -- and he did the same with former Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, who appeared on McCown so often he was given his own ‘Gabbin’ with Gibby podcast ... since discontinued as he’s a bench coach with the Mets this season.

In 2023, ball sessions included Atlanta boss Alex Anthopoulos (Montreal, Que.), former Jays president Paul Beeston (Welland, Ont.), broadcasters Dan Shulman (Thornhill, Ont.), Joe Siddall (Windsor, Ont.), Jamie Campbell (Oakville, Ont.) and Buck Martinez, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi (Toronto, Ont.), Lindsay Berra, granddaughter of Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, current and former scribes from the Toronto Star and Sun: Richard Griffin (Oakville, Ont.), Dave Perkins (North York, Ont.), Gregor Chisholm (Toronto, Ont.), Rob Longley (Burlington, Ont.), plus Bill Shaikin (Montreal, Que.) Los Angeles Times and Gibbons. Robert can be found on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Google podcasts, Audacy, iHeartRadio and at Bobby’s Hideaway (two locations -- Streetsville and Lakeshore, Port Credit -- where all the pictures on the walls are men and women named Bobby).

42. Tyler O’Neill, Cards/Red Sox (39)

There was a time when scouts spoke about doing things “the Cardinal way,” ... the right way. Well, it was not a Cardinal Way type of season in 2023. Like second-year manager Oliver Marmol calling out O’Neill for being thrown out attempting to score from second with two out in the seventh. Said Marmol: “That’s not our style of play as far as the effort of rounding the bag there. It’s unacceptable.” Countered O’Neill, who was benched the next day, “These conversations definitely could have been had in-house and not gotten out loose like they have. It should have been handled a little differently in my opinion but who’s to say.”

O’Neill’s second-to-home time on the play was 7.31 seconds and his sprint speed on the play was 28 feet per second, according to Statscast. Replays showed he did not take too wide a turn. His speed on that particular play was almost two full feet per second slower than he’d averaged in 2022 (29.8 ft/sec) and slightly slower than 2023 (28.5). While the data shows that O’Neill was slower on that play than usual for him, was he “dogging it” is a different question, especially considering the hamstring injuries he dealt with throughout 2022. It’s very possible his hamstring issues simply slowed him in 2023 when his overall sprint speed dipped significantly compared to previous seasons, and he was being extra cautious early in the year when running the bases due to those injuries the season before. The better question after Game 5 of the 2023 season should have been: why are the Cards trying to run on Braves strong-armed RF Ronald Acuna ... down three with only seven outs remaining.

When few major leaguers showed to play for Canada, O’Neill not only showed, but he batted .615 (8-for-13) with two doubles and four RBIs for a 1.491 OPS. Now a member of the Red Sox, he will earn $5.85 million in 2024.

43. Justin Morneau, Twins (27).

The former AL MVP worked 67 games from the Twins broadcast booth. As well, he did a few regular season and playoff games for the Sportsnet pregame show. While others age daily, Morneau always seem to look younger. Must be the Minnesota Nice affect. He is also a special assistant to ball operations with the Twins. Morneau was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame for 2024 with the following notation:

“Considered among the greatest Canadian players ever to appear in the majors. In a 14-year career (2003-16) playing 1,545 regular season games at first base with the Twins, Rockies, Pirates, and White Sox. During his career he accumulated 1,603 hits, 247 home runs, drove in 985 runs and a had .281 batting average. Winner of the 2006 AL MVP award, one of only three Canadians ever to win an MVP award (Larry Walker and Joey Votto). Two-time winner of the AL Silver Slugger award (2006, 2008) as the top offensive first baseman. Four-time AL All-Star (2007-10). 2014 NL batting champ with a .319 average. Three-time winner of the James ‘Tip’ O’Neill Award as Canada’s top player.”

The other inductees were athletes: the late Amanda Asay (Prince George, BC) baseball; swimmer Ryan Cochrane (Victoria, BC), freestyle skier Cassie Sharpe (Comox, BC) and golfer Richard Zokol (Kitimat, BC); plus builders/coaches Beverley Felske (Port Coquitlam, BC) ringette, Dr. Bob McCormack (New Westminster, BC) sports medicine and the late Wayne Norton (Port Moody, BC), Mariners scout; plus teams the 1998 Langley Little League All-Stars (Andrew Bell, Faizan Choudhry, Clayton Deglan, George Duda, Jeff Duda, Mike Erickson, Brad Fraser, Mark Henderson, Jared Krause, Jordan Lennerton, Brett Logan, Brad MacDonald, Dave Mihalech, Tanner Mikesh, Karl Reddick, Brian Sargent and Sean Sargent); 1921-22 Vancouver Amazons Women’s Team, hockey; Don Taylor, media and Glen Ringal, WAC Bennett award Glen Ringdal. That’s four HOFs for Morneau: St. Marys, the Twins, triple-A Rochester Red Wings and BC. Morneau was the first guest on MLB Network to congratulate new Hall of Famer Joe Mauer, his former roomie.

44. Mike McRae, head coach, William & Mary University (58).

The Pride lost 2-1 to Charleston and 6-0 to Northeastern in the Coastal Conference, finishing the season 32-25. That gives former Niagara and Canisius (winning the Metro Atlantic in 2013 and 2015) coach 528 wins in his 19 seasons as the boss man. Last July, 3B Ben Williamson was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the second round (59th overall) and Cory Wall was drafted in the eighth round by the Braves. They were two of 12 top-10-round picks in program history. Williamson earned CAA player of the year honours, while Carter Lovasz and Williamson were named first team All-CAA. Tank Yaghoubi was named to the CAA all-rookie Team.

Two former Toronto Mets OFs Charlie Iriotakis (Toronto, Ont.) and Calvin Warrillow (Toronto, Ont.) are on the roster of the only Canadian head coach in the NCAA Division I ranks. Iriotakis made eight starts as a freshman hitting .209 with seven RBIs and Warrillow is a freshman this spring. McRae has a pitching background and his team ERA of 4.17 was second in the conference to Northeastern in the 11 team loop, walking 197 and striking out 108. The Pride was ninth in team hitting.

45. Matt Stairs, hitting savant (40).

Often people ask what is the sign of a good baseball man? I’m not talking about a sandlot third baseman or a right fielder. At the six-team Atlantic championships in Fredericton, N.B., I spotted hometown Hall of Fame hero Matt Stairs manning the booth under an umbrella, as mothers and fathers do come tournament time. When it was almost 11, he packed up everything and said good night. Someone accused him of slacking and he said, “See you here at 7:30, it’s going to rain and we’ll have to work on the field.” Forget the 265 career home runs -- that’s a baseball man. It rained. They worked on the fields and the games were pushed back four hours.

We also saw Stairs (Fredericton, N.B.) work with hitters in a soft, quiet manner at the Western Canadian Baseball League All-Star Game at Seaman Stadium in Okotoks where he signed autographs down the left field line under another umbrella. He was a guest at the Phillies 156-player Fantasy camp.

For a man third among Canadian hitters in career homers (265), Stairs still has a lot to give. We asked someone what he does with Fredericton minor ball? “Ah, I guess you could sum it up in one word: ‘Everything.’” His picture is on the Fredericton Royals main site, along with handsome Paul Hodgson (Fredericton, NB) and INF Scott Harvey Jr. (Marysville, NB), who played three seasons in the Dodgers and Cardinals systems, as well as in the Bruins system with the AHL’s Boston Braves.

The Intentional Talk trio: former Blue Jay Kevin Millar, host Siera Santos and Ryan Dempster …

46. Ryan Dempster, Cubs/MLB Network (42).

Still with the Cubs and Marquee Sports Network, the fast-on-the-draw Dempster teams with Siera Santos and Kevin Millar. It is the best rapport in this the third iteration of the show that we have seen. And we qualify as a long-time listener/watcher, never-time caller. You’d think that Millar, a funny man, and Dempster had attended high school together and played on the same travel team. Not quite, but close. The two were teammates with the Florida Marlins (1998-2002). Dempster was 42-43 with a 4.64 ERA in 124 games, striking out 628 in 759 2/3 innings. Millar played 500 games, hitting .296 with 59 homers, 251 RBIs and an .871 OPS. In July of 2002, Dempster was dealt to the Reds and before the 2003 season Millar’s contract was purchased by the Red Sox ... where he changed the history of the franchise -- with a walk.

Dempster had his own version of ‘Kevin’s Highlights’ brilliantly tabbed ‘Ryan’s Highlights.’ We remember his debut, raising his voice describing a series of one routine play after another saying: “These are ACTION PACKED folks ... They’re ROCKING OUT in Cleveland ... Xzavion Curry to Kris Bryant ... down the middle ... ground ball to short ... what a catch by Josh Naylor at first ... Take it over to Angel Stadium, first pitch of the game ... José Suarez ... trying to throw a strike ... WHAT DOES HE DO? ... A ball away ... Down to the Trop, Corey Julks hits it right back to Jalen Beeks ... WHAT DOES HE DO? ... A nice little flip to first ... Way up north, Chris Bassitt with his coconut water as he strolls to the bullpen ... Nothing better than a cement mixer slider to the home run champion of the world Aaron Judge ... AND WHAT HAVE WE GOT? POP UP to Polanco at second. Perfect catch. Sonny Gray likes it. ... It’s the little plays that make a big difference in the game.” Canadian humor we’d say. His ‘Off the Mound with Ryan Dempster,’ a late-night style talk show, airs Fridays on Marquee.

47. Zoe Hicks, Dodgers, Canadian Women’s Team (-).

You never know where to find Zoe: in Thunder Bay at the Women’s World Cup (baseball), or at nationals, or the Softball championships in World Cup in Castions di Strada and Buttrio, Italy, where they qualified for next summer’s event, the World Cup group, the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile, where Canada won bronze. Either way Zoe will be in a CANADA uniform. Or ... Zoe could be found in Arizona with the Dodgers in the Arizona Complex League as a coach and as a technology associate. Zoe took part in the ‘Take The Field’ program in 2020 and began working for the Dodgers in their technology department in 2022. In 2023, more on-field duties were added.

Zoe (Boissevain, Man.) played softball at Iowa Western, Buffalo and Louisiana Tech as well as representing Manitoba at national Baseball Canada tournaments for a few years, and played for the Canadian softball team for two summers. This was the first summer she represented both in the same calendar year. In baseball, you can spot her at third base and at first or in the outfield for softball. And it all began when Zoe tagged along with her father to a Boissevain Centennials senior tourney.

Her volleyball coach Corey Billaney asked if Zoe and her brother wanted to come. Zoe came back to the dugout. Manitoba coach Marc Bissonnette was asking questions and if she would play for the Women’s Provincial Team. Zoe did the rest. For her outstanding contributions in two sports at the international level, Zoe was named the 66th winner of The Brandon Sun’s Krug Crawford award, presented annually to Westman’s sportsperson of the year since 1958. Canadian women’s softball coach Kaleigh Rafter told the Brandon Sun you’d have to go back to “the Bo Jackson days,” or “Hayley Wickenheiser, who played softball and hockey in 2004.” She was also named the Women’s National Team MVP in 2023.

48. Shi Davidi, Sportsnet (44).

As only the fourth Canadian president of the Baseball Writers Association of America, Davidi had a busy year, a lot busier than the first three: J.P. Sarault, Montreal Matin in 1980, Ian MacDonald, Montreal Gazette in 2001 and some old goat, 1999. You may have seen a betting ad or two since the industry got into bed with wagering. Surprise, but there was nothing in the BBWAA rules regarding betting regulations so Davidi and his board started a change of constitution. He was on the stage when Detroit scribe John Lowe was honored with the BBWAA award of excellence at the Glimmerglass Opera House. And he watched the next day as ex-Jays Scott Rolen and Fred McGriff were inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

In December of 2023, Davidi, who has covered all five World Baseball Classics, was honoured with the fourth annual Baseball Canada media award. And during the season, El Presidente talked Blue Jays talk on The Fan radio, on Sportsnet TV, and rushed upstairs to write for the Sportsnet. From the WBC in Phoenix in March to the winter meetings in Nashville, Davidi was there. We must remind Jays fanatics that the reports that Shohei Ohtani had A) signed with the Jays or B) was on a flight to Toronto, did not come from Sportsnet.

Royals minor league field coordinator Scott Thorman

49. Scott Thorman, minor-league field coordinator, Royals (62).

After managing seven years in the KC system -- class-A Burlington, class-A Lexington, class-A Wilmington, double-A Northwest Arkansas and triple-A Omaha and winning four titles -- he moved to the executive side. A total of 54 minor leaguers that he managed went on to the majors, including SS Bobby Witt, who was with Thorman at Northwest Arkansas and signed an 11-year extension worth $288 million with KC. He ran an assembly line watching his minor-league charges head to KC:

RHPs _ Brady Singer, Carlos Hernandez, Alec Marsh, Jonathan Bowlan and Jonathan Heasley.

LHPs _ Daniel Lynch, Ángel Zerpa, Eric Skoglund, Kris Bubic, and Austin Cox.

INFs _ Maikel García, Michael Massey, Nicky Lopez, Nick Loftin, Nate Eaton, Nick Pratto, Adalberto Mondesí, Emmanuel Rivera and Witt.

OFs _ Kyle Isbel, Vinnie Pasquantino, Dairon Blanco, Drew Waters, Edward Olivares, Tyler Cropley, Nick Heath and Brewer Hicklen.

C _ Freddy Fermin, Logan Porter, MJ Melendez, Cam Gallagher, Sebastián Rivero and Nick Dini.

RPs _ Josh Staumont, Dylan Coleman, Gabe Speier, Richard Lovelady, Foster Griffin, José Cuas, Jackson Kowar, Ronald Bolaños, Collin Snider, Tyler Zuber,

And then there were Royals farmhands who broke in with other teams: RHP David McKay, who broke in with the Mariners and then pitched for the Tigers, Yankees, Rays and A’s, C Meibrys Viloria, Guardians, OF Khalil Lee, Mets, RP Anthony Bander and Robert Garcia, Marlins, RP Daniel Duarte, Reds, OF Blake Perkins, Brewers, Carlos Sanabria, Astros, C José Briceño, Angels, RHP Jesse Hahn and INF Iván Castillo Padres. We didn’t count those with major league-time who came to Omaha and had their careers rejuvenated, returning to the majors. Thorman was beyond impactful in the development of several major leaguers, winning at every level and creating a style of play with his players that was relentless from pitching and defence, to hitting and base running. Players loved playing for him. Those same traits have followed him into his new position.

Brewers VP of baseball operations Gord Ash

50. Gord Ash, Taylor Green, Doug Melvin, Brewers (61).

Ash (Toronto, Ont.), vice president of Brewers baseball projects, oversaw the completion of the new academy Santo Domingo Este in the Dominican Republic which had its grand opening Jan. 18. The Brewers have the fifth-best farm system in the majors with a pair of Canucks in the top 26: 3B Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.) who is fourth on the Brewers’ top prospect and No. 51 in the game and No. 22. 2B Dylan O’Rae (Sarnia, Ont.). It brings to mind the days of when scout Dick (The Legend) Groch led in Canucks signed.

Taylor Green, right, celebrates a Canada win with coach/Hall of Famer Larry Walker …

Green (Comox, BC) is very active in international scouting and player development. The Brewers’ Latin prospects include: No. 1 (according to Baseball America) OF Jackson Chourio, (who shared the Robin Yount minor league player of the year award with Tyler Black), No. 3 C Jeferson Quero, 7th OF Luis Lara, 9th RHP Carlos Rodriguez, 11th OF Yophery Rodriguez, 13th SS Jorge Quintana, 22nd SS Jadher Areinamo, 23rd SS Daniel Guilarte, 26th OF Pedro Ibarguen and 30th SS Filippo Di Turi. This January, the Brewers signed Venezuelan SS Jorge Quintana for a $1.7 million bonus. They also signed Dominican SS Jesus Made ($950,000), Dominican SS Luis Peña ($850,000) and Venezuelan SS Joandrew Peña.

Doug Melvin’s nephew RHP Chris Melvin (Woolwich, Ont.), of the Mississauga North Tigers, is going to school at Paris Community College this fall. Besides throwing winter bullpens in the same gym as Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.), Doug pitched in the minors for six seasons in the Pirates (1972-73) and the Yankees organizations (1975-78. He went on to become GM of the Rangers (1994–2001), making the post-season three times and then ran the Brewers (2002-2015), making the playoffs four times with closer John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.) and Ash by his side. He is a senior consultant with the Brewers.

Twins scout Walt Burrows in his pre-Minnesota days wearing a Blue Jays pullover at a clinic …

51. Walt Burrows, scout, Twins (63).

Two Canadians made their major-league debut in 2023. It is not a coincidence that both played for the Twins. The Twins recalled 2B Edouard Julien (Quebec, Que.) and reliever Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.). Julien was recalled from the St. Paul Saints on April 12 and stayed until May 31. He was back June 10 and played in 135 games. Balazovic made his big-league debut June 18 against the Tigers and four days later picked up his first win -- against the White Sox. He appeared in 18 games and then was returned to triple-A after 65 days in the majors.

Balazovic made it five Ontario Blue Jays to pitch in the majors in 2023. The five were 1B Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.), C Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.), RP Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.), RP Zach Pop (Brampton, Ont.) and Balozavic. The old record for players from the same Canadian elite program in the majors in the same year was the Delta Blue Jays with 1B Justin Morneau (New Westminster, BC), LHP Jeff Francis (Delta, BC) and LHP James Paxton (Ladner, BC). For years, Burrows had the largest area of any area scout -- Canada -- for all 30 teams as Canadian director of the Scouting Bureau. Now, he only looks at players he likes.

RHP Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) was the only established big-league starter to pitch for Canada in the WBC …

52. Cal Quantrill, Guardians/Rockies (20).

After the 2023 season, Cleveland dealt Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) to the Colorado Rockies for C Kody Huff, a seventh rounder from Stanford, who spent 2023 at class-A Fresno. After making 32 starts and pitching 186 1/3 innings in 2022, he had two injuries (shoulder inflammation) last season, limiting him to 19 starts and 99 2/3 innings. Quantrill will earn $6.55 million from the Rockies, almost double -- $110,000 shy -- than his father Paul Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) made his best year in 2003 with the Dodgers.

Quantrill was 4-7 with a 5.24 ERA, recording wins over the Tigers (six scoreless), the Twins (seven scoreless), Giants (one run in six innings) and the Tigers (five innings four runs). He fanned 58 in 99 2/3 innings. In 2022, he was 15-5 with a 3.38 ERA striking out 128 in 186 1/3 innings.

Brewers scout and Langley Blaze architect Doug Mathieson checks his batting order

53. Doug Mathieson, GM Langley Blaze/Brewers scout (37).

There isn’t an elite team in Canada -- outside of the Junior National Team -- that plays a stronger schedule south of the border. Mathieson is easy to find: in March and October he has a troupe of his Blaze and pick ups in Arizona and Florida. Tyler O’Neill’s mentor has had 170 players drafted -- including 12 first rounders -- from their spring and fall trips, this their 23rd annual. The best thing players tell me about the trip is the first-class treatment and exposure. Anywhere from 70-to-100 scouts are expected at Langley’s scout day. The Blaze Indoor Training Facility opens this fall and will boast a full-size infield with synthetic turf, batting cages, a gym, as well as hitting and pitching labs.

Major leaguers to wear the Langley uniforms include: 1B Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.), RHP Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.), RHP Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.), 3B Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC), RHP Nick Pivetta (Victoria, BC), RHP Phillipe Aumont (Gatineau, Que.), OF Dalton Pompey (Mississauga, Ont.), RHP Zach Pop (Brampton, Ont.), INF Charles Leblanc (Laval, Que.), INF Edouard Julien (Quebec, Que.), RHP Jordon Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.), RHP Rowan Wick (North Vancouver, BC), OF Jared Young (Prince George, BC), INF Myles Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.), RHP Scott Mathieson (Aldergrove, BC) and O’Neill. Plus American LHP Brendan McKay. The Blaze capped an unbeaten weekend defeating the Coquitlam Reds 11-1 in the championship at the 2023 Langley Fall Classic.

One of the most important jounalists in North America history, Allan Simpson …

54. The Simpsons, Allan and Jeff, author/Brewers scout (56).

Allan always has a project on the go whether it is a book on the draft -- Baseball America’s Ultimate Draft Book -- a list -- The Best Baseball-Football Talents Over The Last 40 Years, which includes the likes of former Blue Jays selections Shea Morenz and Chris Weinke, plus a shortstop named Patrick Mahomes. Now, he is compiling a database of all Canadians signed to pro contracts since end of WW II, even those who signed, but never played a pro game. He has 1,500-plus names on the list so far, complete with signing dates/bonuses, other bio data. But where to start and where to finish. The first Canadian drafted was INF Jim Chapman (Victoria, BC) in the third round of the 1970 January draft from Columbia Basin College. The commissioner’s office disallowed the pick since Canadians at U.S. schools were not eligible until 1985. Chapman signed a year later with the Expos.

Allan founded the highly-respected Baseball America in White Rock, BC making everyone from fans to scouting directors to GMs fall in love with prospects. He no longer is in charge of the Canadian Hall of Fame selection committee conference call, since it has been eliminated. He took over for The Hon. Mr. Justice Randall Echlin as head of the hall’s process.

Allan’s son Jeff Simpson (Kelowna, BC), an area scout for the Brewers works out of Nashville. Last July, he drafted sixth rounder SS Cooper Pratt, a high schooler from Senatobia, Miss. who was given a $1.3 million bonus. He also drafted ninth round LHP Mike Manfredi and 16th round pick RHP Josh Timmerman of Ohio State. His draft, 3B Alex Binelas, a 2021 third rounder, was sent to Boston with CF Jackie Bradley and prospect INF David Hamilton in exchange for Hunter Renfroe. In 2023, Binelas hit .223 with 18 doubles, 16 homers, 52 RBIs and a .755 OPS at double-A Portland.

Junior National Team and Toronto Mets coach Pete Orr …

55. Peter Orr, scout Brewers/coach Toronto Mets (38).

Dylan O’Rae (Sarnia, Ont.) was there for all the scouts to see. But Orr (Newmarket, Ont.), who wears different hats (Junior National Team and Mets coach as well as a Brewers scout), selected O’Rae as the top Canuck in 2022. And third rounder O’Rae led all Canucks with the best batting average in the minors in 2023 combining to hit .349 average between class-A Carolina (.330) and Arizona Complex League (.362). O’Rae is 15th on the Brewers prospect list, according to ESPN. He also was 44-for-50 stealing bases.

Orr is in charge of player development and an infield coordinator with the Toronto Mets, working with Ryan McBride and Rich Leitch. The Brewers have spent $6,501,700 on Canadians (who were given six-figure signing bonuses), which is third among the 30 teams. The Pirates are top dawgs spending $7,180,000 followed by the Padres ($7,164,449). The Jays are eighth at $4.08 million and the Giants are dead last at $205,000.

56. Stubby Clapp, coach, Cardinals (41).

Under manager Oliver Marmol, the Cards did not do things the Cardinals way. The disagreement with C Wilson Contreras and the chewing out of Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC) publicly are two examples of this. It was not a routine year: 71 wins to finish last, lowest since the 1959 (led by Stan Musial, Bill White and Vinegar Bend Mizell) and 1938 Cardinals (Johnny Mize, Dusty Medwick and Bob Welland). The Cards lost 24 of their first 34 games.

“We’re expecting to win this year, that is as clear cut as it can be, we’re motivated to bring a winner back to St. Louis,” Clapp told Noot News podcast. “We didn’t like what happened last year and it happened on our watch.” Clapp said he really didn’t want to coach when he retired. He worked as a drug and alcohol counsellor for three months and it took about a month before he realized he wanted to stay in the game. The Astros hired him first, where he helped minor-leaguer J.D. Martinez (325 career homers) with his swing.

