March 20, 2023

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Ty Hamilton led the way with a two-run run homer as the Langley Blaze fell 7-4 to the class-A Mariners minor leaguers in the annual Wayne Norton game at the Peoria Sports Complex, the Seattle Mariners’ spring home, in Peoria, Ariz.

CF Hamilton (Orleans, Ont.) went deep, turning around a 97 mph fastball. The game is played in memory of Norton (Port Moody, BC), the former Mariners scout, who in his younger years helped start the National Baseball Institute, came up with the idea of Canada having a Junior National Team and was elected to the Canadian Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ont., in 2016.

Langley coaches Doug Mathieson and Jamie Bodaly, who rboth espected Norton -- like every other Canadian scout -- has kept Norton’s memory alive. Mathieson scouts for the Milwaukee Brewers, while Bodaly searches for draft picks for the Cincinnati Reds.

Langley had a 4-2 lead going into the eighth before the Mariners rallied.

RHP Jacob Wallace (Pincourt, Que.) of the ABC and a 2024 draft eligible, got the start, allowed two runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out a pair in two innings.

Blaze LHP Sean Duncan (Port Coquitlam, BC), eligible for the 2026 draft, continues to impress pitching two scoreless, allowing one hit and striking out three. He was the youngest player at the Canadian Futures Showcase in 2022 in Ottawa.

Langley RHP Jack Thompson (Coquitlam, BC), a 2024 draft eligible, also pitched two scoreless allowing one hit, a walk and fanning one.

University of Fraser Valley Cascades RHP Travis McDougall (Abbotsford, BC) took the loss in one inning. The 6-foot-7 former Northwest Florida State College pitcher gave up three runs on three hits and one walk. He also struck out one. Fraser Valley plays in the CCBC college conference,

UFV RHP Josh Berenbaum (Richmond, BC) finished and allowed two runs on two hits and two walks, while striking out one. Former Blaze Kyle Lotzkar (Delta, BC), a first-round draft (53rd over-all) by the Cincinnati Reds in 2007, coaches Fraser Valley.

Norton’s wife Trudith, who attended the first Norton memorial game, was not on hand. Yet the Blaze kept her informed by sending pictures. When Norton diagnosed with ALS and restricted to a wheel chair, Trudy held operate the radar gun and took notes. He was a scout until the very end.

Some words in part from the Canadian ball Hall’s site ... some words about a man who belongs in the BC Hall of Fame:

WAYNE NORTON

After leaving the National Baseball Institute in 1994, Norton evolved into one of Canada’s most respected scouts. Hall of Famer Pat Gillick (St. Marys and Cooperstown) hired Norton to scout for the Baltimore Orioles (1996-1999) and when Gillick accepted the Seattle Mariners’ GM position in 2000, he brought Norton with him. Norton served as a scout for the Mariners since 2000 and signed several Canadians, including OF Michael Saunders (Victoria, BC), RHP Phillippe Aumont (Gatineau, Que.), OF Tyson Gillies (Vancouver, BC) and OF Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC). For his excellence in scouting, Norton was named Mariners’ International Scout of the Year in 2007 and Canadian Scout of the Year by the Canadian Baseball Network in 1998 and 2013. Wayne passed away Jan. 6, 2018.

Born in 1942 in Winnipeg, Man., Norton played in 1,206 minor league games – including five seasons in Triple-A – before becoming a trailblazing executive and scout in Canada. In the mid-1970s, Norton founded and established Baseball Canada’s Junior National Team and he became a long-time coach and manager for the organization, while doubling as a part-time scout for the Montreal Expos. He also managed Canada’s Pan Am Games team in 1975, prior to helping to launch Baseball BC two years later. In the late 1970s, he was enlisted to create and write Baseball Canada’s first coaching manuals and many of the guidelines from those are still employed today.

In 1986, Norton established the National Baseball Institute (NBI) in Vancouver and hired 2007 Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee John Haar to be the first coach. The NBI evolved into the best created in Canada and is often cited as the standard for similar facilities. Among the NBI graduates to play in the big leagues are 2015 Canadian Baseball Hall of Famers OF Matt Stairs (Fredericton, NB) and 3B Corey Koskie (Anola, Man.), as well as LHP Denis Boucher (Montreal, Que.), who will be inducted this summer; LHP Steve Sinclair (Victoria, BC), LHP Paul Spoljaric (Kelowna, BC), OF Rob Butler (East York, Ont.), Jason Dickson (Miramichi, NB), OF Aaron Guiel (Vancouver, BC) and RHP Derek Aucoin (Lachine, Que.).

“The phone call informing me of my induction made me very happy,” said Norton. “It will certainly be an honour to be included in the Canadian Hall of Fame. I am extremely grateful to my friends who nominated me, and to my colleagues and family who supported my nomination. Their regard means a great deal to me. It is gratifying to have my contributions to baseball in Canada recognized and valued by my peers and acknowledged by the selection committee. I look forward to what promises to be a fantastic couple of days in St. Marys.”