October 15, 2021

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

And then there were four.

With the Los Angeles Dodgers edging the San Francisco Giants 2-1 in Game 5 of the National League Division Series last night, the league championship series are now set.

The Dodgers will take on the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series, while the Boston Red Sox will battle the Houston Astros in a showdown for the American League pennant.

Right-hander Nick Pivetta (Victoria, B.C.) is the only active player left that was born in Canada. His dominant and energetic performances for the Red Sox this postseason, including four scoreless innings in relief to close out the Red Sox 13-inning win over Tampa Bay Rays in Game 3 of their ALDS on Sunday, have certainly raised his stock among baseball pundits.

But is his presence enough to make the Red Sox “Canada’s team” for the rest of the playoffs?

Here’s how I would rank the most Canadian teams remaining in the postseason:

1. Atlanta Braves

It was just over six years ago that Blue Jays fans were chanting “Thank you, Alex!” to their GM, Alex Anthopoulos, at Oriole Park at Camden Yards as the Blue Jays clinched their first American League East division title since 1993. The Montreal native has since moved on to the National League and his Braves have won four consecutive division titles during his reign as general manager and president of baseball operations.

Unfortunately for the Braves, they entered this postseason without their Canadian ace and PBF Redbirds and Junior National Team alum Mike Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) who reinjured his Achilles’ tendon this summer. But even without Soroka, the Braves have their share of Canadian content. On top of Anthopoulos, Braves slugger Freddie Freeman, whose parents were born in Canada, has manned first base and belted a game-winning home run in Game 4 of the NLDS against the Brewers, while Calgary, Alta., native Mike Frostad is the team’s assistant trainer.

Players: RHP Mike Soroka (Calgary, Alta.), 60-day injured list; Freddie Freeman (Fountain Valley, Calif.) - WBC eligible

Executive: Alex Anthopoulos (Montreal, Que.), president, baseball operations and general manager

Assistant trainer: Mike Frostad (Calgary, Alta.)

Minor league players: RHP Indigo Diaz (North Vancouver, B.C.), LHP Adam Shoemaker (Cambridge, Ont.)

Minor league coach: David Chavarria (Burnaby, B.C.), rehab pitching co-ordinator; Michael Saunders (Victoria, B.C.), manager, class-A Augusta GreenJackets

Off-field Canadian talent: Michael Copeland (Whitby, Ont.), developer and data architect, baseball systems

2. Boston Red Sox

The aforementioned Pivetta (Victoria, B.C.) continued to be somewhat of an enigma on the mound during the 2021 regular season. After going 6-0 through the first two months, he finished with a 9-8 record and a 4.53 ERA in 31 appearances, including 30 starts. But if you look past his ERA, you could find evidence that the Victoria Eagles and Junior National Team alum could be downright overpowering. He struck out 175 batters in 155 innings and allowed just 137 hits. The 28-year-old right-hander also had five starts where he tossed at least five scoreless innings and held the opposition to two hits or less. On the flip side, he also had 65 walks, which were the third-most in the American League.

But it’s a testament to the faith Red Sox manager Alex Cora has in Pivetta that he went to the Canadian righty in the ninth inning of the final game of the season, with a Wild-Card berth at stake and in Game 3 of the ALDS against the Rays with the game on the line. Pivetta rose to the challenge in both contests, most impressively throwing four scoreless innings and striking out seven in the latter to pick up the win.

Player: RHP Nick Pivetta (Victoria, B.C.)

Executives: David Beeston (Toronto, Ont.), chief strategy officer

Scouts: Ray Fagnant (East Granby, Conn.), Chris Mears (Victoria, B.C.), pitching cross checker

Minor league players: C Kole Cottam (Knoxville, Tenn.) of the Burlington, Ont. Cottams, WBC eligible.

3. Houston Astros

Forty-one years ago, Melville, Sask., native Terry Puhl set a then National League Championship Series record with 10 hits in 19 at bats (.526 batting average) in the Astros’ epic five-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Until Abraham Toro (Longueuil, Que.) had a pinch-hit at bat in last year’s American League Championship Series, Puhl was the last Canadian to appear in a postseason game with the Astros.

Toro, an ABC alum, won’t, however, be part of the Astros’ playoff run this season. He was dealt to the Seattle Mariners on July 27, along with veteran reliever Joe Smith, for right-handers Kendall Graveman and Rafael Montero. So there’s not a Canuck on the Astros’ postseason roster this season.

Scout: Jim Stevenson (Leaside, Ont.)

Minor league player: RHP R.J. Freure (Burlington, Ont.)

4. Los Angeles Dodgers

It still seems strange to have a major league postseason without Russell Martin (Montreal, Que.) playing in it. In October 2019, the Canadian catcher starred in the Dodgers’ 10-4 win over the eventual World Series champion Nationals in Game 3 of their National League Division Series when he went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs. It was the fourth different season that Martin suited up for the Dodgers in the playoffs, and his 10th trip to the postseason overall. But Martin didn’t play in 2020 or 2021, so there are no Canadian players on the Dodgers.

They do, however, employ Beeton, Ont., native Ellen Harrigan who is one of Major League Baseball’s most respected executives. After beginning her career with the Blue Jays as an administrative aide in player development in 1981 and later becoming the general manager of the club’s New York Penn League affiliate in St. Catharines, Harrigan moved on to the Dodgers and has risen through the organization’s ranks to hold a number of key executive positions. Now in her 21st season with the club, she is currently the team’s senior director, baseball administration.

Executive: Ellen Veronica Harrigan (Beeton, Ont.), senior director, baseball administration

Minor League Player: Max Hewitt (Midhurst, Ont.)