Leaside’s keeper of The Shrine, Howie Birnie …

57. Howie Birnie, Mr. Leaside (-).

In 2012, Birnie was a big deal. It was his 50th year of volunteering at The Shrine, also known as Leaside’s Talbot Park. That year, he received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee award in recognition of his 50 years of volunteering in amateur ball. The next year he was elected to the Leaside Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was inducted into the OBA Hall of Fame and in 2019 he was elected to the Toronto Sport Hall of Honour. And this summer he will be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys. He is trying to catch jockey Sandy Hawley for most HOF honours. Over the years, he saw coach Roger Neilson’s antics and the likes of 1B Rick Foley, SS Alfie Payne, C Buck Reed, SS Dave Peyman, RHP Bob (Flakey) Johnstone, SS Davey Wallace and LHP Steve (Whitey) Breitner.

Some say that sweet swing resembles Ted Williams, some say John Olerud and others say Howie Birnie

Over the years he coached (1958-88, seven city, one provincial, one national titles), was president of the Toronto Baseball Association (1978-85) and the OBA (1991-92). Oh, and he has been El Presidente of Leaside since 1973. He umped for a spell (34 years, although assignments to work the plate at Kinsmen Stadium in Oshawa were rare). He was an assistant coach and picked up the odd sign from an opposing catcher from the first base coach’s box. I first met him in 1968 and he has not changed a lick: except he has cut back on raking the infield. He still sits in front of the canteen reading his newspaper — The Toronto Star — and hoots at really old pitching coaches (“Get off the field you old man!”) making them laugh as they approach a struggling starter. When we picked the all-time, all-Ontario team for our book the Northern Game, Birnie was the man we asked to pick the province’s best.

Canadian women’s team mound ace Alli Schroder …

58. Alli Schroder, Canadian women’s team (101).

One of the brave firefighters in BC tasked with putting out the wildfires that caused the smoke which blanketed North America last summer, also plays ball. RHP Schroder (Fruitvale, BC) will anchor the pitching staff for our Women’s National Team at the World Cup Finals in 2024 in Thunder Bay. Her ability to deal with pressure comes naturally: She literally puts out flames for the BC government, usually working 14-hour shifts with two days off in between. “You come off the fire line after a 14-hour day and think about picking up a baseball.”

Wearing the Maple leaf as a high school student in 2018, the then-16-year-old was the winning pitcher in Canada’s bronze medal-winning game over the USA in the World Cup. Over three appearances in that World Cup, she allowed three earned runs over 13 innings. A year later, Schroder pitched a complete game to beat the Dominican Republic in the Pan Am Women’s championship in Aguascalientes, Mex. The barrier-breaking right-hander became the first woman to play in the Canadian Conference when she suited up as a freshman for the Vancouver Island University Mariners.

59. Jamie Campbell, Sportsnet (60).

Years ago, a TV friend of mine in Ottawa told me how he was more comfortable as emcee of a banquet of 1,000 people compared to sitting in a TV studio with less than 25 people in the room. “It’s the red light -- when that light goes on, a lot of nights I fight fear of failure.” Campbell, who has worked Blue Jays games since 1998, has never shied away from the light ... red lights on Camera 1, the bright lights overheard or Camera II.

Campbell shared pictures of his face covered in red spots on social media. He was diagnosed with actinic keratosis, also known as pre-skin cancer. He thought it was because his face was exposed to the sun for a lengthy time frame period while driving his vehicle. It’s what caused Campbell to miss broadcasting pre- and post-game on Sportsnet for the World Series. He was awarded the David Cornfield Melanoma Fund annual recognition award for raising skin cancer awareness in January of this year. He was treated for leukemia treatments in 2022.

The late Dylan Gervais (Penetanguishene, Ont.), left, of the Orillia Royals 18U, with his younger brother Mason and Campbell. The broadcaster and Dylan were brought together by leukemia and bonded through the game they loved. Three weeks before Dylan passed, they gathered at his home. Deepest sympathies to parents Amanada and Mike, plus Mason, as well as the loved ones.

Campbell visited Dylan Gervais of the Orillia Royals 18U on Nov. 6. Three weeks later, Dylan was felled by an aggressive leukemia. As he did during the peak of COVID pandemic, Campbell is calling fans who want to talk ball. At last check, he had checked off 40 names.

As Campbell’s partner Joe Siddall noted the impotent offence all year -- eighth in the majors in team batting average (.258), 11th in OPS (.745), 13th in slugging (.417), 14th in runs scored (746) and 16th in homers (188). Often when on the wrap-up show, host Campbell or Siddall would say to the other “they might be winning 2-1 games, but this won’t fly in the playoffs.” It didn’t. The Jays broadcast crew along with Dan Shulman, Buck Martinez and Siddall ranked fourth among 2023 Best Local Broadcasters compiled by Awful Announcing.

Great Lake Canadians co-owners Adam Stern, left and Chris Robinson …

60. Chris Robinson, Jamie Romak, Adam Stern, Great Lake Canadians (49).

When former major leaguer Robinson homered for the Padres in 2013, Ford C. Frick winning broadcaster Dick Enberg was so excited he reacted with glee saying “a lifetime minor leaguer a hockey player from Canada ... his life has made the whole circle, he can now go home and say ‘Major leagues ... home run.’” Robinson didn’t go home and sit on his laurels, he and Stern run the Great Lake Canadians elite team. Robinson is regarded as the best batting practice pitcher in the province. The story is he once threw over 1,000 balls in batting practice and threw only six balls the hitters did not swing at. Asked about the legend, Robinson answered, “The ball count sounds a little high.” He’s respected as a talented catching tutor.

Romak, a former major leaguer and Tip O’Neill award winner in 2020 (32 homers, 91 runs, with a .946 OPS for SK Wyverns in Korea) is GM of the Canadian Premier League all-star teams. The selection process begins at the CPBL all-star tryouts. Evaluations are made during the season’s games and the top players are brought together for the all-star weekend. The selection process involves the organizational leaders within the CPBL, scouts, the Blue Jays Academy and Perfect Game scouts that cover the events. The 18U team (coached by Corey Eckstein, Mike Steed, Stern and Romak) head to Jupiter for the Perfect Game World Wood Bat while the 17U (coached by Rich Leitch, Jimmy Richardson, Eckstein and Robinson) heads to Fort Myers.

Former major leaguer Stern, owns the franchise along with Robinson, while Romak is there to share his experiences, provide mentorship and help Robinson with college placement. Scouts tell me that the Canadians Royal Field is the best in Canada. Royal Field in Dorchester has turf which used to be at the Rogers Centre and bills itself as the only other full-size artificial turf field used solely for ball in Ontario. There are 400 seats behind the home plate area. Canadians grads include: Dylan O’Rae (Sarnia, Ont.) who led all Canuck hitters in the minors in average last year, as well as Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian college team members RHP Matt Duffy (Burlington, Ont.) and Nick George (Sarnia, Ont.). The Terriers share a turf field with soccer at King’s Christian in Oakville, while McLeod Athletic Park in Langley, University of British Columbia and Latrace in Richmond, BC, plus Webber Academy outside of Calgary also have turf diamonds in Canada.

The innovative Tom Tango, also known as TangoTiger …

61. Tom Tango, Advanced Media, MLB (43).

The stats we all take for granted: pitch speed, hit speed, pitch location, home distance are daily staples of any broadcast under his regime. Remember when IBM sponsored home run distance measurement? A Blue Jays hit a tape measure bomb and the usually reserved John Cerutti said, “I think we know that IBM does not stand for Intelligent Bureau of Measurement.” When it comes to derivative-stats, the key stats are probably catch probability, sprint speed and outs above average.

Best numbers from the 2023 season ... Most barrels: Leader _ Ronald Acuna, 86, Blue Jays leader: Matt Chapman, 59; Most five-star catches: Leader: Corbin Caroll 4, Jays: Kevin Kiermaier one; Outs Above Average leader: Dansby Swanson, 29, Jays Kiermaier 13, Daulton Varsho 11; Highest average exit velocity (minimum 300 at-bats): Leader: Aaron Judge, 97.6 mph, Jays: Chapman 93.4 mph, Guerrero 92.; Sprint speed (minimum 10 competitive runs): Leader: Elly De La Cruz, 30.5 ft/sec; Jays: Kiermaier, 28.8 ft/sec, Whit Merrifield 28.7 ft/sec.

Former Canadian Baseball Network Jim Ridley scout of the year winner Padres Chris Kemlo …

62. Chris Kemlo, cross checker, Padres (28).

It was Kemlo who drafted FieldHouse Pirate OF Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.), currently ranked 47th on both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline heading into 2024. His former Toronto Mets players rank in the top 100 on the prospect list: INF Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.) top Canuck drafted in 2021 as a first rounder by the Milwaukee Brewers (33rd) and OF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) fourth round from Cal State Northridge Matadors by the A’s in 2021. When not working for the Padres, Kemlo (Clarington, Ont.) founded PBR Canada and is still the supervisor and teaches change ups to sons Kershaw and CJ.

Promoted to Midwest cross checker, he scouted Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Minnesota in 2023 while still having Canada. He was in on evaluating OF Dillon Head, a high schooler from Flossmoor, Ill. who went to San Diego in the first round (25th) and received a $2.8 million signing bonus. His free-agent sign RHP Braden Nett -- when not working at Home Depot -- was 2-2 with a 4.46 ERA, with 45 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings at class-A Lake Elisnore and the Padres Arizona Complex League. He made big leaps, started the championship game of the Arizona Fall League and ranks as the Padres 20th best prospect at Baseball America.

63. Jason Dickson, President & CEO, Baseball Canada (50).

You have to give the World Baseball Softball Confederation a lot of credit for getting the two sports back into the Olympics, although it is only six countries. The WBSC don’t deserve any credit for creating the original Pan Am Games selection process. On March 6, 2023, during the WBC, Canada was told that there would no longer be a Pan Am qualifier -- since no one would host it -- and the eight teams entered in the Pan Am Games would not include Canada. This despite that Canada had shown the best results in the previous events (gold in 2011 in Lagos de Moreno, Mex., gold in 2015 in Ajax, Ont., silver in 2019 in Lima, Peru). The next plan was to have eight teams: the host, the winners of Junior Pan Am, the top four Central America and Caribbean Games and Team USA.

Dickson did some stick-handling and helped suggest a new format which saw Canada head to Argentina to qualify for a final spot against Panama, Argentina, Peru, Honduras and Aruba. A qualifier in June is not ideal and Canada lost on a tie-breaker, but it was Dickson who helped get Canada a chance when none existed. Canada lost to 49th ranked Argentina to fall to 3-1 and lost a tie-breaker on run differential, as Panama beat Argentina in the final. As the names continue to go up on the Baseball Canada Wall of Honour there is a small lobby group suggesting both Blaise Laveay (Kelowna, BC), who umpired at the Canadian Futures Showcase in 2023, and Dickson be added. Both were part of the 1991 World Junior title: Laveay hitting a two-run homer off fifth overall pick Kenny Henderson to give Canada the lead and beat Team USA. Dickson (Chatham, NB) pitched 5 2/3 scoreless in the same game as Canada rallied from a 4-0 deficit.

64. Jim Stevenson, domestic scouting supervisor, Astros (34).

Another Stevenson draft made the majors (his 15th) RHP Peyton Battenfield. Drafted by Stevenson in the ninth round from Oklahoma State he was dealt to the Rays and traded him to the Guardians where he made his debut in 2023, making six starts. He’s now with the Mets. Another of his signed players in the TV league is Parker Mushinski with the Astros.

Two Stevenson drafts to watch are RHP Rhett Kouba, a 12th rounder out of Dallas Baptist in 2021 who finished the year at triple-A Sugar Land making three starts and was named the double-A Texas League pitcher of the year at Corpus Christi where he struck out 118 in 110 innings and RP Logan VanWey, signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022 for $20,000 from Missouri Southern University. Nobody knew about him. In a year-and-a-half, he had fast tracked to triple-A combining to fan 63 in 48 1/3 innings. Both Kouba and VanWey could be in the majors this year. Stevenson was “really happy for my old coach and friend, and one of the really good Leaside Guys,” Howie Birnie, who was elected into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in February.

Terriers coach and The Baseball Zone owner Rick Johnston

65. Rick Johnston and Kevin Horton, The Baseball Zone, Terriers (63).

They have not really made a highway from the Terriers’ facility in Mississauga to Ann Arbour, Mich. It just looks that way. Following in the footsteps of LHP Connor O’Halloran (Mississauga, Ont.), who was drafted from the Michigan Wolverines and signed by the Blue Jays in July is LHP-OF Keegan O’Hearn (Oshawa, Ont.), who went to the Ann Arbour campus last fall. O’Hearn was named the 23rd ranked impact freshman in the Big Ten by DIBaseball. Terriers grad Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) is with the Rockies. Johnston was again a guest speaker at the annual Best Ever clinic.

Kevin Horton of The Baseball Zone with daughter RHP Emma during the ALS Double Play charity day.

Horton says The Baseball Zone has had significant growth the last year due in large part to the quality of coaches. Newcomers include: Chris Black, Wayne Ireland, Adam Crowley, Luke Tevlin and Mike Asselin. Horton ran an ALS Double Play charity and in total $5,000 was raised on the day. And Horton is still pitching as he did when his all-star team made the nationals. In 2023, he was back with the mighty York Diamonds. When you are coaching children (one at 9U in Markham and two more in T-ball) it can be as tough as a day game after a night game. He purchased 50% of The Baseball Zone from Nicole and Mike Tevlin. Horton was one of the first hires when the facility opened 21 years ago.

66. Roger Rai, vice chairman, Blue Jays (82).

A year ago Rai, who attended the University of Western Ontario at the same time as Edward Rogers, was listed as a consultant. We missed the official announcement, but now Rai is listed on the main Blue Jays page of employees as the No. 2 man ... right underneath chairman Edward Rogers.

Rai has represented the Jays at plenty of owners meetings over the years. Does this mean he takes over for the late, great Phil Lind? Rai is Edward Rogers’ eyes and ears around the ball club whether at home or when the club is in New York. I’m told he loves the game, knows the game, and is part superfan, part insider and “good guy” who wants to see the team do well. The only mark against him would have been in 2015 when Paul Beeston was in the presidential office and phone calls were made to both the Orioles (to hire Dan Duquette) and the White Sox (Kenny Williams) to replace Beeston. Stories read how the Jays had offered former No. 1 picks Jeff Hoffman and Max Pentecost? Who made the offer? Not Beeston surely. And not GM Alex Anthopoulos.

The Exit Philosophy podcast is co-hosted by Scott (162) MacArthur and Richard Griffin of GriffsThePitch.com …

67. Richard Griffin and Scott MacArthur (48).

No one covers the game with as much knowledge, expertise and humor as Griffin (Oakville, Ont.). His career has 26 seasons navigating both the Expos and Blue Jays PR jobs, as well as media relations, plus 24 years writing columns for the Toronto Star, coaching (this year the undefeated Burlington Bulls 22U) and campaigning. He’s still writing. After turning down an offer to write for one Canadian site, he is in his second season at GriffsThePitch.com site. And tis always a good read.

When not writing, he and One-Sixty-Two (162) MacArthur -- the only man I’ve known to cover 162 games of a Blue Jays season not named Tom Cheek -- cohost the Exit Philosophy podcast. Yes, MacArthur (Bedford, NS) showed up for more games than some players in uniform. And he worked hard, arrived on time and made contacts. Some weeks the podcast is a fun look at the Jays and the game itself. Some weeks it is hard hitting and fun. Every week it is entertaining. While most of us have lost a step over the years, MacArthur still has the pipes. Or should that be PIPES?

Vauxhall Academy Jets coach Les McTavish …

68. Les McTavish, coach, Vauxhall Academy (73).

Coaches are taught early “don’t fall in love with players.” There is nothing wrong with being loyal. LHP Wesley Moore (Surrey, BC) transferred from Cal State Northridge after the 2019 spring when coaches were fired. He transferred to Kansas State yet the transfer portal was closed. He appealed the NCAA who said no. COVID wiped out most of the 2020 season. Next came Tommy John surgery in March 2021. During the summer of 2022, the K-State coaches and Moore appealed for another year of eligibility eitherfor COVID/transfer year. After pitching for the Bellingham Bells, his velocity went up and driving to campus to get ready for the 2023 spring, the coach called saying the NCAA denied his eligibility. He continued to campus and after a pro day the Phillies, who McTavish works for, signed Moore.

Moore was 4-1 with five saves and a 1.35 ERA in class-A Jersey Shore and class-A Clearwater. He’s just one of five 2017 Vauxhall Jets in pro ball: INF Damiano Palmegiani (Surrey, BC) who hit .255 with 33 doubles, 23 homers, 93 RBIs and an .842 OPS at double-A New Hampshire and triple-A Buffalo in the Blue Jays organization; LHP Adam Macko (Stony Plain, Alta.) was 5-5 with a 4.81 ERA in 20 starts at High-A Vancouver, RHP Garrett Hawkins (Biggar, Sask.) only appeared in four games for the Padres’ High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps before he was injured, INF Ty Penner (Lethbridge, Alta.) hit .211 with five RBIs and a .654 OPS with the Phillies’ with Rookie-class affiliate in Clearwater in the Florida Complex League, plus Moore.

69. Vincent Ircandia, CEO StellarAlgo (65).

StellarAlgo is a software company aiming to help pro teams understand and predict fans’ spending habits. The Calgary-firm’s clients include big-league teams such as the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays. Plus five NHL clubs, two NFL, two soccer clubs (Inter Miami, LA Galaxy) and NBA teams. How much does the NBA like the ideas Ircandia and his staff are percolating? NBA Equity took “meaningful” stake in StellarAlgo as part of a multi-year, league-wide strategic plan. The platform allows clients to organize, analyze and leverage data from online and in-person sources, such as email marketing, ticketing, and merchandise sales.

StellarAlgo has raised roughly $19 million -- not including the NBA investment -- in funding from the likes of Carallas Holdings, Newbound VC, Yaletown Partners, InterGen Capital, Accelerate Fund II, Thin Air Labs and the Bleacher Report founder Dave Finocchio. StellarAlgo serves over 130 sports properties across North America. Expansion includes clients like Toyota and SkipTheDises. A total of 21 employees were laid off as part of a restructuring on Oct. 17 according to a LinkedIn post.

70. Ron Tostenson, crosschecker, Cubs (74).

The cross checker was in on the Cubs selecting LHP Jordan Wicks in the first round (21st overall) in 2021 from Kansas State, earning a $3,312,300 signing bonus. He made his major-league debut in 2023, going 4-1 with a 4.41 ERA in seven starts as he fanned 24 in 34 innings. He was 7-0 in 20 starts with a 3.55 ERA at double-A Tennessee and triple-A Iowa, whiffing 99 in 81 1/3 innings. Plus his lefty RP Luke Little, a fourth rounder in 2020 from San Jacinto College had 6 2/3 scoreless with the Cubs. He was 5-2 with a 2.12 ERA at Iowa and Tennessee and should make the Cubs’ bullpen.

Tostenson (Kelowna, BC) and the Cubs’ took RHP Cade Horton in the first round (seventh overall) in 2022. The $4.45 million bonus baby was 4-4 with a 2.65 ERA in 21 starts at double-A Tennessee, class-A South Bend and class-A Myrtle Beach. In 2023, they chose INF Matt Shaw in the first round (13th overall) from University of Maryland, giving him $4,484,500.

71. RHP Jameson Taillon, Cubs (45).

In 2023, Taillon went 8-10 in 30 games -- making 29 starts -- with a 4.84 ERA, 140 strikeouts in 154 1/3 innings and one save in his first season with the Chicago Cubs. Taillon had nine quality starts, while his strikeouts were third among Cubs pitchers. From July 7 to Aug.8, he went 5-0 with a 2.17 ERA in six starts with 30 strikeouts. The streak began with eight scoreless at Yankee Stadium, allowing one hit to become the first visiting starter to pitch at least eight innings with one or fewer hits at Yankee Stadium since Baltimore’s Daniel Cabrera did so in 2006.

Born in Lakeland, Fla. and drafted out of The Woodlands, Tex., he pitched in the 2013 World Baseball Classic for Team Canada, working four innings and allowing one earned run leaving with the score 2-2, before USA scored seven runs in the last two innings for a 9-4 win. His mother was born in Toronto and his father in St. Andrews West (near Cornwall, Ont.). In 2017, Jameson was diagnosed with testicular cancer and underwent surgery and missed over a month.

Yankees scout Steve Wilson takes questions in Seoul in 2019. Sun Dong-yuhl, former head coach of the South Korean national team, is on the left.

72. Steve Wilson, scout, Yankees (-).

No less than six of Wilson’s international signees were promoted to the majors: five with the Yankees and one traded to Oakland in the Frankie Montas trade. They were: CF Jasson Dominguez, called up to NY at age 20 and had four homers in eight games before being shut down with Tommy John surgery; OF Everson Pereira, 22, who struggled with the Yankees but had 18 homers with a .921 OPS in 81 games at triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre and double-A Somerset; Yoendrys Gomez, 24, who had one game in the Bronx, but had 78 whiffs in 65 1/3 innings at Scranton; RHP Randy Vasquez, 24, who was 2-2, with a 2.87 ERA in 37 2/3 innings with 33 whiffs; Jhony Brito, 25, was 9-7 with a 4.28 ERA pitching 90 1/3 innings, sent to San Diego in the Juan Soto deal and Luis Medina, 24, who made 17 starts with Oakland going 3-10 with a 5.42 ERA.

The Yankees international department has 17 players on the Yanks top 30 prospects list according Baseball America, two more than the next best. They also bat 22-for-30 on the ESPN top 30. From 2009 until Oct. 2023, since international scouting director Donny Rowland has been heading the department, the Yanks have signed the most international players to reach the majors (33). The best on the way: CF Brando Mayea, 11th in rankings; SS Roderick Arias, a consensus top five player in the system; 6-foot-7 LHP Henry Lalane; 6-foot-5 RHP Carlos Lagrange, clocked at 96-97 mph and OF John Cruz. one of the youngest players in the Florida Complex League in 2023. The Yanks top sign from 2024 is CF Francisco Vilorio, who has an elite power/speed combination.

Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Eric Gagne tosses the ball in a stream of light before a game against the Montreal Expos at Dodger Stadium in 2001. Photo: Scott Halleran/Getty Images.

73. Eric Gagne, B-45 (-)

Canada’s only other Cy Young award winner, besides Fergie Jenkins, Gagne is still involved in the game. He has his B-45 bat company which includes players like Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte, Jays Eduardo Escobar and A’s Abraham Toro (Longueuil, Que.) among others. He was the parade marshall for the 2023 Cy Young Days Festival in Newcomerstown, Ohio -- Young’s birthplace. Gagne was the Cy Young award winner in 2003 when he saved 55 games. He converted 107 saves out of a possible 111 opportunities becoming the fastest to ever get to 100 saves in a career.

Gagne was drafted by the White Sox in 1994 (30th), didn’t sign and instead attended Seminole Community College arriving without speaking a word of English. He dined at the McDonalds or Subway since one could order combos via numbers. Signed by Dodger scouts Claude Pelletier and Eddie Bane at a stopover leading to the 1995 qualifier in Edmonton, he underwent Tommy John surgery in his first pro season. His big-league debut came Sept. 7, 1999 when he pitched six scoreless against Ryan Dempster (Gibsons, BC), who worked seven scoreless, as the Marlins won 2-1.

74. Jason Bryans, scout, Royals (80)

LHP Zack Thompson, a first round pick (19th overall) by Bryans from Kentucky, appeared in 29 games for the Cards, making nine starts. He had a 5-7 record with a 4.48 ERA, fanning 72 in 66 1/3 innings. Thompson received a $3-million bonus from the Cards, Bryans’ former team.

Another Bryans’ pick, Michael Brdar, a 36th rounder by the Cards in 2017 only played 31 games in the minors, however, he was a big leaguer as a hitting coach in 2023 with the Tigers. Detroit was 24th in homers (165), 27th in average (.236), 28th in runs scored (681) and OPS (.687). When Bryans worked for the Royals in 2002, he was one of three teams ready to draft Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) along with the Yankees and the Reds who selected the future Hall of Famer in the second round. Bryans was there, along with his area scout Jason Chee-Aloy to see Votto hit a walk-off bomb for the Etobicoke Rangers and coach Steve (Whitey) Breitner one night. Bryans also helps out as pitching coach of the Tecumseh Thunder 18U when not on the road.

75. Blake Corosky and Raza Malik, True Gravity (53).

His client OF Sam Shaw (Victoria, BC) was taken by the Blue Jays and scout Patrick Griffin (Oakville, Ont.). He was given a $285,000 bonus -- $109,100 above slot value. He was the second highest Canadian high schooler drafted -- behind first rounder Myles Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.). Former Jay scout Mike Pesce, who predicted big things for George Springer out of UConn when some Jays scouts said he would not make double-A, has been a great addition. Corosky says that Malik is “one of the brightest minds in the Canadian baseball industry.”

True Gravity client Kole Cottam (Knoxville, Tenn.), whose parents are from Burlington, Ont., hit .290 with 30 homers, 75 RBIs and a .954 OPS for the independent Atlantic League’s Spire City Ghost Hounds. He was voted the Murray Zuk Award winner as top hitter in independent ball by the Canadian Baseball Network. 1B Evan White, of Ghanna, Ohio, who signed a long-term deal with Seattle in 2020, was sent by the Mariners to the Braves, who traded him to the Angels. He will make $7 million on year five of the six-year, $24-million deal. Injuries restricted him to two games at triple-A Tacoma.

Ontario Blue Jays president and coach Corey Eskstein …

76. Corey Eckstein and Shady Ashamalla, Ontario Blue Jays/GRIT Sports (71).

We used to say that Peter Orr (Newmarket, Ont.), Daniel Pinero (Toronto, Ont.) or Joey Hawkins (Whitby, Ont.) had the best hands in the history of the province’s longest-running elite team. No longer. Now, the honour belongs to Ashamalla, head of general surgery at Sunnybrook Hospital and a consulting surgeon for the NHL’s Maple Leafs. The man with the skilled hands, along with fellow Leasiders Jeff Wolburgh, a venture capitalist and president/CEO of BearTrade corporation and Neal Prabhu, an architect and associate Professor at OCAD University, formed GRIT Sports. GRIT took ownership of the Blue Jays in February of 2024 from Stephanie and Joe Wilkinson (Oakville, Ont.).

Eckstein continued the tradition with Myles Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) going in the first round. And the Jays could repeat with INF Brendan Lawson (Toronto) as the top rated Canadian drafted in July. The club sent 23 players to the Canadian Futures Showcase: LHP Geoffrey D’Amato (Milton), OF Lucas Alberti (Toronto), INF Owen Ralph (Toronto), INF Sam Andersen (Toronto), OF Nino Spencer-Thompson (Bradford), OF John Hughes (Mississauga), C Liam Kush (Toronto), RHP Owen Slater (Brooklin), RHP Anthony Unga (Oakville), C Benji Kautto (Toronto), OF Jorge Valdes (Milton), INF Philip Cheong (Richmond Hill), 1B Ryan McDonagh (Milton), 3B Jordan Jacob (Maple), LHP Logan Forgie (Ottawa), RHP Will Hynes (Mississauga), RHP Ben Goodacre (Ancaster), LHP Jayden Bailey (Collingwood), C Mason Ault (Ancaster), C Brayden Ricketts (Brampton), INF LHP Luca Alagheband (Toronto), OF Ryan Stalony (Mississauga) and Lawson. Yet, the Ontario Jays are not fielding an 18U team in 2024 as RHP Matt Brown (Carlisle), RHP Makaio Cisneros (Whitby), RHP Liam Cruickshank (Mississauga), RHP Frank-Anthony Caietta (Bradford), C Cameron Baker (Mississauga), 1B Dylin Walters (Toronto), 1B Josiah Devapalan (Brampton), Lawson, Alberti, Unga, Valdes, Alagheband and Stalony are all playing south of the border.

Two-sport executive Jim Devellano of the Tigers and the Red Wings (plus a part owner of triple-A Indianapolis)

77. Jim Devellano, Tigers executive/minority owner, Indianapolis (-).

The Hockey Hall of Famer is a minority owner of the triple-A club as well as being a vice-president of the Detroit Tigers and senior vice-president and alternate governor of the NHL’s Red Wings. He has owned 4% of Indianapolis since 2009, which is the second largest amount of shares behind owner Bruce Schumacher. He is also an alternate governor of the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL.

Devellano (Scarborough, Ont.) dropped out of high school after grade 9 and went to work at 80 cents an hour. He was a scouting director during the New York Islanders dynasty (1972-82) and GM of the Red Wings (1982–1990, 1994-1997). He joined the Tigers in 2001. He became close friends with David Dombrowski and when Dombrowski visits Rogers Centre, the Hall of Famer is usually seated at his table. They originally met when Tiger owner Mike Ilitch hired Dombrowski in 2002. Illitch asked Devellano to spend time with Dombrowski as the owner had a great deal of confidence in Devellano from the Red Wings days. Devellano has been a part of 15 championships: seven Stanley Cups with the Islanders (1980, 1981, 1982) and Red Wings (1997, 1998, 2002, 2008); three AHL Calder Cups with the Adirondack Red Wings (1986, 1989, 1992); two CHL Adams Cups with the Fort Worth Texans (1978) and Indianapolis Checkers (1982); one East Coast Riley Cup win with the Toledo Storm (1994); and two AL titles with the Tigers (2006, 2012).

Blue Jays Canadian scout Patrick Griffin is always lurking, never missing a pitch

78. Patrick Griffin, scout, Blue Jays (48).

He drafted OF Sam Shaw, a Victoria Eagles and Victoria Mariners grad in the ninth round and signed him for a bonus of $282,500. He was the only other Canadian high schooler drafted behind first rounder Myles Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) who went to the A’s. A total of 11 Canucks were drafted and two more free agents signed after the draft. We’ve been told by parents that the Blue Jays have a better relationship with moms and dads of draft eligible players than in past years, which is a compliment to Griffin. (Years ago when I’d write something a club official would ask “who told you that?” I’d always tell a white lie to protect a scout (or whomever) and say “Ah ... I don’t remember.” I say the same thing now -- except I really don’t remember).

The Jays had a busy draft on home soil also selecting LHP Connor O’Halloran (Mississauga, Ont.) a fifth rounder, given $337,500 signing bonus by veteran scout Tom Burns. He pitched for the Terriers and the Michigan Wolverines. O’Halloran went 8-6 with a 4.11 ERA in 17 games -- 15 starts -- striking out 110 in 103 innings, walking only 26 for Michigan. And the Jays signed free agent INF Bryce Arnold (Grimsby, Ont.), a former FieldHouse Pirate and a Campbell University Camel, who signed for $70,000 from scout Coulson Barbiche.

TeamSask head coach and high performance director for Baseball Sask, Greg Brons

79. Greg Brons, TeamSask coach, (72).

Saskatchewan had a season to remember on the national stage as the Regina Trappers won silver at the senior men’s competition. Saskatchewan won bronze at the Baseball Canada Cup. The Muenster Red Sox lost the bronze medal at the 18U nationals and the Sask Five Giants won silver at the 13U western regional. Now, at the Western Canadians, Prince Albert 13U won gold at AA, Regina Wolfpack won 18U, Saskatoon Astros took home silver at 15U and Teams Sask won bronze at 14U girls.

Brons coached Saskatchewan Canada Cup entry and it must have been a wonderful father-son moment as his son Reece Brons, who works out at Going Yard facility, beat Quebec 1-0 in Regina. The year before, Adam Korte (Muenster, Sask.) pitched the bronze medal game. Brons now has his office at the Gordie Howe Complex and he is the high-performance director for the province.

Pitching coach Mike Steed of the Class-A Rome Emporers (Braves) wearing Glorious 4th of July uniforms.

80. Mike Steed, pitching coach, Braves system (99).

With Rome in 2023, Steed worked with RHP AJ Smith-Shawver, 20, who made five starts for the Braves. The seventh-rounder made three starts at Rome and 17 starts at class-A Rome in 2022. Steed also had RHP Hurston Waldrep, 21, a first rounder in 2023 (24th) for three starts on his way to striking out 41 in 29 1/3 innings in eight starts at four different levels. Steed also worked with RHP Cedric De Grandpre (Saint-Simon-de-Bagot, Que.) for 14 starts in two seasons, 54 Ks in 60 innings; RHP Owen Murphy, 21, a first rounder (20th) with 26 whiffs in 24 innings over six starts and RHP Spencer Schwellenbach, 23, a second rounder, who had a 1.98 ERA in three games at Rome.

The former Ontario Blue Jays and GTA Stars coach learned under Hall of Fame scout Jim Ridley (Burlington, Ont.). In the off season, he works with former Ontario Blue jays who are home from college with the message “Do what your college coach says.” The best five arms Steed (Lincoln, Ont.) ever coached? Probably major leaguers like Twins Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.) and Blue Jays’ Zach Pop (Brampton, Ont.) with the Ontario Blue Jays, plus former Pirate AJ Schugel with the Thunder Bay Border Cats and ex-Angel Jason Dickson (Chatham, N.B.) at Northeastern Oklahoma A & M). Jon Lockwood (Toronto, Ont.) of the GTA Stars rounds out his top five.

81. Kevin Glew, ball scribe (75).

Another year. Another award for Glew. In June of 2023, Glew stood on the stage under the big tent at St. Marys. For the past 26 years he has written about the inductees or conducted tours at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys. Now, there he was front and centre being presented with the Randy Echlin lifetime volunteer award, presented annually to a volunteer that has shown dedication, passion and support towards the museum. In 2022, he won the Baseball Canada media award. Yet, to have your name on a plaque shared by the name Echlin is the supreme compliment because few men as honourable have walked the earth as well as The Hon. Mr. Justice at Superior Court of Justice (Ontario).

Glew (London, Ont.) has the work ethic of a Budweiser Clydesdale and produces with the efficiency of a Triple Crown winner, whether it’s his ‘Cooperstowners in Canada’ blog, his Sunday ‘But What Do I Know?’ column, editing Canadian Baseball Network stories or sending out this day in Canadian history. He posts on Facebook, on X, formerly known a the Twitter machine and edits sloppy copy written by an old man. He is the backbone of our site. At least once every trip to the Rogers Centre, Paul Beeston (former Blue Jays president) will stop eating his popcorn to ask “Did you see what Kevin wrote? How does he know all this stuff? Where does he find this stuff out? He knows facts about this team that I don’t.” As always Glew compiled the Nos. 101 on the list. We’d like to give him a byline but our rules has always been zero bylines if you appear on the list. And methinks appearing on the list is more important than a byline.

Founder of the Webber Academy, Dr. Neil Webber shakes hands with coach Chris Reitsma.

82. Dr. Neil Webber, Chris Reitsma, Webber Wildcats, Royals (54).

Spring always means baseball has arrived. Now, Springbank on the other hand is the home of each spring ... and summer, fall and winter. Dr. Neil Webber founded the Webber Academy Wildcats. Dr. Webber studied math at the University of Alberta, meteorology at the University of Toronto, then taught high school physics and returned to U of A. With the great Peter Lougheed running the province, Dr. Webber was an MLA, for 14 years and was minister of education. He opened the private school in 1997 with 82 students from kindergarten to Grade 6. It has grown greatly. The Wildcats are bankrolled by a $22-million investment in fields and indoor year-round facilities. RHP Lucas Webber-Kitching, Dr. Webber’s grandson, pitches for the UBC Thunderbirds.

Cole Armstrong (Surrey, BC) coaches along with Ben Matheson, Josh Trybuch and former first round pick Reitsma (Calgary, Alta.) who doubles as a Royals scout as well as scouting arms for his academy. Webber Academy Athletic Park has four diamonds, a soccer pitch and 50,000-square foot indoor facility. Webber hosted a national coaching clinic with former Blue Jays Devon White, Ernie Whitt and Pat Borders along with Vancouver coach Ashley Stevenson and broadcaster Buck Martinez. In 2023, RHP Eric Cerantola (Oakville, Ont.), who was a fifth-round pick of the Royals in 2021, went 3-4 with a 3.66 ERA and two saves for the double-A North Arkansas Naturals and the class-A Quad Cities River Bandits, striking out 99 in 76 1/3 innings.

The Wildcats showed well at the 2023 Canadian Futures Showcase -- maybe the best yet, run by T.J. Burton -- as CF Simon Baker (Cochrane, Alta.) earned MVP honours. Baker batted .500 with a 1.283 OPS. Besides Baker the other Wildcats at the Rogers Centre were C Matt MacDonald (Kamloops, BC), RHP Dylan Dekker (Kamloops, BC), OF Dylan Chopp (Calgary, Alta.), RHP Sawyer Jensen (Lyalta, Alta.) and RHP Kai Rempel (Calgary, Alta.).

Former Jays executive Anuk Karunaratne (Vancouver, B.C.) has left the Jays to join the Cardinals …

83. Anuk Karunaratne, Blue Jays/Cards (67).

The Blue Jays executive vice president was a recipient of the coveted Sports Business Journal Forty Under 40 award for 2023 on his 40th birthday in April. Karunaratne co-led the $300 million renovations with Marnie Starkman at Rogers Centre to modernize fan experience. He diversified the Jays revenue streams and is a driving force behind partnerships.

Karunaratne (Vancouver, BC) joined the Jays in 2017 as VP of strategy and analytics and quickly expanded his portfolio. Since then, he has established analytics capabilities and strategic planning, fostering a collaborative team culture. SBJ has recognized more than 900 influential sports executives since the inception of Forty Under 40 in 1999. On Feb. 1 he joined the Cardinals at senior vice president for business operations.

Former Hawaii Rainbow Patrick Scalabrini has a managing record unmatched in Canada …

84. Patrick Scalabrini, manager, Quebec Capitales (-).

OK, name a manager in Canada who has had more success than Scalabrini with the Quebec Capitales. Taking over for Michel Laplante (Val D’Or, Que.) Scalabini (Waterville, Que.) won the independent Can-Am League the first four years he was in charge — 2010-13 — with a 243-139 record (a .636 winning mark). He won the Can-Am again in 2017, then captured Frontier League titles in 2022 and again in 2023. In 12 seasons, he has a 697-465 record (.600). The Capitales averaged 3,514 fans per game at Stade Canac. Scalabrini is headed for Rouen, France in March for evaluation camp. Europeans have worn the Capitales uniform before: Kalian Sams, from Holland, hit 23 home runs in 2017. Rene Leveret and Maxime Lefèvre both from France, were also members of the Caps.

Quebec beat the Evansville Otters 12-3 in the winner-take-all game five of the Frontier championship at Bosse Field in Evansville. Justin Gideon (Pickering, Ont.) knocked in the first run in the first, David Glaude (Quebec, Que.) homered in the second and a Jonathan Lacroix (Montreal, Que.) hit a bases-loaded double to score two runs in the third for a 6-0 lead. Glaude had two hits and three RBIs. Evan Rutckyj (Windsor, Ont.) got the win in relief in Game 2 as the Capitales scored two in the bottom of the ninth for a walk-off 7-6 win. Tanner Jesson-Dalton (Lethbridge, Alta.) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless. Game 1 was more of the same heroics: Glaude homered and then Gideon won it with a walk-off three homer for a 7-6 win.

Leading Indy managers in win totals

Butch Hobson 24 years, 1,538-1,325.

(Mobile, Nashua, Southern Maryland, Lancaster, Kane County, Chicago)

Greg Tagert 28 years, 1,315-1,183.

(Ohio Valley, Brainerd, Evansville, Dubois County, Kenosha, Springfield/Ozark, Gary, Winnipeg)

Doug Simunic, 24 years, 1,296-921.

(Rochester, Winnipeg, Fargo-Moorhead)

George Tsamis, 25 years, 1,284-1,086.

(Waterbury, New Jersey, St. Paul, Kane County)

Joe Calfapietra, 23 years, 1,218-968.

(Allentown, Gary, New Jersey, Kansas City)

Andy McCauley, 24 years, 1,122-1,074.

(Kalamazoo, London, Québec, Schaumburg, Kansas City, Evansville)

Jamie Keefe, 20 years, 1,079-947.

(Chillicothe, Florence, Kalamazoo, Pittsfield, Rockland, High Point)

Sparky Lyle, 15 years, 1,024-913.

(Somerset)

Hal Lanier, 20 years, 970-881.

(Winnipeg, Joliet, Sussex, Normal, Ottawa_

Rick Forney, 18 years, 958-807.

(Winnipeg, York)

_ Miles Wolff (Godfather of indy ball and one-time owner of the Quebec Capitales)

85. Greg Byron, Damon Topolie, Sean Travers, coaches, Mississauga Tigers (-).

Byron won the 18U Baseball Canada nationals in 2022 at Fort McMurray and returned to the same city to win the 18U nationals in 2023. He has the top Canuck high schooler pitching in Canada in Josiah Romeo (Caledon, Ont.), who Travers recruited. Byron pitched parts of three seasons of indy ball with the Quebec Capitales, Washington Wild Things and the Federals. He has served as a coach with Central Arkansas Bears, Iowa Hawkeyes, triple-A Memphis Redbirds (Cards), triple-A Rochester Red Wings (Twins) and the Austin Peay Govenors.

Topolie, whose top teaching skill is catching, had a lot to do with C Brady Cerkownyk (Etobicoke, Ont.), who received the third highest signing bonus in 2023. Cerkownyk headed to Connors State, hit 27 home runs, and earned Canada Baseball Network player of the year. Despite being a 15th round pick by the Detroit Tigers, he was given a $397,500 bonus. Topolie spent 27 seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, playing 798 games in which he had 2,987 at-bats, with 52 homers and 498 RBIs. In 2013, he was hired as the team’s manager and GM. They reached the IBL Finals three times: 2016, 2021 and 2022.

Travers, like a lot of coaches, has friends all over the game from the Dominican to Jupiter to Ontario. Few people have Cito Gaston as a pal. Gaston, who was on the veteran’s committee Hall of Fame ballot for this first time in 2023 after winning two World Series with the Blue Jays said: “We’ve been friends forever. You know it’s a shame he didn’t get a job with a club when he was younger. He’s helped a lot of kids get scholarships in the U.S. He’s a good kid.” Gaston and Travers met through equipment rep Randy Betty, who worked for HD Brown (Easton, Mizuno, Worth, Worth Canada and Rawlings. Gaston helps out with Travers’ Tigers “Why not? I consider this my first home,” said Gaston, who added with a laugh “or maybe my second.”

Over the years Travers coached the likes of first rounders 1B Josh Naylor, C Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.), Twins RHP Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.), Jays farmhand OF Dasan Brown (Oakville, Ont.), 1B Jon Waltenbury (Bowmanville, Ont.), a former Twin and Romero, plus he instructed INF Pete Orr.

Canadian Hall of Famer and one of the three men who helped bring the Blue Jays to town _ Don McDougall

86. Don McDougall, leader (-).

McDougall was appointed to the Order of Canada in June of 2023 and later earned Stratford and District Chamber of Commerce business leader of the year award. Lawyer Herb Solway and McDougall, as president of Labatt’s Brewery, successfully landed an American League expansion franchise which was christened the Toronto Blue Jays. The franchise fee was $7 million -- Isiah Kiner-Falefa was signed to a two-year $15-million deal ($7.5 million a year) and the team payroll in 1977 was $750,000. He splits his time between homes in Ebbsfield, PEI, where he owns Mill River Resort and Eagles Glenn of Cavendish golf courses, and Palm Harbor, Fla. not far from the Jays’ winter home in Dunedin.

McDougall started in the newspaper business -- as a paper boy in Bloomfield Station, PEI. Yet, Stratford is where he has made the biggest impact, helping bring businesses to town: Novatronics, an aerospace business, Rambri Management Inc., developer and property management, the University of Waterloo and the RBC Data Centre. It was 50 years after earning a degree from the University of PEI that he and his wife donated $2 million to the university. An academic building was named Don and Marion McDougall Hall.

87. Michael Bonanno, agent (97).

He looks after former FieldHouse Pirates OF Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) who is No. 47 on the MLB Pipeline top 100 list. Caissie briefly held the record for the youngest player to ever go deep in the World Baseball Classic last March. At double-A Tennessee -- Southern League champeens -- he finished in the top five in all three categories with a .289 average, a .398 on-base mark and a .519 slugging, while hitting 22 homers.

In addition, he represents Cubs Jared Young (Prince George, BC) plus minor-league Canucks Jonah Tong (Markham, Ont.), Nate Ochoa (Burlington, Ont.), Erik Sabrowski (Edmonton, Alta.), Bryce Arnold (Grimsby, Ont.), Jordan Woods (Oakville, Ont.), TJ Schofield-Sam (Brampton, Ont.), Lucas Wepf (Georgetown, Ont.) and Zac Fascia (Brampton, Ont.). He reps major leaguers Seth Brown, who the A’s will pay $2.6 million, Giants’ Ryan Walker, Marlins’ Jon Berti, Rockies’ Austin Wynns and Brandon Waddell, who pitches for the Doosan Bears in Korea.

88. Mike Shaw, VP team travel, Jays/Braves (-).

We have always said that on some nights -- like when the plane is late after an extra-inning loss, or it can’t take off due to weather and the bar is open -- the travelling secretary has the most difficult job in the organization. Get this: Shaw (Oakville, Ont.) has taken a job in Atlanta, yet will see MORE of his two children: Madison Shaw 19 and Christopher (Hawk) Shaw, 17. You see he’s not the travel secretary with the Braves, but head of the travel department. So trips will be shared and he can spend time at home with the kids

Also, Shaw an impressionist of some renown will be an immediate hit as he can do George Poulis better than the former Blue Jays trainer (from 1999-2018) can do Poulis. Braves coaches Kevin Seitzer and Sal Fasano, former Blue Jays instructors, plus Braves boss Alex Anthopoulos will be excellent audiences.

89. Greg Sansone, vice-president, Sportsnet (-).

Few people can draw a crowd during batting practice and probably the order goes something like this when the flowers of Canadian journalism recognize a face not usually there: a GM, who has been hidding; a newly acquired player, a recently retired player or Edward Rogers (well, Phil Lynn introduced me once).

This summer we saw one writer after another broadcaster shift into high gear for a group chat with Sansone, someone we had not seen since the days when Stormin’ Norman Rumack ruled the night time air waves in the 1990s. He’s the man who green lit the Sportsnet travelling squad: Buck Martinez and Dan Shulman broadcasting, Hazel Mae, Arden Zwelling and Caleb Joseph doing TV, Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith writing for the website and doing TV commentary, Ben Wagner and Chris Leroux working the radio booth, with Doug Walton and Steve Paine producing, as well as camera operations Alex Coon and Joel Gallant. And if you were full of angst at home watching Jose Berrios’s exit -- no more than anyone else on the crew. The way Sansone drew a crowd it was obvious he has respect of his staff.

Former Twins pitching coordinator Justin Willard was hired to be the director of pitching with the Red Sox

90. Justin Willard, Red Sox ().

After being pitching coordinator for the Twins in 2023, Willard was hired by new Boston GM Craig Breslow. Willard is the Sox new director of pitching and he hopes to improve the Sox arms arsenal from the Dominican Academy to Fort Myers to Fenway and all spots in between. Willard pitched at Concord University and coached at Radford University, before being hired by the Twins. He has a “Game Over” podcast in both of Canada’s official languages.

With Minnesota, Willard (Brampton, Ont.) helped home growns like Bailey Ober, who made 26 starts, going 8-6 with a 3.43 ERA, fanning 146 in 144 1/3 innings and reliever Jhoan Duran, who struck out 84 in 62 1/3 innings (3-5, 2.45 ERA). Willard has told the Boston Herald he will be based out of Fenway, spend time with the big league club and travel to each of the organization’s affiliates. The Sox lost out in free agent arms -- to the Royals of all teams -- but will go with their own drafted pitchers: Bryan Bello, Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and Josh Winckowski.

Canadians only at this Red Sox Fort Myers office

Willard is just one of three Canucks in Fort Myers for Red Sox training camp. He is joined by Chris Mears (Victoria, BC) a pitching cross-checker leading into the draft and Andrew Wright (Woodstock, NB) who doubles minor-league field co-ordinator with the Red Sox.

91. Marc-Antoine Berube, executive director, ABC (84).

In his third year running the program, Berube (Trois Pistoles, Que.) has seen results. ABC players INF Maxime Boies (Levis, Que.), INF Leo Cote (Sainte-Catherine-De-Hatley, Que.), 1B Esteban Dessureault (Trois-Riviéres, Que.), OF William Polanco (Laval, Que.) and RHP Jacob Wallace (Pincourt, Que.) are with the Junior National Team -- the same number of players British Columbia has on the current posted roster. Alberta has four. Ontario leads the way with 15. He accompanied Doug Mathieson and the Langley Blaze on their March trip to play minor-league pros and colleges. A 28th rounder in 2015 from Pitt, he spent three years in the A’s system and one year of indy ball with Quebec Capitales.

The ABC has a deep staff in Benjamin Pelletier (Varennes, Que.), Dom Walsh (Quebec, Que.), Karl Gelinas (Laval, Que.), Kevin Young (Anjou, Que.), Mathieu Dion (Granby, Que.), Patrick D’Aoust (Rivière-Beaudette, Que.), Phillippe Graham (St-Chrysostome, Que.) and Xavier Langlois (Verchères, Que.). All Baseball Quebec needs to find is a suitable nickname for the team. And don’t you dare suggest the ABC Deees.

It only appears as if Rob Longley is headed for the hills ….

92. Rob Longley and Steve Simmons, Sun (81).

Longley had a strong series after the Blue Jays went oh-and-two and BBQ against the Twins. He looked back at the season’s highs and lows. The headline on the front page after the quick exit was “SHAT SHOW!” That’s an abbreviation of Shat-Kins, a combo nickname for president Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins. If we had to guess, we’d bet it was crack deskman Derek Tse who wrote the head (since John ‘Big Man’ Fitz-Gerald has retired). There is a story the headline was suggested from outside editorial. It is a more difficult job to do now, when not travelling, but Longley strives to do his best.

Mike Boon of Toronto Mike’d Podcast with Steve Simmons …

Simmons, the dean of general columnists in the city concentrates mostly on hockey. Yet when he ventures into the diamond, he usually hits them out of the park. The best reads of the week: 1. Simmons’ Sunday notebook and 2. Anything Simmons writes. I did have to give him heck in 2023. He showed for a Yankees series at the Rogers Centre on crutches. I told him he should go home. He filed his column and then went home. The next day the doctor diagnosed a torn Achilles tendon.

Big-league ump Sty Scheurwater also worked the All-Star Game in Seattle …

93. Stu Scheurwater (86) and Alex Tosi, major-league umpires.

Scheurwater (Regina, Sask.) worked 112 games (down six from 2022) including 30 plate assignment (up by two) in his sixth year as a full-time major-league arbiter. He worked third base in the All-Star Game, a 3-2 National League win over the Americans before 47,159 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. Todd Tichenor worked the plate as Félix Bautista issued a lead-off walk to Nick Castellanos and pinch hitter Elías Díaz hit a two-run homer to deep left to decide matters. Craig Kimbrel gained the save -- getting two quick outs, then issuing back-to-back walks before striking out José Ramírez to end it. Yandy Diaz homered for the AL.

He worked Pool B at the World Baseball Classic at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, working the plate as Japan beat China 8-1 before 41,616 fans and Korea beat China 22-2 before 14,442. Scheurwater was at first as Japan beat Korea 13-4 in front of 41,629. The Japan-South Korea game drew a household viewership of 44.4% in Japan and 11.7% in South Korea. There was an average 29.868 million Japanese viewers (28.9% individual viewers) and 2.709 million Korean viewers. A total of 62.343 million viewers in Japan watched at least one minute of the game. The Korean rating in that game is the second most watched WBC game in Korea, after the 2009 Japan-South Korea final.

First-year full-time umpire Alex Tosi (Markham, Ont.)

In 2023, Tosi (Markham, Ont.) was hired as a full-time umpire as a total of 10 arbiters retired. He worked 117 games, 32 behind the plate in 2023 and had his first post-season assignment _ the Texas-Tampa Bay wild card series. His first game was in 2019 and including games as a fill-in ump, he has worked 308 career games in the majors entering 2024, with 75 behind the plate.

Columnist Gregor Chisholm with the former genial skipper John Gibbons, now of the New York Mets

94. Gregor Chisholm, Toronto Star (81).

There is zero discussion as to what was the best lead in a newspaper, website magazine in the 2023 season. It went like this:

Traffic has been a nightmare in this city. It got even worse Saturday morning, when Ross Atkins threw his manager under the bus.

The general manager’s annual end-of-season media availability at the Rogers Centre turned into a crime scene. The media arrived looking for someone to blame after the Blue Jays’ controversial loss to the Minnesota Twins and Atkins appeared perfectly content to provide a name: John Schneider.

And it was written by Chisholm on Saturday Oct. 7, 2023. As they say in the WWE ... RING THE BELL ... THIS CONTEST IS OVER! Find me a stronger lead which captures the mess of a situation and every person in the city can relate to. We’ll give you a few minutes -- or months -- to think of a better lead.

National treasure Fergie Jenkins with Scott Crawford of the Canadian Hall of Fame in St. Marys

95. Scott Crawford, Hall of Fame (83).

Two years were rolled into one for the 2023 induction ceremonies. Both the Class of 2020 -- Jays’ John Olerud and former Expos broadcaster Jacques Doucet (Montreal, Que.) and the Class of 2023 -- Jays RF Jesse Barfield, LHP Denis Boucher (Lachine, Que.), RHP Rich Harden (Victoria, BC) as well as executive and coach Joe Wiwchar (Morden, Man.). While the stress level was high, one-man show Crawford pulled off the ceremonies.

The Harry Simmons Memorial Library is the best resource for Canadian baseball research in the country thanks largely to Andrew North, who is also the co-founder of the Centre for Canadian Baseball Research. Lindsay Earle joined the Hall’s staff in January 2024. Her title is care of collections and public engagement supervisor. She attended Brock University and Fleming College, before moving into the role of history programming coordinator at the Orillia Museum of art and history.

96. Dana Bookman, Canadian Girls (-).

The old saying is “hit 1-for-3 (a .333 batting average) and you’ll wind up in the Hall of Fame. Dana’s effort sees her with leagues in six of 10 (.600) provinces. Across the country, her program has 1,000-to-1,250 players enrolled in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The league holds the belief that ALL girls who want to play should be able to play in the male-dominated sport.

The annual CGB tournament will be staged June 17-19 in Ajax, Ont. As a lean, grassroots registered Canadian Amateur Athletic Association with two full-time employees (and a few incredible part-time support staff), they are looking for support. If you’d like to help, visit Canadian Girls Baseball ...

97. Ben Nicholson-Smith, Sportsnet (85).

He writes. He talks about the Blue Jays on TV and on the radio. And in his spare time, he tapes the ‘At The Letters’ hit podcast with Arden Zwelling. The podcast is produced and engineered by Christian Ryan. Said Nicholson-Smith on their show discussing the Jays’ post season -- another 27-hour special: “I keep going back to, if you are the Jays and you want to avoid the pain of wild-card series loss ... win the division. That’s an option. I know they are trying. The Baltimore Orioles did it.”

Nicholson-Smith’s best work of the year included being on the case of RHP Alek Manoah, the vanishing opening day starter and advancing the story ahead of anyone else; Vlad Guerrero being picked off second by Sonny Gray and SS Carlos Correa in the fifth inning of Game 2 at Target Field, GM Ross Atkins’ explanation of removing Jose Berrios and explaining how the fans’ pain was justified in losing out in the Shohei Ohtani free agent sweepstakes.

98. Richard Birfer, analytics, Rangers (-).

In his third year in Arlington, Tex., he was part of the championship team which will receive a World Series ring in 2024. He serves as manager of pitching analysis, mostly concentrating on minor-league pitchers.

Birfer worked with Stephen Osterer at Baseball Development Group in Toronto, helping construct an offseason pitch design program and worked hands on with BDG’s pitchers utilizing various technologies (Rapsodo, high frame rate cameras) to help refine and develop pitch arsenals. Before that, the former member of the London Badgers attended Western University and Brock. He was a former editor in chief of Sportstalkfromthe6 hiring over 20 writers across North America to cover over 10 different pro and amateur sports leagues.

Columnist and podcaster Mike Wilner of The star …

99. Mike Wilner, The Star (81).

Wilner continues his excellent annual confidential poll of the best Jays of 2023, asking players, coaches and some members of the front office for their confidential opinions of who were the best Jays. The answers sometimes vary from Toronto chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America but not this time. Bo Bichette earned the Neil MacCarl award from the BBWAA and Bichette had 27 votes from the clubhouse, with Kevin Gausman finishing second with 11. Best pitcher honours went to Gausman in both, as Gausman beat Chris Bassitt 41 1/2-to-10. Again, both polls had Davis Schneider winning Rookie of the Year out-pointing Bowden Francis 40-10. Wilner’s unsung hero honour went to Cavan Biggio 10 votes, followed by Kevin Kiermaier and Whit Merrifield with six each.

Wilner hosts his excellent Deep Left Field podcast, the Baseball Canada fundraiser each January and is a very active member of the board of directors with the Canadian Hall of Fame in St. Marys.

Okotoks Dawgs trainer Savannah Blakley …

100. Savannah Blakley, Angela Burger and Lou Pote, Okotoks Dawgs (-).

Pote managed the Okotoks Dawgs to their second straight Western Canada League title beating the Medicine Hat Mavericks 13-5 in the deciding game at Seaman Stadium in Okotoks. Live-Saving Lou was there in the dugout and then celebrating. Blakley was there keeping everyone healthy as the trainer and Burger was there as a photographer clicking away high-quality, pictures.

Dawgs life-saving photographer Angela Burger

It was not the first time the trio of Okotoks angels were together. They were all in place Feb. 2, 2019 with fireman Geoff Brown, who had a 90 seconds response time. The three angels and Brown saved my life (twice). But enough about that. The WCBL playoff MVP was SS Brendan Luther (Mississauga, Ont.) who had himself a month of August with a .344 average, 10 RBIs and three home runs in seven playoff games.

Dawgs life-saving coach Lou Pote, a former Anaheim Angel …

101. Rest in Piece -- Compiled by Kevin Glew, of the Canadian Baseball Network: Lee Beam (Dorchester, Ont.), Fernand Bédard (Trois-Rivières, Que.), Vi Christopher (Belleville, Ont.), Paul Crawford (Toronto, Ont.), Theo Gibbs (Regina, Sask.), Liz Holmes (Sarnia, Ont.), Ralph Kennedy (Kendal, Ont.), Phil Lind (Toronto, Ont.), Perry Lychak (Glendon, Alta.), Ken MacKenzie (Gore Bay, Ont.), Doug Miller (Renfrew, Ont.), Vincent Pinsonneault (Gravelbourg, Sask.), Dean Portz (Calgary, Alta.), Chris Van Lierop (London, Ont.) and Gary Wilson (Hamilton, Ont.).

Beam passed away Dec. 18 at the age of 82. A longtime Dorchester and Thamesford, Ont., coach, he had a deep passion for the sport. He transformed the basement of his home into a museum dedicated to Cooperstown inductees and Canadian players, and he had a story for every artifact. He also had an extensive collection of old gloves that he proudly displayed at Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame events over the years.

Fernand Bédard was such a legend in his hometown they named Municipal Stadium after him … but then ccity fathers sold naming rights.

Bedard passed away on Dec. 14 at the age of 91. He was a legendary coach and executive in Trois-Rivières for more than half a decade. As president of operations at Municipal Stadium in Trois-Rivières from 1968 to 1998, he helped the city land the double-A Cincinnati Reds’ affiliate that played there from 1971 to 1977. For a stretch, Municipal Stadium was named after him until the city decided to sell naming rights to it. The Trois-Rivières museum, currently housed in the stadium, is named after Bedard.

Christopher passed away on Sept. 28 at the age of 91. In 1987, she became the first female president of the Ontario Baseball Association and served in that capacity for two years. The Belleville, Ont., native also worked on the executive of the Eastern Ontario Baseball Association for 35 years. For her efforts, she was named Baseball Ontario’s Volunteer of the Year in 1992 and was elected to the Baseball Ontario Hall of Fame as a member of its inaugural class in 2013.

Crawford passed away on July 21 at the age of 78. He was a highly respected umpire in Toronto and East York. For 29 years, he umpired at the CNE Peewee Tournament each August. Seven years ago, he was inducted into the Peewee Hall of Fame at the CNE, earning a place on the Diamond Honour Roll.

Gibbs passed away on Dec. 30, 2022 at the age of 18. A Martin Academy, Regina Red Sox Academy and Prairie Baseball Academy alum, the catcher, who was born in Regina, Sask., had committed to Lassen Community College. Gibbs had honed his skills with the Regina White Sox of the Saskatchewan Premier League. He also played minor hockey for the Regina Shamrocks and the Regina Cougars.

Holmes passed away on Oct. 7 at the age of 60. The Sarnia, Ont., native was a Toronto Blue Jays super fan who was a positive presence at every home game. Over the years, she befriended many of the Blue Jays players and was loved by 100s of the team’s supporters around the globe. She was also a strong supporter of Baseball Canada and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Kennedy passed away on Aug. 10 at the age of 77. An ace right-hander for the Kendal Eagles for many years, Kennedy enjoyed one of his most memorable campaigns in 1976. That season, he helped the Eagles to an OBA Senior D championship when he posted a 4-3 record and a 2.24 ERA in 69 innings and was also a significant contributor offensively with a .364 batting average.

Phil Lind was known as an author, Ted Rogers’ right hand man and mostly as … a good guy.

Lind passed away on Aug. 20 at the age of 80. He was a prominent and highly respected executive that worked alongside Ted Rogers at Rogers Communications for 40 years. A member of the Order of Canada, Lind was the driving force behind Rogers’ decision to purchase the Toronto Blue Jays in 2000. He is also largely credited for Rogers’ purchase of Sportsnet and helping shape it into the largest sports television network in Canada. He had been a long-serving member of the board of directors for Rogers Communications and his involvement with the company spanned more than five decades.

Lychak passed away on Sept. 20 at the age of 65. In Canadian circles, the former national team pitcher was best known for the three-hitter he hurled against the powerhouse Cubans at the 1981 Intercontinental Cup in his hometown of Edmonton, Alta. After graduating from W.P. Wagner High School in 1976, Lychak headed to Edmonds College in Lynwood, Wash., prior to securing a scholarship at Indiana State University. In 1978, he helped lead Indiana State to the NCAA Division 1 Midwest Regional tournament. He took the mound for Canada at the 1979 Pan Am Games and 1980 World Cup before getting the starting nod against Cuba in 1981. His performance earned him a contract with the Blue Jays with whom he proceeded to post a 3.02 ERA in 190 appearances in parts of five minor league seasons with their class-A Kinston affiliate. The southpaw settled in Kinston following his baseball career and became a popular teacher and coach.

MacKenzie passed away on Dec. 14 at the age of 89. It was an unlikely journey to the big leagues for MacKenzie who was born in Gore Bay, Ont., a small town on Manitoulin Island, located at the north end of Lake Huron, in 1934. After playing at Yale, the left-hander was signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1956. He proceeded to post a 4.80 ERA in 129 big league appearances in parts of six seasons with the Braves, Mets, Cardinals, Giants and Astros from 1960 to 1965. Following his big league career, he coached at Yale from 1969 to 1978.

Miller passed away on Dec. 15 at the age of 73. He played his minor ball in Renfrew for the Legion squad and later suited up for the Renfrew Red Sox seniors. He became a much-loved teacher and a longtime hockey and ringette coach. He also volunteered at the NHA/NHL Birthplace Museum.

Pinsonneault passed away on June 18 at the age of 20. He played first base, pitcher, and catcher in the Gravelbourg minor ball program. For the past few years, he competed with the Lafleche Merchants seniors. He was also an excellent hockey goalie with the Gravelbourg Stars. He graduated to play in the AA U18 Swift Current Broncos program. In recent years, he returned to play for the Gravelbourg Hornets, his hometown senior squad.

Alberta umpire Dean Portz

Portz passed away on Nov. 13 at the age of 54. He was a Level 3 umpire based in Calgary. Over the years, he officiated many Baseball Alberta league games, including contests in the Baseball Alberta Elite League in Calgary and the surrounding area. In the summer of 2023, he was chosen to umpire at the Alberta Summer Games in Okotoks, Alta.

Van Lierop passed away on Dec. 24 at the age of 32. A lifelong sports fan and Algonquin College Sports Business Management grad, he worked with the Jays as a warehouse associate from 2016 to 2018 and with the Intercounty League’s London Majors. His first job after graduating from Algonquin was with Game Day Merchandising in Ottawa, Ont., where he was a team lead and crested jerseys for the Ottawa Redblacks and Ottawa 67s.

First Ontario Blue Jays coach Gary Wilson …

Wilson passed away on July 10 at the age of 73. He was the Ontario Blue Jays’ first head coach, guiding the team from its inception in 1996 through the 1999 season. Among the players he had a profound influence on were future major leaguers Pete Orr (Newmarket, Ont.), Adam Stern (London, Ont.) and Scott Thorman (Cambridge, Ont.). Wilson worked at Procter and Gamble for 27 years. Prior to coaching the Ontario Blue Jays, he had IBL managerial stints with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kitchener Panthers, and Hamilton Cardinals between 1978 and 1986. He was inducted into the Ontario Blue Jays Hall of Fame into 2015.

Former North Delta Blue Jays LHP James Paxton now wears a Dodger uniform …

102. James Paxton, Red Sox/Dodgers (-).

After going 7-3 with a 3.34 ERA in his first 16 starts for the Red Sox last season, Paxton was tagged for 16 runs in 9 2/3 innings in his final three outings. He allowed six runs and only recorded four outs at Kauffman Stadium in his 19th and final start. This was despite the fact that heading into the game, of the 355 pitchers to make at least eight starts against KC all time, Paxton ranked first in ERA (1.51), WHIP (0.90), and SO/BB ratio (9.83). One out into the game, Bobby Witt homered ending a 21 1/3 inning scoreless string against the Royals. He finished 2023 with a 3.16 ERA at Fenway and a 5.57 ERA on the road.

On January 23, Paxton signed a one-year, $11 million contract with the Dodgers with a $1 million opening day roster bonus and $1 million available in incentives. Less than a week later, the contract had been re-worked. Paxton will be paid a $3 million signing bonus with a $4 million salary this season and receive an additional $600,000 if he reaches six, eight, 10, 12 and 16 starts, then $1 million if he gets to 18 and $1 million if he gets to 20, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. His opening day roster bonus is $2 million, whether he makes the cut in time for the Korea Series on March 20 or the domestic opener on March 28. Should he fail to earn a spot on the active 26-man roster by then, he can still cash in a $1 million roster bonus being active by April 15.

UBC Thunderbirds coach Chris Pritchett …

103. Chris Pritchett, head coach, UBC (-).

Pritchett came to Vancouver in 1995 to play for the triple-A Canadians (Angels). He stayed for parts of four seasons, and after a 13-year pro career -- including 61 games in the majors over four years with the Angels and the Phillies -- he was back as a UBC volunteer in 2006-07. After serving as a hitting coach with class-A Vancouver (A’s) in 2007 and scouting for the Red Sox for six years, he took over for Terry McKaig running the UBC program. He became a dual citizen in 2022 and last fall obtained his Canadian passport. (So he really should be listed higher in his debut.)

Entering his fifth season as head coach of the T-Birds, he has accumulated a record of 130-86 including three berths to the NAIA World Series Opening Round. Pritchett has earned NAIA West Coach of the Year honours twice, in 2015 and 2019, when he was a co-winner. Since he took over the T-Birds in 2016, he has seen RHP Adam Maier (North Vancouver, BC) drafted in the eighth round by the Braves, Garrett Hawkins (Biggar, Sask.) ninth round, Padres, LHP Niall Windeler (Toronto, Ont.) 19th, Twins; INF Mitch Robinson (Surrey, BC) 21st, Yankees; RHP Curtis Taylor (Port Coquitlam) fourth, Diamondbacks; RHP Alex Webb (Surrey, BC) ninth, Reds and 1B Bruce Yari (Waterloo, Ont.) 24th, Reds.

After his playing career, Pritchett returned to UCLA and completed his bachelor of arts degree, as well as studying performance enhancement and injury prevention at the National Academy of Sports Medicine and received a Master’s in exercise science.

Working the plate at the WBC qualifier in Panama Lisa Turbitt signals a runner from Pakistan is out attempting to score against Argentina.

104. Lisa Turbitt, umpire (-).

Lisa became the first woman umpire to work a World Baseball Classic qualifier in 2023. Lisa had the plate as Argentina beat Pakistan 7-4 at Estadio Nacional de Panamá before 466 fans. Lisa was working first base as Panama blanked Argentina 11-0 in front of 5,314. And Lisa (Burlington, Ont.) handled third base as Brazil beat Nicaragua 4-1 in front of 695 fans and Nicaragua knocked off Brazil 3-1 in front of 769 fans. Panama and Nicaragua advanced.

When she was growing up, her bedroom walls were covered with pictures of Blue Jays and Expos players. Lisa has been an umpire or supervisor at 20 national championships, worked home plate in the gold medal game at the first Women’s World Cup and supervised international tournaments. Lisa also has received Baseball Canada’s lifetime achievement award. And it all was a result of her brother’s T-ball game needing an umpire. Lisa was 11 then. Now 44, Lisa is still calling them as she sees them. And now will be inducted into the Burlington Hall of Fame.

Dan Patrick of the Dan Patrick Show, starring Dan Patrick, interviews TSN Scott Mitchell …

105. Scott Mitchell, TSN (99).

He spends more time on prospects than others -- as well as covering the local nine like a tarp. Mitchell (Oshawa, Ont.) ranked the top 20 Canadians heading into 2024 and it went like this No. 1 Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.) of the Brewers, up one spot from a year ago; No. 2 OF Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) of the Cubs, up two spots; No. 3 OF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) of the A’s, up three spots; No. 4 INF Myles Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) of the A’s, unranked a year ago and No. 5 LHP Mitch Bratt (Newmarket, Ont.) of the Rangers, down two spots.

Graduating to the majors in 2023 from the Mitchell List were No. 1 C Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) of the Guardians and No. 5. 2B Edouard Julien (Quebec, Que.) of the Twins. Dropped from last year’s top 20 list were RHP Jacob Zibin (Langley, BC) of the Guardians, RHP Adam Maier (Vancouver, BC) Braves, RHP Indigo Diaz (North Vancouver, BC) Yankees, RHP Garrett Hawkins (Biggar, Sask.) Padres and OF Adam Hall (London, Ont.). Orioles.

FieldHouse Pirates coach Jimmy Richardson, right …

106. Jimmy Richardson and Lee Delfino, coaches, FieldHouse Pirates (102).

The Pirates’ most famous grad Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) is knocking on the outfield door at Wrigley Field, but more Pirates are on the way with the likes of OF Quinn Carson (Oakville, Ont.), LHP Sam MacLaughlin (Toronto, Ont.), INF Owen Gregg (Oakville, Ont.), INF-RHP Julian Sabourin (Hamilton, Ont.), INF Matthew Kolodziej (Oakville, Ont.), 3B Robert Omidi (Mississauga, Ont.), C Evan York (Cambridge, Ont.), INF Nicholas Cote (Oakville, Ont.) and Anthony Unga (Oakville, Ont.). A total of 10 Pirates went to the Canadian Futures Showcase at the Rogers Centre.

Fieldhouse has some serious experienced coaching depth in Bob Hooper, Travis Kayler, Jordan Stamp, Steve Tait, John Mariotti, Travis Kayler, TJ Singh and Wayne Forman. Delfino was drafted twice by the Blue Jays before and after dominating as an East Carolina Pirate and then went on to dominate with the IBL’s Brantford Red Sox.

Agent to the dandelions of North American journalisim, Maury Gostfrand …

107. Maury Gostfrand, agent (60).

If someone has influence on TV, radio or in print, there is a good chance Gostfrand put the people in a position to influence ball fans. He joined The Montag Group in 2018 as partner & executive VP after being president and founder of his Vision Sports Group, a sports management and marketing agency representing primarily sports broadcasters and coaches. Montag was purchased by the Wasserman Group in 2021. As much as we admire Scott Boras and his ability to get things done, Gostfrand (Chomedey, Que.) who grew up an Expo fan seems to get them done a lot quicker. Or maybe media types don’t like holdouts. He is a Michigan man.

We have zero idea where the diehard ball fan would be without the likes of Gostfrand’s guys: led by the league leader in information Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and FOX Sports (who had Shohei Ohtani flying into Dunedin), Tom Verducci, of MLB Network and FOX, Ryan Dempster (Gibsons, BC) a Chicago Cubs analyst, who doubles as co-host with Kevin Millar on MLB Network’s Intentional Talk, John Kruk, Phillies analyst, Hall of Famer Joe Torre, Dave O’Brien, Red Sox play by play man, Eduardo Perez of ESPN, Jesse Agler, Padres radio and Adam Amin of FOX Sports. Gostfrand is involved in charitable causes where he is a board member with The Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation since 2002 and MVP Charity since 2017.

Fans did not come to see Edmonton Riverhawks managing director Dr. Randy Gregg catch, but they sure came to see his team play — up 66% in attendance.

108. Dr. Randy Gregg, Edmonton Riverhawks (-).

Dr. Gregg’s Riverhawks attracted an average of 3,880 fans to Re/Max Field to lead the league -- a large jump of 66% from 2,342 in 2022. The managing director’s club experienced one of the highest jumps in summer college ball behind Lethbridge Bulls (up 100.52%), Bristol State Liners (100.5%), Martha’s Vineyard Sharks (77%) and the Johnson City Doughboys (74%). RHP Halen Knoll (Edmonton, Alta.) earned pitcher of the year and first-team status going 5-4 with a 2.19 ERA pitching 73 2/3 innings. Three Canucks earned honourable mention honors: INF Tom Poole (Calgary, Alta.) of Dallas Baptist hit .340, with two homers and 18 RBIs, UBC OF Jonny McGill (Richmond, BC) batted .329 and drove in 23 and Matthew Ridsdale (Brampton, Ont.) was 2-0, with a 1.68 ERA in 37 innings of work.

Additional Canucks included Brady Kobitowich (Edmonton, Alta.), 4-2, with a 3.48 ERA; RHP Tylor Jans (St. Albert, Alta.) 2-2, one save, 3.60, fanning 35 in 30 innings and Brendan Loeppky (Calgary, Alta.) 1-1, 4.66, 27 whiffs in 26 innings. OF Will Gardner (St. Albert, Alta.) hit .242 with two homers and 14 RBIs.

The Victoria Harbourcats, skippered by manager of the year Todd Haney, finished first with a 38-15 record (averaging 2,437 fans). The Kelowna Falcons were 31-23 (1,064), the Nanaimo NightOwls went 26-28 (1,080) and the Kamloops NorthPaws were last at 12-40 (717).

Veteran Dodgers executive Ellen Veronica Harrigan …

109. Ellen Harrigan, senior director, baseball administration, Dodgers (-).

The routine is the same after every sellout at Dodger Stadium: front-office employees receive cookies at their desks the next day. And when the Dodgers increase their lead in first place, it’s ice cream. Both traditions go back to the glory days when the O’Malley family owned the team. There is still a good chance with the group Stan (Skates) Kasten -- of Professional Women’s Hockey League fame -- has put together that Dodger employees will be seeing a lot of ice cream and cookies.

Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, she and her family arrived in Canada, living in Agincourt and Beeton, Ont. The former St. Catharines Blue Jays GM is in her 26th season negotiating roughly a dozen contracts a year on the 40-man roster. Ellen has worked for Hall of Fame GM Pat Gillick (in Toronto and Baltimore), Kevin Malone, Paul DePodesta, Ned Colletti, Farhan Zaidi and Brandon Gomes. Ellen was part of World Series teams with the 1992-93 Blue Jays and the 2020 Dodgers.

110. Sam Katz and Andrew Collier, Regan Katz, Goldeyes/Titans (94).

The Katz family owns two independent teams. Under former mayor Katz and crack GM Collier, the Goldeyes went 43-57, finishing 16 1/2 games behind the Kansas City Monarchs in American Association play. The Goldeyes drew 3,568 per game, which was third in the loop behind the Kane County Cougars (5,571) and the Chicago Dogs (4,125). The Goldeyes had nine Canucks in the lineup: RHP Landen Bourassa (Lethbridge, Alta.), RHP Marc-Andre Habeck (Winnipeg, Man.), RHP Taylor Lepard (Toronto, Ont.), RHP Brandon Marklund (North Vancouver, BC) and LHP Travis Seabrooke (Peterborough, Ont.).

This year, their 30th anniversary season, the Goldeyes will honour maybe the greatest to wear the uniform in OF Reggie Abercrombie. His jersey will retired Aug. 11 with bobble heads given to fans. When the Goldeyes began play in 1994 they played in makeshift park inside Winnipeg Stadium, a football yard retrofitted for baseball. That year some players stayed in Katz’s basement to keep costs down. Katz built a new park in 1999 -- averaging 6,048 per game which was 98.5% capacity, when the Pan Am Games came to town (also known as the Stubby Clapp showcase).

Meanwhile in the capital, the Titans were 48-48 averaging 1,540 fans for 51 home games in 2023. That was an increase of 27% over the 2022 season, when attendance averaged 1,211 per game. They have rivalries with the Québec Capitales (60-35) and the Trois-Rivières Aigles (38-57). Ottawa had four Canucks: RHP Taylor Lepard (Toronto, Ont.), 3B David Mendham (Dorchester, Ont.), OF Jake Sanford (Cole Harbour, NS) and INF-RHP Taylor Wright (North Vancouver, BC). Ottawa president Regan Katz’s Ottawa Titans Field of Dreams Foundation raised and distributed more than $20,000 in support of 15 registered children’s charities.

Ontario Astros coach Jason Booth

111. Jason Booth, coach, Ontario Astros (105).

Team Ontario OF Asafa Jones (Toronto) has committed to Jackson State University. The Astros had two players at the Canadian Futures Showcase C Joe Godfrey (Bowmanville) and INF Tristan Desrochers (Barrie). Desrochers is headed to Johnson County, Godfrey is off to Sussex County. Other Jason Booth players headed south include: RHP Julian Robertson (Aurora) Ohio University and RHP Brandon Langley (New Glasgow, PEI) transferring from Southern Carolina Lancaster to Western Carolina. They will join LHP Matthew Marsh (Havelock) at Niagara, C Noah Murciano (Toronto) Coppin State and INF Christos Tassopoulos (Stouffville) Central Connecticut State.

Off to Salem are RHP Wesley Knott (Oro-Medonte) and C Preston Vieira (Oshawa), as well as others headed to school are: C Will Timpano (Severn Bridge) Alfred, OF Aidan Chouinard (Aurora) Rochester Tech, 1B Keaton Nann (Stouffville) Vermont State–Castleton, OF Timothy Nobrega (Toronto) St. Norbert, RHP Adam Carmichael (Whitby) Rio Grande, 1B Lucas Trivedi (Nobleton) Ohlone, plus OF Max Jewusiak (Burlington) and INF SS Ozzie Fitzpatrick (Whitby) both going to Jefferson (MO), RHP Aidan Gelhard (Newmarket) Bossier Parish, RHP Ryan McGivney (Whitby) South Suburban, INF Luke Stoner (Kewsick) State Fair, LHP Vincent Bouchard-Wright (Barrie) Pratt, C Noah Lamphier (Pickering) Marshalltown, INF Adam Rich (Bowmanville) Cuyahoga and LHP Luke Lance (Toronto) Morton.

112. Marc LePage, coach, Brock University (-).

The Badgers play an aggressive schedule both in spring and fall venturing into western New York as well as playing U Sports. An OPP Sargeant, he has been head coach of the program for most of 25 years and is assisted by pitching coach Fabio Del Rio, former Ottawa-Nepean Canadian, Rick Pillitteri, Geoff Strong, Jay Falardeau and Brandon Underhill. LePage’s record from 2016 to 2023 is 79-44.

From left, Brock coach Jay Falardeau, Badgers C Noah Polesky and Jay’s daughter, Zoe Falardeau, before the ceremonial first pitch. Polesky coaches Zoe with the FieldHouse Pirates.

LePage began was an assistant from 1995-99, where he was part of two CIBA national championships in 1998 and 1999. In 2000, he took over the head coaching duties at Guelph, coaching the Gryphons for two seasons, leading them to the CIBA final for the first time in the program’s history. During his 20 seasons an assistant at Brock, the talented hitting instructor, helped in the development of some of the top players in the program history, highlighted by Andrew Tinnish (Ottawa, Ont.) now the Jays VP of international scouting and all-time leading hitter, Shaun Valeriote (Guelph, Ont.) two-time OUA top hitter and back-to-back OUA top hitter Justin Gideon (Toronto, Ont.).

113. Kevin Briand and Jon Lalonde, Blue Jays scouts (-).

A pure evaluator in the Jays’ pro scouting department, Briand (Montreal, Que.) played for the provincial all-stars and pitched for Team Canada at the World Juniors Championship and for the National Baseball Institute Blues in Vancouver, BC along with big leaguers Corey Koskie (Anola, Man.), Rob Butler (East York, Ont.), Jason Dickson (Chatham, N.B.) and Denis Boucher (Lachine, Que.). He joined the Junior National team as the pitching coach, was hired by Baseball Canada and then manager of amateur ball for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1999. He ran instructional camps before moving into scouting. He should have his 25-year pin this year.

Blue Jays scout Jon Lalonde in his 25th year with the Blue Jays …

Lalonde is also in his 25th year with the Jays, after being hired in 1999. His different positions in scouting with the club include six-plus years as scouting director, six years as a special assignment scout and 13 as a pro cross checker. Lalonde (Midland, Ont.) is more involved in evaluating when it comes to player acquisitions. And, of course, away back in 2001 Lalonde met a young Expos scout and hired him to work for the Blue Jays. His name? Alex Anthopoulos ... also known as No. 1 on the charts.

114. Rob Butler, Ty Crawford, Jeff Lounsbury, Maple Leafs (-).

Besides getting a base hit in the 1993 World Series off Phillies RHP Curt Schilling for his hometown Blue Jays. Butler had 53 others in the majors with the Jays and the Phillies, another 671 in the minors and another 208 -- including 42 homers -- for the IBL Maple Leafs. He spent one year with Stratford and five at Christie Pitts, winning the title in 2002. The outfielder was the MVP in 2001, earned first team all-star honors in 2001, 2002 and 2003, plus he won the batting title in 2001 and 2004. He retired with a .404 average and 129 RBIs. And now he is managing the club.

Crawford played six years in the league with London and the Leafs from 1968 to 1976, retiring with a .271 average, six homers and 72 RBIs. A lawyer, he was in charge of selling the IBL club owned by Jack Dominico. He found a buyer in Keith Stein, who hopes to take a page out of the Savannah Bananas playbook. Fans at the Pitts can look forward to an exciting product this season.

Lounsbury (Niagara Falls, Ont.) was hired Feb. 7, 2023 to be the Leafs GM. He has over 10 years of IBL experience. He spent four previous seasons as Hamilton Cardinals GM. He made his reputation with the Brock Badgers as one of winningest coaches in Canadian university ball. A three-time Ontario coach of the year (2005, 2012, 2014) over his 20-year career at Brock, he led the Badgers to two CIBA national championships (1998, 1999), four OUA titles (2002, 2004, 2010, 2014), three Ontario West crowns, seven CIBA Championship appearances, six OUA regular season titles, and 11 consecutive 20-plus win seasons. He was inducted into the Niagara Falls Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.

Scribing in the shade, MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson …

116. Keegan Matheson, MLB.com (107)

Seems like it was only a couple of years ago that Matheson (Halifax, NS) arrived via Dalhousie University and Centennial College when actually it was in 2016. Now, Matheson is the fourth senior member of the ball scribes at the Rogers Centre behind Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith (both from Sportsnet) and Gregor Chisholm (The Star).

The website he works for is more solid than the cement holding up the CN Tower. Yet, if there ever was a change in readership/viewership audience, it won’t be a problem for Matheson. With his voice and deep pipes, he could anchor the CBC news desk -- and know what the lead item should be -- do the news for CityNews 680, do voice overs or simply read the phone books. He has a captivating voice. He writes well. He enunciates well. His sense of humor is evident on the social media site formally known as the Twitter machine. His bio reads: “If found, please return to Nova Scotia.”

Jays director of baseball operations, Jeremy Reesor …

117. Jeremy Reesor, director baseball operations, Blue Jays (90).

When The Athletic did a poll of future stars in both management and coaching, roughly 12 people were mentioned along with their positions. Ross Fenstermaker (Rangers assistant GM), Anirudh Kilambi (Phillies, assistant GM), Sam Mondry-Cohen (White Sox analytics coordinator), Alex Hassan (Twins, VP), Kevan Graves (Pirates assistant GM) and Reesor all received one vote.

The University of Waterloo grad (biology) has worked with the Jays for nine seasons after working on the conversions crew at the Rogers Centre. The director of baseball operations, he is involved with every decision that the Jays make. Reesor (Stouffville, Ont.) handles daily transactions and does prep work for arbitration negotiations. Previously he was the coordinator and then manager of research and development, as well as assistant director of baseball ops.

Alberta Dugout Stories co-founder Joe McFarland with his wife Erin …

118. Joe McFarland and Ian Wilson, co-founder’s Alberta Dugout Stories (-).

There are a few names on this most influential list which are MUST reads. Alberta Dugout Stories is one of them. They are an excellent combination: McFarland with a radio background ... Wilson a former writer. After completing high school in Claresholm, McFarland earned a broadcast journalism diploma from Lethbridge College in 2005 and headed out on a 15-year radio journey that took him to Lloydminster, Medicine Hat, Calgary, back to Medicine Hat and then to Calgary again from 2010 to 2020. He is also the host of Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast.

Alberta Dugout Stories co-founder Ian Wilson …

Wilson is Alberta born and raised seeing his first glimpse of pro ball watching the Medicine Hat Blue Jays in the 1980s and 1990s. Trips to Calgary opened his world to the Calgary Cannons and the Pacific Coast League. After completing his bachelor of arts in journalism and communications from the University of Regina, he returned to his home province working at the Calgary Sun for a decade. He is media coordinator for the Western Canadian Baseball League. The passion of the pair is deeper than the depth of the highest producing oil well in the province.

Recently, Wilson and McFarland launched Saskatchewan Dugout Stories which is certain to provide us with more must-read material.

119. Jonathan Erlichman, coach, Rays (104).

Erlichman is in his fifth year as the Rays’ process and analytics coach. The Rays moved the Princeton grad, former Jays intern and front office analyst to the dugout as the club constantly does things outside the batter’s box. Is the bearded Erlichman (Toronto, Ont.) the secret weapon in Tampa Bay’s recent success which includes five straight post-season appearances with seasons of 96, 40 (40-20 during COVID season of 2020), 100, 86 and 99 wins. That’s 421 wins and a .594 win mark. As a point of reference, over the same time frame, the Jays have won 371 games.

Erlichman never played ball past his early childhood, yet TV cameras sometimes show manager Kevin Cash or pitching coach Kyle Snyder heading Erlichman’s way with a query. Cash green lighted Erlichman’s move and told players after the 2018 season that they were going to accept the presence of an “upstairs guy.”

Dapper Danny Gallagher hit double figures on his Expos books …

120. Dan Gallagher, author (103).

Baseball has been Gallagher’s life from Douglas, Ont. to Ottawa, to Sudbury, to Saskatchewan to Montreal. He has always been in love with the game, but he fell head over heels -- and almost fell into his typewriter/laptop. He says he’s in his 52nd year scribing. To describe Gallagher as prolific would be an understatement.

He has written 14 books, 10 of them about the Expos. His latest is titled “Explosion” and asks the question ‘Which Blue Jays executive voted to contract the Expos?’ The 264-page souvenir edition is available at Amazon. Hall of Famer Andre Dawson wrote the foreword. As Gallagher points out, 2024 is going to be a banner year for the Expos brand as: Robbie Hart’s documentary about the Expos will be screened at various venues and on several platforms, Netflix will work with Attraction Images on a documentary on why the Expos left after the 2004 season, Expos Fest on April 20 has been sold out in Laval and the inaugural Expos Fest golf tournament will be held in Ile Brizard, Que. on Aug. 5.

121. Geddy Lee, National treasure/collector (-).

The lead singer of Rush, one of former manager John Gibbons’ favourite bands, has always loved baseball - from his friendship with ace Dave Stieb to collectables. He placed some prized items up for auction, entitled Selections from the Geddy Lee Collection and Important Baseball Memorabilia, put together by Hunt Auctions and Christie’s. It bought in $6.9 million. The top items were Babe Ruth’s 1938 Brooklyn Dodgers jersey which went for $882,000, Hank Aaron’s 1968 Atlanta Braves jersey, $567,000, Lou Gehrig’s 1927 bat, $504,000, a ball signed by President Herbert Hoover $214,200, a Beatles autographed ball from 1965 Shea Stadium concert $176,400, two President John F. Kennedy signed baseballs, one at $170,100 and another at $138,600 and a Roberto Clemente signed ball $88,200.

If you are a regular watcher of the Jays at the Rogers Centre, you can see Lee most nights in the second row of the old “action seats” which won’t survive Phase II of the renovation. One night lawyer Stephen Junger took me to a game in the Action Seats and we sat beside Lee and his son. I was so intimidated being so close to greatness my one utterance over the whole nine innings was “I saw you pitch once at Greg Cranker Field in Mississauga.” ... to his son, Julian Weinrib.

Toronto Blue Jays Academy’s T.J. Burton does an interview with Sportsnet’s Jamie Campbell …

122. T.J. Burton, Blue Jays Academy (-).

Whether you cheer for the Yankees, the Red Sox or the Tigers, for one week a year YOUR team has to be the Blue Jays. In September, the best high school players from across the country travelled to Toronto and the Rogers Centre to play in front of pro scouts and college recruiters at the Canadian Futures Showcase. We’d like to know how many companies are better corporate citizens than the Jays are that week. It’s a far cry from the mid 1990s when the ABC would play the Ontario Blue Jays or Team Ontario -- in front of Toronto scouts only. Now, the doors are wide open -- for a minimal cost -- for players, scouts and recruiters. It is not a money maker. It is giving something back.

And Burton (Ottawa, Ont.) oversees it all from the selection camps across the country to the participants of the home run derby. Last September’s showcase attracted 17 college recruiters and coaches on hand from University of British Columbia, Canisius, East Tennessee State, Georgetown, Georgia State, Gonzaga, Kent State, Long Beach State, Michigan, Niagara, Pepperdine, Sacramento State, Northern Kentucky, Western Kentucky, Utah and Mary. As well, there were 32 pro scouts representing 19 organizations with Toronto Blue Jays, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Royals all having more than one representative in attendance.

Fort McMurray co-owner Dianne Iannetti …

123. Dianne and Dutche Iannetti, owners, Fort McMurray, Giants (-).

The Giants are entering their eighth season in the WCBL and battled smoke from wildfires. Yet, they played on and did not lose a home date from the fires in BC, although there were a couple of hazy nights with a burning sun “setting” behind the wall in right. Meanwhile smoke from different wildfires in Quebec cancelled games in New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The pair have owned the franchise the whole time and are a big part of the community in Fort Mac. Andrew Swagers (Fort McMurray, Alta.) is the GM and Joey Ellison (Mississauga, Ont.) manages.

Dutche coached several Fort McMurray teams and has been part of facility maintenance groups. His interest in the game stems from Cape Breton Little League teams when he grew up in Nova Scotia as youth coaches, Monte Bradley and Billy Foster, were major influences. Jerry McPherson convinced him to get more involved in youth ball. The Giants were sixth in attendance, drawing 17,032 fans (608 nightly). They drew a record crowd of 5,011 at Legacy Dodge Field during a 4-2 playoff loss to the Okotoks Dawgs.

124. Jeremy Diamond, chair, Canadian Hall of Fame (83).

He was head of the board that approved the hiring the Hall’s first full-time care of collections and public engagement supervisor in Lindsay Earle. In 2023, Diamond was the leader on the board who succeeded in having the roadway through the Hall’s grounds renamed Ferguson Jenkins Way. He is often the spokesperson for the Hall of Fame and presented the Hall’s Randy Echlin Lifetime Volunteer Award - to Kevin Glew - on induction weekend.

Diamond has a background of 20 years of experience in fundraising and is currently founding CEO of the RCAF Foundation. In his spare time, Jeremy coaches select ball in North York. The class of 2024 -- Russell Martin (Montreal, Que.), Howie Birnie (Leaside, Ont.), Ashley Stephenson (Mississauga, Ont.), Jimmy Key and Rod Heisler (Moose Jaw, Sask.) -- was the product of a board’s decision to alter voting procedures.

The tracker of all Canadian minor leaguers George Farelli …

125. George Farelli, workhorse, Canadian Baseball Network (-).

We get lots of complaints about this most influential list. And this may result in another. Not because of where George is listed but because of the fact he is listed at all. George has been with CBN since Day 1 compiling submissions for our weekly Canadians in the Minors page. And most weeks he selects the Canadian Player of the Week. His playing career began with the Moose Athletic Club in 1956, then playing second alongside double play partner Brian Cowan in the first-ever CNE peewee tournament and five years later with the Perth Boys Club for coach Harry McAloney at Christie Pits.

For 21 years he has never missed a week. He’s the Cal Ripken of website contributors. Every week he’d file and the next day every week -- well, except for a few -- we’d post his work. He hit the 300 mark midway through the 2015 season and now our rough count is 494 over the past 21 years. All that work and we have paid him a grand total of $0.00. When we had sponsorship from the Toronto Blue Jays, George refused. “Pay the kids,” he ordered. Over the years we have roughly 100 writers listed on our Contributors page (not to mention out Honour Roll). Go ahead and try to find George’s bio ... you won’t find one line. Every Canadian who has played in a minor-league game since 2003 and his fellow writers, owe George a thank you.

126. Mike Soroka, Braves/White Sox (-).

Soroka had never lost to St. Louis (1-0 with a 0.69 ERA in two career starts, one earned run in 13 innings) before his final outing of 2023 when he gave up five runs in two innings, serving up home runs to Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC) and Nolan Gorman. The start against the Cards was his sixth of the season and his first start for the Braves since July 25 at Milwaukee after earning International League Pitcher of the Month for August. That month he led the the International League in opponents batting average (.165)and WHIP (0.88) while ranking third in strikeouts (34) as he went 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA in five starts.

In total, he was 4-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 17 starts with triple-A Gwinnett in 2023. He was recalled to Atlanta for the third time to face the Cards.

In all, he missed a total of 486 games with a torn Achilles. Soroka was one of seven pitchers to make at least 35 starts for the Braves in the live-ball era (since 1920) prior to turning 23, and his 2.72 ERA was easily lowest. Steve Avery (92 such starts) has the next-lowest mark, with 3.67. In 2019, he joined Reds Edinson Vólquez (2008) and A’s Mike Norris (1980) as the only pitchers in the live-ball era (since 1920) to begin the season with eight consecutive starters of one earned run or less. He was dealt with Riley Gowens, Nicky Lopez, Braden Shewmake and Jared Shuster to the White Sox for Aaron Bummer.

Western and RPI grad Clare Padmore works trying to keep her Blue Jays healthy …

127. Clare Padmore, biomechanist, research and development, Jays (-).

Clare is basically the same as in college -- when skating for the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers women’s hockey team -- as she is now -- working with the Blue Jays after graduating from Western University with a degree biomechanics and biomechanical engineering. Instead of moving the puck at RBI, Padmore is helping to move the Jays in the right direction from inside the baseball operations office.

At Western, Clare worked with Bone & Joint Institute professor Jim Johnson, a researcher in biomechanics, bioengineering and orthopedic surgical devices and implants. Padmore helped build and outfit a sport science lab in Dunedin and the new biomechanics lab. The Jays, like 29 other teams, use sport science to try to prevent injury. Clare began in 2020 as a high performance analyst, then a biochemist and is now senior manager, biomechanics research and development.

Le Journal de Montreal scribe Benoit Rioux

128. Benoit Rioux, Le Journal de Montreal (-).

Rioux worked like a demon at the World Baseball Classic -- or similar to Serge Touchette, the former Expos three-page-a-day scribe. Besides being ahead of the curve with 2B Edouard Julien (Quebec, Que.) at the time a triple-A player, who received rookie of the year interest for his 2023 season with the Twins, he had blanket coverage on RHP Phillippe Aumont (Gatineau, Que.), SS Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.), INF Abraham Toro (Longueuil, Que.) and pitching coach Denis Boucher (Lachine, Que.).

Dodgers 1B Freddie Freeman, who played for Canada in the WBC to honor his late mom Rosemary

Yet, he was not one man covering one province. When 1B Freddie Freeman came into the interview room, Rioux asked him a hockey question. Seated four rows back an American writer grumbled “typical Canadian ... relating everything to hockey.” Freeman’s answer was great. The son of two Canadian parents (from Peterborough and Windsor, Ont.) living in Orange, Calif. answered “when you’re a kid, you don’t always realize what’s going on, but as I got older, I realized that every time there was a Canadian sports team in Anaheim, that’s when we went to games. Canada never left my parents even though my father is also from there. If we went to a hockey game, it was when the Maple Leafs visited the Ducks.” Freeman later said he thought there were only six teams in the league plus the Ducks. The writer who scoffed at the question? He used Freeman’s answer to Rioux’s question. Buried it way down in the second graph. Freeman also recalled the Blue Jays visiting the Angels and munching on his popcorn when the Canadian national anthem was sung. “Suddenly,” said Freeman, “I felt like the strongest person in the world lifting me. It was both my father and mother making me understand that I needed to stand. Moments like these remind me of the importance of my parents and being Canadian.”

129. JD Mah, Western Canada Baseball (-).

Mah operates websites on Western Canada Baseball and amateur and semi-pro ball on the prairies from the early 1900s (including the early Western Canada circuits of 1907 to 1921) to the late 1970s. Included are thousands of pages of game reports, rosters, photos, stats, on Western Canada (including BC), Ontario’s IBL, the Maritimes and North-Western USA (Basin League and the South Minny loop from the late 1940s through the mid 1960s). His other sites include Scoresheet Baseball, the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers and CBLT, a CBC flagship station.

His influence was noticed not only for ball, but for his postings on Nakusp Communicator. He left Toronto for Nakusp, BC 22 years ago and was detailing the agenda for the Nakusp Village for an upcoming meeting. On Sept. 2, his posts were removed from Facebook, or not appearing at all. It was a time when Canadian links to news stories were banned. Facebook had explained he had violated standards on “cyber security.” Mah appealed, never heard back, but suddenly his deleted posts were back and he was able to post. Mah said his Nakusp Commincator was in the same position as the New York Times, Globe and Mail, The Guardian, et al. A friend of mine, Mike Arundel of Atlanta had an old shot of his father, John Arundel, who had a cup of coffee with the NHL’s Maple Leafs. The team photo showed a ball team seated in the bleachers down the left field line. They were wearing tiny crests. We emailed Mah a picture and within minutes he knew the name of the park, the team and the year. The man is a magician when it comes to ball in the Western provinces.

130. Erin Durant, lawyer (-).

Erin, also known as a BTL (Big Time Lawyer), who has done work for Baseball Canada, helped redraft Safe Sport, part of the mechanism all national organizations have in place now. Durant has supported the program and helped provide guidance on policy and procedure. Erin, an Ontario champion softball player, placed second at the 2016 Ontario Provincial championships, which guaranteed a spot to compete at the women’s fast pitch Canadians in Brampton, Ont.

Durant (Ottawa, Ont.) had her husband Brad Pender, a former Ottawa-Nepean Canadian, with her when she attended the January Baseball Canada gala fundraiser, along with her staff Wanda Michie and Sydney McIvor. The night was a hit for Pender too, as he met one of his faves in ex-Blue Jay catcher and Team Canada skipper Ernie Whitt. Pender refused to give Whitt any managerial tips he learned from skipper Don Campbell.

Former columnist Stephen Brunt did an excellent job on the delivery of his Jose Bautista essay

131. Stephen Brunt, Blue Jays (-).

His words appeared without introduction, but there was no mistaking whom it was doing the voice over during the moving Jose Bautista tribute at Rogers Centre. We’d know that voice anywhere. It was the former Bob McCown co-host. The voice said in part about Bautista: “He was a harbinger of a Blue Jays renaissance. He played every day like he had something to prove. With a chip on his shoulder. Demanding respect.” Then, as the highlight clip everyone in the building wanted to see was shown, the voice built towards a crescendo saying:

“You remember that night: Oct. 14, 2015. A jam-packed Rogers Centre. The division series against the Texas Rangers hanging in the balance. The bottom half of a long crazy inning that so many can recall pitch by pitch. Bautista at the plate. Sam Dyson on the mound. The pitch. The swing. And in that instant the release of years of pent-up frustration. The explosion of joy. The declaration that the Blue Jays were back. That Toronto was still a baseball town. And that Jose Bautista was the man. All of it encompassed in an at-bat. It wasn’t just about sports. It was a cultural touchstone. It was where were you then moment for an entire nation. He played in other uniforms. He began and ended his career in other cities. But Jose Bautista belongs to Toronto. And now his name is right where it should be part of that select group on the Level of Excellence. Forever a Blue Jay.”

The next day a 13-year-old Mississauga South West Twins player asked, “Did you write the Bautista speech at the game?” I quickly said no. His father then asked, “You aren’t being modest are you?” I howled. “Stephen Brunt wrote it and that was his voice,” I answered. “On my best day with the wind behind me ... walking downhill, I could not carry his laptop.”

The dapper Adam Morissette, manager of Baseball Canada women’s team operations.

132. Adam Morissette, Baseball Canada (-).

The best dressed man at the annual Baseball Canada fundraiser -- most years -- has an expanded portfolio. Besides being the national body’s manager of media, he is now PR/manager of Canada’s Women’s National Team operations. Canada is ranked No. 7 in the world, up one stop behind No. 1 Japan, Chinese Taipei, Venezuela, Team USA, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Canada hosts the World Baseball Softball Confederation IX Women’s World Cup Final, presented by CARNEXT, against Mexico on July 28 at Port Arthur Stadium in Thunder Bay, Ont. Also in round-robin play Canada will face Japan, USA, Venezuela and Chinese Taipei, with the final set for Aug. 3.

The Canucks will be led by INF Zoe Hicks (Boissevain, Man.), RHP Allison Schroder (Fruitvale, BC), RHP Raine Padgham (Abbotsford, BC), INF Alizée Gélinas (Trois-Rivières, Que.), 1B Stacy Fournier (Surrey, BC) and RHP Jaida Lee (St. John’s, NL). Anthony Pluta (Victoria, BC) will be the head coach along with coaches Chris Begg (Uxbridge, Ont.), Patricia Landry (St-Étienne-des-Grés, Que.) and Kate Psota (Burlington, Ont.).

Dan Estey runs the COBA Major site and the new Canadian Amateur Baseball Centra …

133. Dan Estey, Canadian Amateur Baseball Central (-).

The former Erindale Cardinal who runs the COBA major senior website jumped into senior ball coverage from coast to coast in 2023. In its first year, it covered six provinces: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta. He hopes to add Manitoba content this year.

It used to be provincial champs could only check up on their opponents at the nationals -- or a couple of weeks before -- but now contenders can follow from May until the nationals. Estey (Oakville, Ont.), a native son of New Brunswick, was nicknamed “Mule” with the Cardinals by Greg Cranker. Why? Because he worked as hard as a Mule: dragging the field, raking, taking off the tarps and even pitching. He got his foot into the door with 48,000-plus on the CABC site, 653 followers on Facebook and 1,552 followers on the X account.

134. Colin Priestner, owner, Saskatoon Berries (-).

The Saskatoon Berries will begin play in the Western Canadian Baseball League this summer. The city has not had a team in the summer college league since the Saskatoon Yellowjackets in 2014. Joe Carnahan, former Swift Current ‘57s coach in the WCBL, will manage the Berries. Born in London, Ont., Priestner is part-owner and managing partner of the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL and the Saskatchewan Rush of National Lacrosse League. There should be a natural Edmonton-Saskatoon rivalry after Priestner recorded “Shit Edmontonians Say,” a parody video that spoofed Edmonton and has 605,000 views, including 300,000 in 24 hours. Cameos include Oilers Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Priestner attended Eastern Illinois on a tennis scholarship. His father, Mike Priestner, was a former WHL goaltender and his aunt, Cathy Priestner-Allinger, won a silver in the 1976 Winter Olympics in speed skating and was director of sport for the 2002 and 2010 Winter Olympic Games. The nickname is appropriate as people from Saskatchewan often ask me: “Have you ever had Saskatoon Berry pie? It is my favourite.”

Angels trainer Mike Frostad, formerly of the Blue Jays

135. Mike Frostad, head trainer, Angels (-).

Frostad was fitted with a 2021 World Series ring in his final year with the Braves, who beat the Astros in six games. When the din died down from the Braves parade, Frostad was promoted to the Angels new director of sports medicine and head athletic trainer. He enters his third season with the Angels in 2024 and his 13th in the majors. He spent four seasons as the assistant athletic trainer with the Braves and before that was with the Blue Jays for six seasons. In all, he has spent 29th seasons in pro ball.

Frostad (Redcliff, Alta.) spent 22 seasons with the Blue Jays, six of them as an assistant trainer. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Calgary and a Master of Health Science from the University of St. Augustine gaining certification by the NATA in the US and the CATA in Canada. He started his career in 1996 with the class-A St. Catharines under manager Rocket Wheeler with future major leaguers: INF Joe Lawrence, INF Luis Lopez, INF Abraham Núñez, LHP John Bale, RHP Joe Davenport, RHP Beiker Graterol, RHP Jim Mann, RHP Bill Risley, LHP Paul Spoljaric (Lisle, Ont.) and RHP Woody Williams. Then, it was off rookie-ball Medicine Hat, class-A Hagerstown and class-A Dunedin. In 2004 and 2005 he won the trainer of the year in Florida State League.

136. Kaitlyn McGrath, The Athletic (-).

Kaitlyn honed her story-gathering instincts working with Mr. John Lott, the former Jack Graney award winner, at the National Post and has emerged from his shadow to forge a place among the sport’s leading women beat reporters at The Athletic. A hard worker, Kaitlyn now mostly does the beat solo and is one of the reasons the platform has so many subscribers.

Said Ken Rosenthal, of The Athletic, the league leader in information: “Kaitlyn is a hard worker who quickly established herself as a force on the Blue Jays’ beat. We are lucky to have her.”

Sylvan Lake co-owners Jen and Graham Schetzsle.

137. Jen and Graham Schetzsle, co-founder & CEO, Sylvan Lake Gulls (-).

Jen began her working career in the nursing profession. Now an active community member, including being on the team that founded the 3Cs minor hockey association in 2015, Jen was the co-owner, office manager, and member of Dryland Cattle until 2016. She’s certified as a meditation and mindfulness instructor and currently owner and operator of Mudita Wellness. The Gulls drew 45,105 fans – 44th in North America among 160 college summer teams. The Gulls averaged 1,611 per game – at Gulls Field, an increase of 25%.

Graham, who played at Portland State, co-founded and managed Dryland Cattle Trading Corp. until 2016 — an East Central Alberta livestock exchange company. They marketed 100,000 cattle annually, with 35 staff and a client base of more than 400 buyers and sellers. He manages a land base supporting 600 cows and a feedlot. And in the summer, he watched his diamond studs wearing Gulls uniforms. Like RHP Tyler Boudreau (Middle Sackville, NS) who was 3-1 with one save and a 2.46 ERA striking out 72 in 62 innings and RHP Steve Hospital (Oakville, Ont.), who was 5-2 with a 2.85 ERA fanning 43 in 47 1/3 innings. Other key contributors to the 38-18 season (.679 winning mark) to finish two games behind the Okotoks Dawgs were OF Kaden Zarowny (Strathmore, Alta.), who hit .286 with four homers and 29 RBIs. Tyler McWillie (Watrous, Sask.) who hit .257 and led the league with 11 home runs and 43 RBIs. On the mound, McWillie was 1-1 with one save and a 3.63 ERA striking out 47 in 47 innings. Ben Prediger also batted .257 with one homer and 14 RBIs.

Blue Jays research analyst Dan Goldberg …

138. Dan Goldberg and Liam Stevenson, Blue Jays.

Goldberg (Toronto, Ont.) is a senior research analyst, who created defensive positioning for the Jays and match ups for each night. Goldberg was one of the men involved in making the Jays the most shift happy team in May of 2022. Manager Charlie Montoyo, third base coach Luis Rivera, coach Gil Kim, assistant GM Joe Sheehan and director of baseball research Sanjay Choudhury, plus Adam Yudelman and research analyst Goldberg were all involved in the decision making process that year. Montoyo has been replaced and Rivera retired.

Liam Stevenson a senior research analyst

Stevenson (Toronto, Ont.) is also a senior research analyst, concentrating on advance game prep, especially on how to attack hitters. He is a graduate of University of Toronto and has been with the Blue Jays for five years.

Former Delta Blue Jay Jimmy Van Ostrand, now of the New York Mets …

139 Jimmy Van Ostrand, mental skills coach, Blue Jays/Mets (-).

The Blue Jays dropped from seventh in the majors in homers (200) in 2022 to 16th (188) in 2023. They tumbled from first (.264 in 2022) to eighth in team batting average (.258) ... from third in OPS (.760) to 11th in (.745) ... from third in slugging (.431) to 13th (.417) ... from fourth in runs scored (775) to 14th (746) and seventh in homers (200) to 16th (188).

Who was to blame? Hitting coach Guillermo Martinez? Hitting strategist Dave Hudgens? Assistant hitting coach Hunter Mense? None of the above. All are back although Hudgens has been reassigned to the Bobby Mattick Complex in Dunedin. Don Mattingly has a new title as an offensive co-ordinator, DeMarlo Hale has been added as an associate manager and Matt Hague, whose father was born in Toronto, has been added from the minors as an assistant coach. Nope the only one not being paid by the Jays this year is mental skills coach Van Ostrand (Richmond, BC). Van Ostrand spent three years as a mental skills coach with the Mariners, before joining the Jays in 2020. He obtained his master’s degree in psychology from Cal Southern University after playing eight years in the minors. Now he has joined the Mets. His first assignment? Bench coach John Gibbons.

Baseball Manitobe’s Louis Cote, left, presents an award to coach Ed Kulyk …

140. Ed Kulyk, coach, Elmwood Giants (x).

Manitoba had not won at the Baseball Canada nationals since 2010. Yet, Manitoba ran the table to end the drought on home soil at the 22U nationals in Stonewall, Man. Kulyk’s prairie squad made up mostly of Giants with six pickups from Steinbach, Altona, St. James and St. Boniface — defeated Quebec 5-1 to take gold. Manitoba beat Quebec 8-2 in the opener of round-robin play, knocked off Saskatchewan 24-2, Ontario B 5-4, the Manitoba hosts 13-0 and Nova Scotia 3-1 to meet Quebec again in the final.

Rylan Penner (Blumenort, Man.) needed only 93 pitches to pitch a complete game, fanning six in the championship. Also picking up wins: Colson Smith (St. Andrews, Man.) with two scoreless, Connor Cory (Wawanesa, Man.) six innings two runs, Elie Feierstein (Winnipeg, Man.) two scoreless, a pair to Ethan Minaker (St. Andrews, Man.) one run in nine innings and Penner. Top hitters were Dawson Tanner (Waywayseecappo, First Nation) who had five doubles, going 10-for-20 (.500) with 10 RBIs and a 1.333 OPS, Easton Grieve (Winnipeg, Man.) .474, two doubles, eight RBIs and Cody Gunderson (St. Malo, Man.) .462, homer, five RBIs, Easton Toews (Winnipeg, Man.) .428, two doubles and three RBIs, Riley Craw (Winnipeg, Man.) .409 homer, six RBIs and was named game MVP against Ontario and CF Justin Scott (Winnipeg, Man.) .409, five RBIs.

That’s 140 and we think that they were the most influential Canadians in the game in 2023 … Why 140? … As George Bell used to say to me … “why not?”

Honorable Mentions …

Lyle Abbott, Toronto, Ont., treasurer, Canadian Hall of Fame; Clark Adams, Ottawa, Ont., vice president, operations and board Member, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians; Jason Adamyk, Hamilton, Ont., live-saving, paramedic; Jim Adduci, Burnaby, BC, assistant hitting coach, game planning;. Chicago Cubs; LHP Andrew Albers, North Battleford, Sask., Team Canada; Rosemary Alberts, Richmond, BC, coordinator, marketing services, class-A Vancouver Canadians/Game day statistician UBC; Jonathan Ali, Winnipeg, Man., director of operations, Home Run Sports Training Centre and Academy; Shoaib Alli, Scarborough, Ont., Sportsnet 590; John Amendola, Vaughan, Ont. Mintink Sportscards Inc.; Jeff Amos, Brantford, Ont., Muskoka Outlaws Academy; Alex Andreopoulos, Etobicoke, Ont., bullpen catcher, Toronto Blue Jays; J.P. Antonacci, Simcoe, Ont., Canadian Baseball Network; Pierre Arsenault, Roberval, Que., Quebec Capitales; Cole Armstrong, Surrey, BC, Webber Wildcats; Adam Arnold, St. Thomas, Ont., area scout Four Corners, Toronto Blue Jays.

Mult-tasker Nick Ashbourne does double duty at The Athletic and Sportsnet.

Nick Ashbourne, Toronto, Ont., scribe, The Athletic; Ryan Asis, St. Catharines, Ont., coach, Mississauga North; Casey Auerbach, Westmount, Que., coach, McGill University; John Axford, Port Dover, Ont., Team Canada; Justin Ayles, Brampton, Ont., Canadian Baseball Guru; John Azzoli, St. Catharines, Ont., vice-president, Fergie Jenkins league convenor and expansion; Jim Baba, Ottawa, Ont., World Softball and Baseball Confederation; Allan Bailey, Vancouver, BC, GM,, class-A Vancouver Canadians, Denis Bailey, North York, Ont., college placement coordinator, head coach, Toronto Titans 18U; Evan Bailey, Kamloops, BC, coach, Okanagan A’s; RHP Jordan Balazovic, Mississauga, Ont., triple-A Saint Paul Sants/Minnesota Twins; Chris Balison, Kamloops, BC, president Baseball BC; Mitch Bannon, Toronto, Ont., MLB.com, Blue Jays; Ty Barclay, Wyoming, Ont., assistant coach/coordinator of Athletic facilities and operation University of Mary; Dave Barr, Fredericton, NB, Baseball Canada’s grassroots coaching award for the province.

John Barr, London, Ont., ESPN; Charlotte Bate, ICU nurse, Guelph student live-saving, therapist; Shawn Besse, Abbotsford, BC, GM, Abbotsford Cardinals; Meghan Beland, Fredericton, NB, program coordinator, New Brunswick Baseball; Scott Belford and Adam Mac, The Walkoff Podcast; Jack Bell, Headingley, Man., Baseball Canada’s grassroots coaching award for the province; Thomas Bell, Etobicoke, Ont., western regional manager, Covermaster tarps; Al Bernacchi, Windsor, Ont., coach, Windsor Selects 22U; Denny Berni, Etobicoke, Ont., Pro-Teach Baseball, Joey Votto’s winter home, Etobicoke Rangers; Sébastien Berrouard, Montréal, Que., Passion MLB; Peter Berryman, Burlington, Ont., major league strategy analyst, Royals; Matt Betts, Brantford, Ont., Canadian Baseball Network’s Big Man on Campus plus CBN podcasts; Marco Bianchi, Toronto, Ont., Baseball Canada’s grassroots coaching award for the province; John Biggar, Toronto, Ont., physical therapist, Toronto Blue Jays.

Jim Bigras, Sarnia, Ont., manager, Sarnia Braves 18U; Chris Bishop, Kitchener, Ont., owner, Blue Chip Sports; Chris Black, Oshawa, Ont., producer, stats maven, former left-handed second baseman, Blue Jays Central, Sportsnet; (Hot) Rod Black, Stouffville, Ont., Canadian Baseball Network; Troy Black, Mississauga, Ont., head coach, Humber College; Cam Black-Araujo, Bowmanville, Ont., PBR; Matthew Blackborow, Stoney Creek, Ont., umpire, double-A Eastern League; Jeff Blair, Hamilton, Ont. Blair and Jeff Barker show Sportsnet; Damian Blen, Hamilton, Ont., president, Ontario Rockies coach 18U; Scott Blinn, Toronto, Ont., clubhouse manager, Toronto Blue Jays; Mathieu Blondin, Gatineau, Que., président, Baseball Quebec Outaouais; Jordan Blundell, assistant GM/head coach, Edmonton Prospects/Evolution Baseball; Kevin Bly, Toronto, Ont., coach, Metropolitan University; Jamie Bodaly, coach, Langley Blaze 18U.

Kyle Boddy, Kent, Wash./Oakville, Ont., Driveline/special advisor Red Sox; Andrew Boehm, Portage la Prairie, Man., head coach, Northern Lights 18U; Jason Boldt, Maple Ridge, BC, head coach Whalley Chiefs; Mike Boon, Etobicoke, Ont.; Toronto Mike’d Podcast; Ont.; Steve Boston, Nepean, Ont., Ottawa-Nepean Canadians executive, son of 1979 founding father Brian Boston; Denis Boucher, Lachine, Que., Team Canada pitching coach, area scout Yankees; Nick Boudreau, Fredericton, NB, executive director Baseball New Brunswick; Jean Boulais, Gatineau, Que., président Baseball Canada’ Lisa Bowes, Calgary, Alta., author, Lucy Tries Sports; Shawn Bowman, Coquitlam, BC, minor league field coordinator, Pirates; Louis Boyd, North Vancouver, BC, minor-league field co-ordinator, Mariners; Nolan Bracken, Regina, Sask., grassroots development, Baseball Sask.; LHP Mitch Bratt, Newmarket, Ont., class-A Hickory Crawdads, Texas Rangers/Team Canada, Spring Break Out; Bruce Brenner, Toronto, Ont., visiting clubhouse, Rogers Centre; RHP Trevor Brigden, North York, Ont., triple-A Durham, big-leauge camp invite, Rays, Spring Break Out.

Coach Landon Briscoe (North Vancouver, BC) of the Northeast Community College Hawks.

Landon Briscoe, North Vancuver, BC, assistant coach Northeast Community College; Alexis Brisebois, Montréal, Que., Passion MLB; Jordan Broatch, Langley, BC, White Rock Tritons; Sheen Bromley, Calgary, Alta., technical director, Baseball Alberta; Charles Bronfman, Montreal, Que./New York, former Expo owner, Montreal, Que.; Steven Bronfman and Mitch Garber, Montreal investors; Gary Brotzel, Cupar, Sask., president, Regina Red Sox, Saskatchewan HOFer. OF Dasan Brown, Oakville, Ont., Blue Jays system/Team Canada; Spring Break Out; Scott Bullett, Welland, Ont., president Fergie Jenkins league, coach, Bullettproof Prospects 17U; Craig Burt, Rosedale, BC, umpire, Arizona Complex League; Connor Burns, St. Albert, Alta., co-head coach Sherwood Park Dukes 18U/hitting coordinator, Absolute Human Performance, Taylor Burns, St. Albert, Alta., president and founder Absolute Human Performance; Rich Butler, Ajax, Ont., Line Drive Academy, Bowmanville, Ont.; Terry Butler, Saskatoon, Sask., president, Baseball Sask.

OF David Calabrese, Richmond Hill, Ont., double-A Rocket City Anaheim Angels, Spring Break Out; Raimondo Callari, Montreal, Que., area scout, Giants; Gabrielle Campos, Brampton, Ont., research and development assistant, Blue Jays; Don Campbell, Nepean, Ont., president/commissioner/czar, Premier League of Ontario; Jeremy Campbell, Victoria, BC, GM, Victoria Eagles; Joe Carnahan, Saskatoon, Sask., head coach, Saskatoon Berries; Ray Carter, Tsawwassen, BC, former Baseball Canada president, his Ray Carter Cup runneth over; Graydon Carruthers, Calgary, Alta., manager, research, Blue Jays; RHP Eric Cerantola, Oakville, Ont. double-A Northwest Arkansas (Royals) Spring Break Out; Christian Chénard, Levis, Que., pitching coach, Quebec Capitales; Roop Chanderdat, London, Ont., manager, London Majors; Remo Cardinale, Thornhill, Ont./Scottsdale. Az., province’s pitching coach emeritus/Arizona free agent; Pat Cassidy, St. Albert, Alta., managing partner, Edmonton Prospects; Jay Chaney, Toronto, Ont., Canadian Hall of Fame board of directors; Brenda Chmiliar, Kamloops, BC, financial controller, class-A Vancouver Canadians.

Jason Chatwood, Innisfail, Alta., head coach/GM Sylvan Lake Gulls; Rob Cherepuschak, Regina, Sask., coach, Martin Academy; Mike Chewpoy, Victoria, BC, head coach/GM, Victoria Mariners; Corinne Chow, Vancouver, BC, director, Canadian Hall of Fame; Dan Cimoroni, Toronto, Ont., agent, Cimoroni & Company; Spencer Connelly, Hamilton, Ont., live-saving, paramedic; Wayne Corness, Surrey, BC, pitching Coach, UBC; Rob Corte, Sportsnet; Sharon Clarke, Regina, Sask., executive director, Regina Red Sox, Saskatchewan HOFer; Voon Chong, Vancouver BC, assistant trainer, Blue Jays; Jacob Clark, Toronto, Ont., producer, Sportsnet Blue Jays Central; Gary Cohen, Montreal, Que., The Baseball Cube; Jeremy Cohen, New York, vice-president, corporate sales, marketing, commisioner’s office; Joanna Cornish, Toronto, Ont., Hum and Chuck; Mike Cormack, Toronto, Ont., NorthStar Bets.

Walter Cosman, Vancouver, BC, VP sales and marketing, Vancouver Canadians; Scott Costello, Barrie, Ont., director of umpires, Intercounty League; C Kole Cottam, Memphis, Tenn. winner of Murray Zuk award as top hitter in foreign or independent ball, Spire City; Daylon Courchene, Ottawa, Ont., head coach, Carleton University; Greg Cranker, Mississauga, Ont., manager, Erindale Cardinals, top groundskeeper north of Dundas tending to Cranker Field; Randy Crouse, Antigonish, NS, national coordinator for Challenger Baseball; INF Trei Cruz, Toronto, Ont., double-A Erie, Detroit Tigers Spring Break Out; Phil Curtis, Sherwood Park, Alta., coach, Calgary Bucks 18U: Tom Dakers, Calgary, Alta., Bluebird Banter; Jon Dale, Ottawa, Ont., coach, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians 18U; Norm Daley, Kamloops, BC, owner; Kamloops NorthPaws; Eric Daliere, Montreal, Que., president, FieldTurf/Tarkett North America and Tarkett Sports; Jason Darichuk, Oakville, Ont., assistant coach Mount Mercy University; Scott Dart, London Majors co-owner, IBL executive of the year; Mitch Davidoff, Victoria, BC, head coach Victoria Eagles/Lambrick Park Academy.

Georgia State Panthers assistant coach Lars Davis (Grand Prairie, Alta.)

Lars Davis, Grand Prairie, Alta., assistant coach/hitting coach, Georgia State; Shane Dawson, Fort McMurray, Alta., head coach/technical director, Parkland Twins Academy; Ketan Dedar, Toronto, Ont., coordinator, baseball operations, Blue Jays; C Kellin Deglan, Langley, BC, Team Canada; Fabio Del Rio, Ottawa, Ont., pitching coach, Brock University; Charles Demers, Quebec, Que., vice-president, Quebec Capitals; Ira DeWitt, Philip Pocock School grad, Mississauga, Ont., married to St. Louis Cardinals president Bill Dewitt III, Dean Dicenzo, Hamilton, Ont., senior advisor, Terriers, Mr. Hamilton Cardinal; Christine Dickson, Lonton, Ont., sales and marketing, OES Inc. scoreboards, London; Rosie DiManno, Toronto, Ont. out-STAND-ing columnist for all seasons, all sports, Toronto Star; Mark Ditmars, Toronto, Ont., vice-president, corporate partnerships, Blue Jays; Tyler Dobos, Ancaster, Ont., pitching resource coach Blue Jays’ Julie Docker-Johnson, St. Marys, Ont., Canadian Hall of Fame board; Steve Donahue, Mount Pearl, Nfld., Sudbury Voyageurs, head coach 18U.

Brandon Dornan, Surrey, BC, GM, Mid-Island Pirates; Andrew Downs, Sydney, NS, will umpire Little League World Series in Williamsport, Penn.; Rick Downton, Camlachie, Ont., secretary/treasurer, Premier League of Ontario; Shaun Doyle, Dartmouth, NS, founder, senior editor, Jays From the Couch; Scott Drader, Victoria, BC, co-founder, Metalhead Software Inc. Super MEGA Baseball, EA Sports, It’s In the Game; Jordan Draeger, Saskatoon, Sask., owner/head instructor, Going Yard; Rob Ducey, Tarpon Springs, Fla., Ont., Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School, Spring Hill Fla.; Jeff Duda, Surrey, BC, pitching coordinator, Okotoks Dawgs Academy, pitching coach, Washington Nationals associate scout, Roberto Duncan, Amherstburg, head coach, St. Clair College; RHP Brock Dykxhoorn, Goderich, Ont., Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, Chinese Pro League; Lindsay Earle, Orillia, Ont. collections and public engagement supervisor, Canadian Hall of Fame, St. Marys; Rob Edney, St. Marys, Ont., ex officio, Canadian Hall of Fame; Stephanie Ellis, Vancouver, BC, assistant GM, class-A Vancouver Canadians; Joey Ellison, Mississauga, Ont., recruiting coordinator/assistant coach, McPherson College/head coach Fort McMurray Giants; Dave Empey, Port Moody, BC, Dave talks Baseball blog.

Chris English, Montreal, Que., owner, Vermont Lake Monsters Futures college summer team; Tyler Enns, St. Paul, Man., strength and conditioning coach, triple-A Gwinnett Stripers; Pete Entwistle, Nanaimo, BC, coach 18U Mid-Island Pirates; Brian Essery, Vancouver, BC, manager, Welland Jackfish; Spencer Estey, Toronto, Ont., coordinator, research and development, Blue Jays; Dwain Ervin, Mississauga, Ont., coach, Mississauga North Tigers/Michael Kim tourney convenor; Megan Evans, Brooklin, Ont., assistant, pro Scouting and baseball operations, Blue Jays; Ray Fagnant, East Granby, Conn., scout, Red Sox; Drew Fairservice, Orangeville, Ont., Long Way From Sunlight fairservice.substack.com, plus substack; Mike Farrell, Toronto, Ont., ESPN, video editor; Frank Fascia, Brampton, Ont., Brampton Royals, Emperor Ontario Elite League; Robbie Fatal, Gatineau, Que., GM, head coach, owner, Canada Reds Academy; Adam Felton, Toronto, Ont., senior manager of information, Toronto Blue Jays; Jackson Farough, London, Ont., co-host Canadian Baseball Network podcast; Don Ferguson, Winnipeg, Man., facility manager and groundskeeper, Shaw Park, Winnipeg Goldeyes; Rowan Ferrabee, Ottawa, Ont., CTO and co-founder, Trajekt Sports, Mississauga, Ont.; Brian Finney, Chilliwack, BC, No. 1 supporter, University of the Fraser Valley.

David Flanngan, Brampton, Ont., coach and GM, Brampton Royals seniors, COBA Major; Ashley Flemington, Burlington, Ont., Baseball Canada women in coaching program; Derek Florko, Langley, BC, coach, Arizona Complex League Angels; Lyall Foran, Delta, BC, coach, Medicine Hat Moose Monarchs 18U; Felix Forget, Boisbriand, Que., Passion MLB; Pablo Forno, Okotoks, Alta., Dawgs director, Grand Slam Sports, Hall of Famer; Stacy Fournier, Surrey, BC, regional coordinator (Fraser) BC Girls Baseball director/Baseball BC head coach; Ethan Francis, Miscouche, PEU, director of analytics, Southeastern Louisiana University: Larisa Fraser, Mississauga, Ont., model, wife of former Milwaukee Brewer OF Ryan Braun; Geoff Freeborn, Calgary, Alta., CEO Sidearm Nation, pitching coach University of Calgary; Michael Friscolanti, Hamilton, Ont., senior writer, Maclean’s magazine; Shawn Fuller, St. George, Ont., owner, GM, Guelph Royals; Martine Gaillard, Toronto, Ont., broadcaster, Sportsnet; Perry (Perry G) Giannias, Laval, Que., Exposfest organizer, raises monies for children’s brain cancer research in memory of his niece Kat; Ted Giannoulas, London, Ont., The Famous Chicken.

Coach Pat Gilmour (Kington, Ont.) of the Kingston Ponies

Pat Gilmour, Kingston, Ont., Kingston Jr. Ponies; Johnny Giunta, Guelph, Ont., Avery Chenier Georgetown, Ont., Jeremy Roach, Gate 14 Podcast; Rob Gartner. Regina, Sask., president Saskatchewan Premier League; Pat Gilmour, Kingston, Ont., Kingston Ponies 18U; George Godfrey, Kingston, Ont., Jays Aggregator; Nick Gorneault, Springfield, Mass., scout Anaheim Angels; Andrea Goldstein, Toronto, Ont., vice-president communications, Toronto Blue Jays media; Josh Goreham, Halifax, NS. lead performance analyst, Blue Jays; Myles Gordon, Oakville, Ont., video coordinator, Reds; Julie Gosselin, board of directors, Baseball Quebec, president Sports-Quebec; Patrick Gray, Oakville, Ont., executive associate athletic director/assistant VP, athletics advancement, Purdue University.

Jean-Paul Grice, London, Ont., director, OES Inc. scoreboards, London, Ont.; Trevor Grieve, Toronto, Ont., umpire; Marc Griffin, Montreal, Que./Okotoks, Alta., broadcaster, RDS; Mike Griffin, Nanaimo, BC, director of baseball development, Pro5 Academy, Holly Springs, NC; Evan Grills, St. Albert, Ont., Ottawa-Nepean Canadians; John Haar, director of operations, NorthShore Twins, BC Sports, Canadian HOFer; Christopher Haddad, Pierrefonds, Que. coach, McGill University; Pascal Harvey, Malbaie, Que. Passion MLB; George Halim, Grimsby, Ont., GM Hamilton Cardinals/PBR/College Placement Incorporated; Jayme Hall, Tecumseh, Ont., head coach, Tecumseh Thunder 18U; Ken Hamilton, Assiniboia, Sask., co-commissioner, Baseball Sask; Mike Hanafin, scorekeeper, 11th season, class-A Vancouver Canadians; Darrin Hancock, St John’s, NL, president, Baseball Newfoundland and Labrador; Mike Hansford, Burlington, Ont., Corbett’s Source for Sports; Paul Hargreaves, Surrey, BC, owner, Whalley Chiefs, Dr. Bryan Har, Calgary, BC, heart surgeon, Foothills Hospital.

Luana Harris, Toronto, Ont., RBC Wealth Management/Junior National Team mentorship program; Ryan Harrison, Thorold, Ont., president Welland Jackfish/IBL executive; Jason Hart, Thunder Bay, Ont., coach, Thunder Bay Lakers; Mustafa (Moose) Hassan, Toronto, Ont., home clubhouse manager, equipment, Toronto Blue Jays, Rogers Centre; Joey Hawkins, Whitby, Ont., associate head coach/recruiting coordinator/coach in waiting; Blake Hawksworth, North Vancouver BC, University of Oregon; Tom Hawthorn, Victoria, BC, author and magazine writer, former winner The Alana Baranick Award For Lifetime Achievement In Obituary Writing by The Society of Professional Obituary Writers; Ed Heather, Cambridge, Ont., mentor emeritus, Terriers; Chris Henderson, Estevan, Sask., scribe (@baseball4brains) turned country singer; Jim Henderson, Calgary, Alta., bullpen coach, Brewers/Dawgs Hall of Famer; Andrew Hendricks, Toronto, Ont., data master of MLB.com; Josh Herback-South, Regina, Sask., president, director of player development, Bulldogs Academy, Lloydminister, Alta; C Liam Hicks, Toronto, Ont., double-A Frisco, invite to big-league camp, Texas Rangers, Spring Break Out; Joe Hickes, Dartmouth, NS, president, Muskoka Outlaws Academy.

Rodney Hiemstra, Listowel, Ont., Toronto Blue Jays’ team travel and clubhouse operations director; Shawn Hill, Mississauga, Ont., pro scout, New York Yankees; Jonathan Hodgson, Victoria, BC, scribe, podcaster; Chad Hofmann, Muenster, Sask., vice-president, Saskatchewan Premier League; Tyler Hollick, Calgary, Alta., Okotoks Dawgs Academy GM, Dawgs coach/Brewers associate scout; Paul Hollingsworth, Dartmouth, N.S., broadcaster, TSN; Bob Hooper, Burlington, Ont., president and business director, FieldHouse Pirates; Todd Hubka, Claresholm, Alta., head coach, Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs/Twins scout; David Huctwith, Mississauga, Ont, past president and wisest COBA owl, Baseball Ontario/assistant coach McMaster, best groundskeeper south of Dundas; Marc Hulet, London, Ont., scribe; William Humber, Bowmanville, Ont., author, Canadian ball historian; John Hundel/Matt Council, Vancouver, BC, North Shore Twins; Jim Hunt, Elginburg, Ont., president and coach, Kingston Ponies; Brittany Hunter, Fredericton, NB, executive director, Baseball New Brunswick.

Daily Hive ball scribe Ian Hunter (Kitchener, Ont.)

Ian Hunter, Kitchener, Ont., scribe, @Daily HiveTO; Dutche Iannetti, Fort McMurray, Alta., owner, Fort McMurray Giants; Todd Ireland, Burlington, Ont., associate head coach, Tusculum College; Chris Iltshishin, Kitchener, Ont., hitting instructor, Ontario Nationals manager 18u, Todd Ireland, Burlington, Ont., associate head coach, Tusculum University; Mike Irving, Mississauga, Ont., coach Mississauga Majors 18U, Batter Up School; Aaron Izaryk, Markham, Ont., head coach and director of athletics, Bridgton Academy, North Bridgton, Maine; Chris James, Spruce Grove, Alta., program director, Parkland Twins Academy; Steven Jaschinski, Mount Hope, Ont., double-A Northeast League umpire; Jeremy Jayaweera, president, owner, Ontario Nationals; Frank Jeney, Windsor, Ont., head coach, University of Windsor; Robyn Jensen, Home Runs & Dirt Roads, Stories of Baseball in Saskatchewan; Mike Johnson, Sherwood Park, Alta., owner, 5 Tool Fieldhouse Alberta HOFer; Eric Jones, manager, Newmarket, Ont., Lake Simcoe Padres 18U; Rob Kaal, Kitchener, Ont., president, director of operations, Tri-City Giants; Zach Kaal, Kitchener, Ont., coach, Tri-City Giants 18U; Frank Kaluzniak, Brandon, Man., head coach, Parksville Royals 18U.

Andrew Karkoulas, Guelph, Ont., co-owner Peak Performance Athletics hithouse; Cortney Karkoulas, Guelph, Ont., co-owner, PPA Hithouse; Miki Kawahara, Calgary, Alta., Calgary Premier Blues; Kris Kehoe, Kingston, Ont., co-head coach Kingston Jr. Ponies 18U; Jamie Kell, Windsor, Ont., head coach, Tecumseh Thunder seniors Mike Kelly, North Delta, BC, BC Minor, high-performance committee/coach development/coaches caravan/organizer of the top coaching clinic west of Pearson Airport; Rob Kelly, Gander, NL, Baseball Canada’s grassroots coaching award for the province; Kathryn Kennaley, Burlington, Ont., Baseball Canada women in coaching program; Adrian Kentish, Pickering, Ont. coach, Oshawa Legionaires 18U; Jake Kerr, Vancouver, BC, and Jeff Mooney, Winnipeg, Man., former Vancouver Canadians owners; Shilpa Ketharaju, Toronto, Ont., vice president, finance and administration, Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY; OF Tanner Kirwer, Sherwood Park, Alta. triple-A Tacoma Rainiers (Mariners) Spring Break Out; Ben Komonosky, Regina, Sask., head coach, Regina Red Sox; Glenn Kirkpatrick, Surrey, BC, owner, Bellingham Bells, West Coast League vice president.

Mike Koreen, Toronto, Ont., Sportsnet; Jesse Korte, Muenster, Sask. executive director Baseball Saskatoon; Jonathan Kovack, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., co head coach Ontario Royals 17U; Julia Kreuz, Toronto, Ont., outstanding scribe, MLB.com/Sportsnet; Josh Krstulovich, raised in Brampton, Ont., director of player development, University of Arkansas-Little Rock/area scout Chicago White Sox, signed 11th rounder 2B Rikuu Nishida, 2B, Oregon, $170,000 and 17th round INF Mikey Kane, Oregon State, $150,000; Kevin Kvame, Lethbridge, Alta., president WMBL, GM Lethbridge Bulls; Parker Kynoch, Vancouver, BC, head coach, NorthShore Twins 18U; André Lachance, Montreal, Que., head of casting, Cirque du Soleil, spoke to Pirates major league coaches and coordinators and BC Convention, member of the WSBC Women’s development commission; David Laing, Langley, BC, executive director, Baseball BC; Kory Lafreniere Sault Ste. Marie, scout, Toronto Blue Jays; Brent Lahle, London, Ont., CTV London; Dwayne Lalor, Red Deer, Alta., head coach, Falcon Academy instructor; Maxime Lamarche, Montreal, Que., executive director, Baseball Québec; Jacques Lanciault, Laval, Que., ball scribe, all you need to know about Quebec players (jacqueslanciault.com).

Roger Langlais, Selkirk, Man., president, Baseball Manitoba; Jean-Philippe Landry, Mascouche, Que., Baseball Canada’s grassroots coaching award for the province; Patricia Landry, St-Étienne-des-Grés, Que.) assistant coach Canadian Women’s Team; Jake Lanferman, Sherwood Park, Alta., coach, Edmonton Riverhawks; Scott Langdon, Etobicoke, Ont., Canadian Baseball Network; Eric Langill, Kirkland, Que., bullpen catcher, Mets; Brittney Langlais, Garson, Man., women in coaching program; Wes Langlois, LaSalle, Ont., coach, Tecumseh 22U; Holly Lapierre, Hammonds Plains, NS, board of director, Canadian Hall of Fame; Michel Laplante, president, Val D’Or, Que., Quebec Capitales; Jay Lapp, London, Ont., scout, Toronto Blue Jays; Jean-Gilles Larocque, Azilda, Ont., 2023 Ontario Youth Team coach, head coach, Sudbury Voyageurs 14U; Dr. Michel Larivière, Sudbury, Ont., head coach, mental conditioning coach and recruiting coordinator, Laurentian; Tyler Lawson, head coach, White Rock Tritons; Brent Lavallee, North Delta, BC, manager, class-A Vancouver Canadians, Blue Jays.

Toronto Blue Jays primary care physician Dr. David Lawrence

Dr. David Lawrence: primary care physician, Toronto Blue Jays; Alexander Lawrie, Mineville, NS, umpire, class-A Florida State League; INF Charles Leblanc, Laval, Que., invite to big-league camp, Angels; Andréanne Leblanc, Richelie-Yamaska, Que., Baseball Canada women in coaching program; Rachelle LeBlanc, Moncton, NB, Baseball Canada women in coaching program; Randy LeBleau, Winnipeg, Man., Campbellsville University, assistant coach; Marty Lehn, White Rock, BC, Brewers scout/Big League Experience; Rich Leitch, Whitby, Ont., Toronto Mets; Ryan Lennerton, Langley, BC, A&M Consolidated High School, College Station, Tx., Paul Leskew, Orillia, Ont., The Scoreboard Man; Reign Letkeman, Red Deer, Alta., assistant coach, Big Bend; Cameron Lewis, Edmonton, Alta., managing editor of Blue Jays Nation; senior editor of The Nation Network; James Liles, Mississauga, Ont., umpire; Chris Lisle, Trenton, Ont., coach Quinte Royals; Peter L’Oiseau, Gatineau, Que., research analyst, Blue Jays; INF Otto Lopez, Montreal, Que., triple-A Buffalo/Toronto Blue Jays/Giants.

Linda Lewis, Port Lambton, Ont.,Chatham Sports Hall of Famer, Premier League of Ontario; Anthony Lucchese, Toronto, Ont., assistant, advance scouting, Blue Jays; Mike Lumley, London, Ont., London Badgers chair person, coach 18U, 14U, and any other Badger team playing when his team is not busy and Western Ontario Mustangs, vice-president, Premier League of Ontario; Robin Lund, Peace River, Alta., assistant pitching coach, Detroit Tigers; Jim Lutton, Oshawa, Ont., still upset he was assigned to work left field line at The Shrine, OBA Hall of Famer; Marika Lyszczyk, Tsawwassen BC, Sonoma State University; Drew MacDonald, Bradford, Ont., assistant athletic trainer, Toronto Blue Jays; Jake MacDonald, White Rock, BC, assistant coach, Douglas BC; Ryan MacDonald, Kennetcook N.S, assistant coach, Prairie Baseball Academy/Lethbridge Bulls; Walter MacEwen, Stratford, PEI, president, Baseball Prince Edward Island; Kyle MacKinnon, Cheltenham, Ont., assistant hitting coach class-A Columbia Fireflies (Royals); Andrew MacNevin, St. Catherines, PEI, instructor, Atlantic Academy, head coach, Holland College; LHP Adam Macko. Stony Plain, Alta., class-A Vancover, Spring Break Out, Toronto Blue Jays; Kevin Malloy, visiting clubhouse manager, Toronto Blue Jays; Kevin Mandzuk, Regina, Sask., umpire, double-A Eastern League.

Arturo Marcano, Toronto, Ont., The Athletic; Chris Marco, Hamilton, Ont., umpire, triple-A International league; Dave Margetts, Burlington, Ont., umpire, Dean Mariani, Mississauga, Ont., coach, Guelph University.; Derek Marques, Whitby, Ont., agent, Lakeridge Sports Management; Chip Martin, London, Ont., Canadian ball historian and author of multiple Canadian books; Vinny Martin, Pender Island, BC, GM, UBC Thunder; Bill Matetich, Woodstock, Ont., manager, Kitchener Panthers; Josh Matlow, Innisfil, Ont., president, GM and manager, Barrie Baycats; Eugenio Matos, Nepean, Ont., Baseball Canada; Takahito (Taka) Matsuda, Hamilton, Ont., umpire, triple-A; John Matthew IV, Ormond, Ont., producer extraordinare, MLB.com, No. 1 fan of umpire assigments, former second row humorist; Steve McAllister, Georgetown, Ont., editor-in-chief, The Parleh; Ryan McBride Whitby, Ont., coach, Toronto Mets; Matt McCue, Bradford, Ont., assistant, international scouting analyst, Blue Jays.

Shawn McDougall, Stratford, PEI, Baseball Canada’s grassroots coaching award for the province; Candy McEwan, St. Marys, Ont., director, Canadian Hall of Fame; Todd McFarlane, Edmonton, Alta., collector; Philip McGee, North Battleford, Sask., The Leading Edge: Umpire Stories, a podcast; Brad McKay, Fredericton, NB, senior strategist training design, Milwaukee Brewers; Conor McKenna, Mississauga, Ont., umpire, class-A California State League; Wayne McNeil, Glace Bay, NS, broadcaster, Fubon Guardians; Jason McRae-King, Winnipeg, Man., CFO, Winnipeg Goldeyes; Mason McRae, Niagara Falls, Ont., assistant, amateur scouting, Red Sox; Chris Mears, Victoria, BC, pitching cross checker, Red Sox; Mitch Melnick, Montreal, Que., broadcaster, TSN 690; John Meloche, Ottawa, Ont., senior systems developer, Blue Jays; Cory Melvin, Tampa, Fla., pro scout, Yankees; Joe Mercanti, Hamilton, Ont., partner, Hamilton Cardinals; PJ Mercanti, Hamilton, Ont., partner, Hamilton Cardinals; Peter Mercanti, Hamilton, Ont., partner, Hamilton Cardinals.

Baseball Manitoba CEO Jason Miller (Winnipeg, Man.)

Jason Miller, Winnipeg, Man., CEO, Baseball Manitoba; Tim Micallef, Toronto, Ont., Sportsnet; Ethan Michaud, Port Coquitlam, BC, Douglas BC; Tanya Millette, St. Jerome. Que., umpire, Frontier League; Matt Mills, Hamilton, Ont., president and GM, head coach, Ontario Royals 17U; Larry Millson, Toronto, Ont., Field Level Media, has seen more Jays games than any writer; John Milton, Niagara-on-the-Lake/Lake Venice-on-the-Lanai, Fla; Okotoks Dawgs advisor, program coordinator St. Petersburg commission, recruiter, Erie County Community College; Tyler Milton, Okotoks Dawgs, coached Okotoks Dawgs to 13U nationals in Woodstock, annual organizer of the Western Canadian League all-star game; Ryan Mittleman, Toronto, Ont., director, pro scouting, Toronto Blue Jays; Dustin Molleken, Regina, Sask., Moose Jaw Miller Express pitching consultant, Junior National Team coach; Cydnie Moore, Calgary, Alta., Baseball Canada women in coaching program; RP Wesley Moore, Surrey, BC, class-A Jersey Shore Philadelphia Phillies, Spring Break Out; Herb Morell, Mississauga, Ont., Intercounty League statistian, official scorer at Rogers Centre; Peter Morris, East Lansing, Mich., historian/author; Greg Morrison, owner, Medicine Hat, Alta., Medicine Hat Mavericks; Adam Morissette, Orleans, Ont., public relations and best-dressed man this side of Tom Sellick, Baseball Canada.

Neil Munro, North Bay, Ont., Canada’s stat guru, Canadian Baseball Network; Leo Mui, Toronto, Ont. scribe, Bluebird Banter; Blake Murphy, Cambridge, Ont., Sportsnet 590; Greg Murphy, Kingston Ont,, head coach, Kingston Colts 18U; Brett Muth, Edmonton, Alta., COO and Levi Muth, Edmonton, Alta., CEO co-Founders, Bush League Baseball; Aaron Myette, New Westminster, BC, assistant coach Canadian Women’s Team; Bill Neale, Collingwood, Ont., assistant coach/recruiting coordinator West Texas A&M University; Andrew Needles, East York, Ont., University of Toronto; Shelby Nelson, Dunedin, Fla., director of Florida operations, Toronto Blue Jays; Scott Neiles, Winnipeg, Man., Home Run Sports/Manitoba Hall of Famer; Nancy Newman, New York, YES Network, Yankees Magazine, host, doing the same job as Hall of Famer Mel Allen; Kevin Nicholson, Surrey, BC, coach, Abbotsford Cardinals; Mike Nickeas, Vancouver, BC, agent, CAA.

Ben Norris, Waterloo, Ont., head coach, University of Wateroo; Andrew North, St. Marys, Ont., director of the Centre for Canadian Research at the Hall of Fame in St. Marys, organizer of the annual Canadian Baseball History Conference; Trevor Nyp, Kitchener, Ont., class-A Inland Empire, defensive coach, Angels; Trevor Oakes, Tillsonburg, Ont., HRD Bat Company; Jon Oko, Edmonton, Alta., president, Baseball Alberta; Donna O’Quinn, London, Ont., supply, OES Scoreboards; INF Dylan O’Rae, Sarnia, Ont., class-A Carolina Milwaukee Brewers, Spring Break Out; Justin Orton, Essex, Ont., integrated performance coach, class-A Greensboro Grasshoppers (Pirates); Mark Orton, Oshawa, Ont., Hall of Fame Committee Chair, Baseball Ontario; Stephen Osterer, Ottawa, Ont., director pitching development, Guardians; Samantha Ostrom, Calgary, Alta., Baseball Canada women in coaching program; Stephen Paine, Mississauga, Ont., producer Blue Jays Central, Sportsnet; 3B Damiano Palmegiani, Surrey, BC, triple-A Buffalo, Toronto Blue Jays, Spring Break Out; Mike Parlow, Qualicum Beach, BC, GM, Parksville Royals; Jon Pankuch, Kamloops, BC, owner; Kamloops NorthPaws.

James Parker, Toronto, Ont., area scout, Chicago Cubs; Cayleigh Parrish, The SPORT Gallery, distillery district, Wayne Parrish, Collingwood, Ont., The SPORT Gallery, distillery district, SPORT Magazine; Rhonda Pauls, Rustico, PEI, executive director, Baseball PEI; Jeff Peach, Calgary, Alta., Webber Academy Wildcats; Pierre Karl Péladeau, CEO, TVA, only man to loan out me his private plane for a weekend; Curtis Pelletier, Victoria, BC, youth/collegiate development coach Victoria HarbourCats; Allan Perkins, Toronto, Ont., TSN.ca, scribe; Dave Perkins, Toronto, Ont., The Bob McCown podcast; Braden Persian, White Rock, BC, head coach, Douglas Royals; Neal Perry, Kamloops, BC, owner; Kamloops NorthPaws; Mike Petillion, Quebec, Que., administrative GM, Quebec Capitals; Marc Philippon, Hamilton, Ont., Steadman Philippon Research Clinic, Vail, Col.; Marc Picard, Windsor, Ont., OBA Hall of Fame coach, repeat winner of Mr. Congeliality, Windsor Selects.

Former New York Yankee draft John Picco (Windsor, Ont.) of the Windsor Selects.

John Picco, Windsor, Ont., GM, director of player development Windsor Selects; Yannick Plante, Hearst, Ont., strength and conditioning coach, triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals); Brett Platts, Searletown, PEI, strength and conditioning position with the class-A Down East Wood Ducks (Rangers); Bill Plunkett, Ottawa-born, Detroit raised, covers Dodgers for Orange County Register; Anthony Pluta, Victoria, BC, head coach Canadian Women’s Team; Jamie Pogue, Guelph, Ont., bullpen catcher, St. Louis Cardinals; Mark Polishuk, London, Ont., MLB Trade Rumors; Ryan Pollard, Milton, Ont., head coach, Terriers 17U; Rick Pomerleau, Brantford, Ont., president, Brantford Red Sox; RHP Zach Pop, Brampton, Ont., triple-A Buffalo, Toronto Blue Jays; Joshua Pope, Toronto, Ont., CEO and co-founder, Trajekt Sports, Mississauga, Ont.; Live savin’ Lou Pote, Okotoks, Alta., director of player development; interim manager Okotoks Dawgs, WCBL, scout, San Diego Padres; John Povhe, Saskatoon, Sask., president, Baseball Saskatoon; Adam Prendergast, Montreal, Que., associate director of athletics/communications and creative content, Troy University Trojans; C Jordan Procyshen, Calgary, Alta., triple-A Round Rock Express Triple-A.

Kate Psota, Burlington, Ont., assistant coach Canadian Women’s Team; Raj Parl, president, BC Minor; Dr. Keith Pyne, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., medical consultant, Dodgers, Niagara Falls Wall of Famer. Shawn Pynn, Brampton, Ont., recruiting coach national collegiate scouting association; Paul Quantrill, Port Hope, Ont., minor-league coach, Toronto Blue Jays; David Quattrociocchi, Toronto, Ont., coach, assistant coach, Sheridan College author of four books; Ed Quinlan, Stoney Creek, Ont., president, Baseball Ontario; Dr. Satish Raj, Calgary, Alta., heart surgeon, Foothills Hospital; Liam Ralph, King City, Ont. research analyst, Toronto Blue Jays; Mike Ramage, Regina, Sask., executive director, Baseball Sask; Julio Ramírez, Toronto, Ont., international scouting, Latin America, crosschecks, Blue Jays; Mark Randall, Edmonton, Alta., head coach, Baseball Alberta; Nolan Rattai, Medicine Hat, Alta., head coach, Badlands Academy; Alykhan Ravjiani, Toronto, Ont., social community manager, Toronto Blue Jays.

Former Montreal Expos reliever and broadcaster Claude Raymond (St-Jean, Que.) throws another strike.

42,541.

Final player total for 2023 was 71,487.Claude Raymond, St-Jean, Que., Canadian Hall of Famer; Canadian Sports HOFer, former Expo; Al Ready, London, Ont., coach, University of Indianapolis; Sean Refflighaus, London, Ont., head coach, Great Lake Canadians 18u; Morgan Reiter, Regina, Sask., director of player development, Inside Pitch Baseball Academy, IP Prospects head coach; Shari Reiniger, Sherwood Park, Alta., WBSC Director, author; Katie Reyes, Surrey, BC, athletic therapist, Blue Jays/Women’s National Development Team; Vanessa Riopel, Repentigny, Que., Baseball Québec Girls Baseball Lead; Benoît Rioux, Montreal, Que., Journal de Montréal; Frederic Rioux, Montreal, Que., manager, minor league advance scouting, Pittsburgh Pirates; Emma Ritcey, Orillia, Ont., research analyst, Blue Jays; Drew Roberts, Pickering, Ont., head coach, Toronto Mets 18U; Dr. Andrew Robb, Waterloo, Ont., director of programming, Ontario Nationals/manager of player development, University of Waterloo; Dave Robb, Lac La Biche, Alta., coach and recruiter Mesa Community College/Okotoks Dawgs; Liza Roikm, Ottawa, Ont., McMaster student field live-saving therapist.

Kara Lang Romero, Oakville, Ont., married to former Jays all-star Ricky Romero, Sportsnet; Tam Rosnau, Edmonton, Alta., executive director, Baseball Alberta; Dino Roumel, Guelph, Ont., manager, Guelph Royals; Kelly Sage, Brandon, Man., card collector (20,000 different Canadian cards, from Russ Ford (Brandon, Man., 1909) to Vladimir Guerrero (Montreal, Que.); Nate Sager, official scorer, Hamilton Cardinals; Aqil Samuel, president and chief operations manager, Consort, Alta., Sylvan Lake Gulls; Cade Sanders, London, Ont., Elite Student-Athlete Advising; Steven Sanders, Kitchener, Ont., director of scouting, University of Charleston; Serj Sangara, Richmond, BC, Baseball Canada’s grassroots coaching award for the province; Claudette Scrafford, Hawkesbury, Ont., manuscript archivist, Hall of Fame, Cooperstown; Dustin Scaracini, Mississauga, Ont., betting analyst, Oddpedia; Ernie Schroeder, president Ottawa-Nepean Canadians; Larry Scully, East York, Ont., assistant coach/pitching Coach Ball State University.

Roch Séguin, Gatineau, Que., president and head coach, Capital City Reds; Phil Selig, Ottawa, Ont., @CubaDugout, bills as an expert on Cuban history; Larry Scully, East York, Ont., pitching coach, Miami (Ohio) University; Michelle Seniuk, Oakville, Ont., vice-president, Fan Experience, Blue Jays/director, Canadian Hall of Fame; Bill Shaikin, Montreal, Que., ball scribe, Los Angeles Times; OF Sam Shaw, Victoria, BC, rookie-class Florida Complex League, Toronto Blue Jays, Spring Break Out.; Ben Shulman, Toronto, Ont., radio, Toronto Blue Jays; Jane Shury, Battleford, Sask., Saskatchewan Hall of Fame; John Silverman, Montreal, special advisor, Miami Marlins; Marie-Pierre Simard, La Beauce, Que., co-owner Les Capitales de Québec; Kip Simon, Regina, Sask., owner, 22Fresh Apparel, Inc.; David Singh, Toronto, Ont., ball scribe, Sportsnet; RHP Noah Skirrow, Stoney Creek, Ont., triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs; Matt Skirving, London, Ont., assistant director, amateur scouting, Pittsburgh Pirates.

Annakin Slayd, hip-hop, rap, passionate Expos fan; Tara Sliwkanich, Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., Baseball Canada women in coaching program; RHP Cade Smith, Abbotsford, BC, Guardians; Dr. Jason Smith, Toronto, Ont., Toronto Blue Jays, consulting orthopedic surgeon; Kirby Smith, president, head coach Central Ontario Reds; Mary-Ann Smith, Cambridge, Ont. director of operations, Baseball Ontario/Madam President, who along with Enza Finnie, Kaira Ostrosser and Rita Dupon lookek for 71,487 players in 2023, up from 42,541 in 2022; Scott Smith, Toronto, Ont., secretary, Canadian Hall of Fame board; Ryan Snair, Margaret’s Bay, N.S., head coach, SUNY Ulster Community College, Mike Sonne, Hamilton, Ont., scientist, Chicago Cubs; Tyler Soucie, Kitchener, Ont., Velo Baseball; Bernie Soulliere, Windsor, Ont., chef de mission Team Canada/president Windsor Selects; Matt Spatafora, Scarborough, Ont., assistant coach/recruiting coordinator, Niagara University.

University of Mary Marauders coach Tanner Spencer (Craik, Sask.)

Tanner Spencer, Craik, Sask,, coach, University of Mary; Chris Stamper, Oakville, Ont., director, Canadian Hall of Fame; Sammie Starr, Toronto, Ont., assistant Coach, UBC; Brandon Steele, London, Ont., Head coach, Tusculum University; Rachel Steinberg, Ottawa, Ont., PA Media, United Kingdom, covering Crystal Palace/batflipsandnerds.com; Dale Stevens, Dundas, Ont., longest-serving member, MLB.com; Christian J. Stewart, GM, Victoria Harbourcats; Jeff Stewart, London, Ont., director, OES Inc. scoreboards, London; Adam Strongman, Caledonia, Ont., head coach, and life-saving hero, McMaster Univerity; Al Strathdee. St. Marys Ont., ex-officio, Canadian Hall of Fame; Jim Swanson, Prince George, BC, managing partner/GM, Victoria HarbourCats/Nanaimo NightOwls; Shayla Suer, Saskatoon, Sask., Baseball Canada women in coaching program; Ryan Sweeney, Paradise, NL, president Premier Sports Academy, Amanda Tallon, Lindsay, Ont., MLBAM, coordinator, compliance operations, data operations department; Dr. Ron Taylor, Leaside, Ont. physician emeritus Blue Jays.

RHP Curtis Taylor, Port Coquitlam, BC triple-A Iowa Cubs/Saint Paul Saints (Cubs/Twins); Wes Taylor, Port Coquitlam, BC, president, BC Premier League/GM Coquitlam Reds; Devon Teeple, North Bay, Ont., GM’s Perspective; Dennis Thiessen, Toronto, Ont., author of Tip O’Neill and the St. Louis Browns of 1887; Jason Thomasen, Brooks, Alta., president, Brooks Bombers Jack Thompson, Coquitlam, BC, director, head coach, Delta Blue Jays 18U; Jordan Tiegs, Woodstock, Ont,, pitching co-ordinator, Texas Rangers; Dale Tilleman, Tabor, Alta., High Performance Coordinator Alberta Baseball, scout Detroit Tigers; Tom Tippett, Lexington, Mass., supplies data to three teams, Tippett Analytics; Damon Topolie, North Bay, Ont., coach, Mississauga Tigers; INF Abraham Toro, Longueuil, Que., triple-A Nashville, Brewers/A’s; Rene Tosoni, coach, Coquitlam Reds/scout Toronto Blue Jays; Jeremy Trach, Coquitlam, BC, assistant strength and conditioning coach, Toronto Blue Jays; Dave Tredgett, Toronto, Ont., Sportsnet executive producer of Blue Jays games.

Jean Tremblay, Quebec City, Que. co-owner Les Capitales de Québec; Phillip Tremblay, Quebec City, Que. co-owner Les Capitales de Québec; Pierre Tremblay, Quebec City, Que., co-owner Les Capitales de Québec; Randy Town, Calgary, Alta., associate athletic director for athletic operations and director of physical education director, pitched four seasons in the Reds organization, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges; Marc Vadeboncoeur, Laval, Que., president Baseball Quebec; David Valente, Thunder Bay, Ont., president Border Cats; Gary Van Tol, Pincher Creek, Alta., manager, independent Pioneer League, Boise State Hawks; Devery Van De Keere, Barrhead, Alta., UBC Thunder 18U; Jessica Ventura, Calgary, Alta., director, partnership and community activation, New York Yankees; Dan Vertlieb, Vancouver, BC, agent, Matt Brash’s agent; Allison Vickers, Mississauga, Ont., beach ball specialist, One Heart Care; Jaime Vieira, Georgetown, Ont., minor-league hitting coach, Toronto Blue Jays; Paul Villeneuve, Nepean, Ont., head coach and president, Ottawa Patriots 18U; Carson Vitale, Victoria, BC, major-league field coordinator, Seattle Mariners; Christian Vogler, Berwick, NS, performance coach, Baseball Nova Scotia.

Libby Walker, Parry Sound, Ont., director, Canadian Hall of Fame; Chris Walsh, Caledon Ont., trainer, rookie-class Richmond Flying Squirrels (Giants); Doug Walton, Burlington, Ont., co-ordinating producer, Sportsnet; Trevor Wamback, Windsor, NS, head coach, King’s-Edgehill School; Brian Ward, Ottawa, Ont., Canadian Hall of Fame board of directors; Kristy Watson, Vancouver, BC, Baseball Canada women in coaching program; Rob Watt, head coach, Chemainus, BC, University of Mount Olive; Trevor Weir, Regna, Sask., Baseball Canada’s grassroots coaching award for the province; Harry Weisdorf, London, Ont., Canadian Premier League; Tim Wharnsby, Waterloo, Ont., The Canadian Press; Geoff White, board of director, Okanagan Athletics/head coach Okanagan College, San Diego Padres scout; Gerry White, Delta, BC, program director, Delta Blue Jays; RHP Rowan Wick, North Vancouver, BC, triple-A Iowa/Buffalo (Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays), Stephanie Wilkinson, Oakville, Ont., director of administration, Ontario Blue Jays; Cam Williams, Coquitlam, BC, head coach, University of Calgary.

Toronto Blue Jays VP, strategy and analytics Alex Wong (Toronto, Ont.) a winner of 2023 Canada's Sports Business Awards 5 to Watch, co-presented by Canadian Tire and TSN in partnership with George Brown College.

Alex Wong, Toronto, Ont., vice president, strategy and analytics, Toronto Blue Jays; Cecil Wright, Halifax, NS, board member, Canadian Hall of Fame; Andy Yerzy, Toronto, Ont., triple-A Louisville, double-A Chattanooga (Reds), IND-Kansas City; INF Jared Young, Prince George, BC, Cubs/Cardinals; LHP Rob Zastryzny, Edmonton, Alta., triple-A Pirates/Brewers; RHP Calvin Ziegler (Kitchener, Ont.) New York Mets, Spring Break Out.

* * *

And finally … now this is the place where we try to name every Canadian woman or man involved in the game. We started it in 2020 since it was suggested by some that, a number of adults and children kept the game alive during the shortened COVID-19 pandemic season. How we could have made it a mamoth tie for top spot. Long-serving coaches, parents, officials and convenors said it was almost as tough to keep baseball running in 2020, as it was during World War II.

So we issued a giant thank you in 2020.

Then, we did it again in 2021.

And again in 2022, which at rough count was 645.

There won’t be a fourth annual thank you to coaches (from bantam up), assistant coaches, board directors, executives, decision makers, convenors.

So we wish all your line drives stay fair and will issue a huge thank you for all you did in 2023 ... you know who you are …

* * *

Year-by-year list of previous most Influential Canadians in baseball:

2023 Alex Anthopoulos.

2022 Rob Thomson

2021 Alex Anthopoulos.

2020 Larry Walker

2019 Larry Walker

2018 Larry Walker

2017: Joey Votto

2016: Joey Votto

2015: Alex Anthopoulos

2014: Edward Rogers

2013: Blue Jays fans (from coast to coast)

2012: Paul Beeston

2011: Greg Hamilton

2010: Joey Votto

2009: Paul Beeston

2008: Paul Beeston

2007: Paul Godfrey, Greg Hamilton

Elliott, most influential 140 Canadians: Anthopoulos, Thomson, Naylor, plus Honourable Mentions - final