March 14, 2023

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

PHOENIX _ So where were you and what were you doing when you were 19 years of age?

Hall of Famer and Team Canada first base coach Larry Walker, 56: “Probably class-A (Burlington and West Palm Beach), I certainly wasn’t pitching against Mookie Betts, Mike Trout and Paul Goldschmidt.”

1B Freddie Freeman 33: “I was in low-A (Myrtle Beach) and double-A (Mississippi). I wasn’t facing an all-star team.”

CF Tyler O’Neill 27, “In the minors (rookie-class Arizona League Mariners, class-A Everett and class-A Clinton) trying to figure things out. I certainly wasn’t pitching against a team of future Hall of Famers.”

Team USA pitching coach Dave Righetti, 64: “Double-A (Tulsa), but I pitched a game for the Texas Rangers against the triple-A all-stars. It didn’t go real well. I felt for the kid when he walked off the mound. I’ve been there. Obviously his team and his teammates trusted him or he would not have been given the ball. ”

Trout, 31, who was at double-A Arkansas and later told writers in the interview room: “Everybody in this game is going to go through a rough stretch. It’s how you come out of it. You’ve got to have that mentality to come out of it. I look back when I first came up I struggled, but I learned from it. It’s a tough task for a young kid. He’s, what, 19? You try to get through it. Learn from it. Next time he gets in a situation like that, try to be better.”

RP Scott Mathieson, 39, “Rookie ball (Gulf Coast Philies plus two games at class-A Batavia). I gave him a big hug when I saw him. Adam Loewen and I were talking ... we’ve been in pro ball, longer than Mitch Bratt has been alive.”

Loewen (fourth overall to the Baltimore Orioles) and Mathieson (a 17th rounder by the Phillies) were selected in the 2002 draft. Bratt was born 2003.

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Probable pitchers

Today _ Canada (Noah Skirrow, triple-A Lehigh Valley, double-A Reading, Phillies) 5-9, 4.36) vs Colombia (LHP Adrian Almeida, 0-3, 6.49, York Atlantic League-IND, Saltillo/Campeche-IND, Mexico)

Wednesday _ Canada (Rob Zastryzny, Mets/Angels 0-0, 6.75, triple-A Salt Lake, triple-A Syracuse, 1-5, 6.75) vs. Mexico ((RHP José Urquidy 13-8, 3.94).

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Oh yes, Mr. Mitch Bratt. Some would say he was thrown to the lions (and Dodgers, Angels and Cardinals). Others say it worked for Loewen (Surrey, BC), who had not pitched a game at double-A in 2006 when he faced Team USA with another lineup full of Hall of Famers (Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Ken Griffey, plus Chase Utley), who will get support. Loewen worked 3 2/3 scoreless in an 8-6 Canada upset of Team USA

I second guessed manager Ernie Whitt big-time in 2006 for going with Loewen over major leaguer Erik Bedard (Navan, Ont.). But not a few years later when Jameson Taillon, whose parents were from Ontario, left with the lead. And not Monday, even as Team Canada lost 12-1 to Team USA on a run elimination game.

Bratt (Newmarket, Ont.), the former Toronto Met and Brampton Royal, didn’t fare quite the same on this most difficult of stages as Canada fell before 29,621 fans at Chase Field Monday night.

It went like this:

A single to right by former MVP winner Betts.

Former MVP winner Trout walked on four pitches.

Goldschmidt, another former MVP, walked on five ... loading the bases.

After a mound visit by Ernie Whitt, who smiled and told Bratt to “just have fun, trust your stuff.” Nolan Arenado doubled to left, scoring a pair.

Kyle Tucker hit a run-scoring fly ball for the first out of the inning.

Tim Anderson walked.

Then, J.T. Realmuto singled and Whitt was back again to remove Bratt after 25 pitches -- nine for strikes.

Team USA scored more against R.J. Freure (Burlington, Ont.) when Trea Turner tripled and Trout hit a 405-blast to left centre for a nine-run first inning.

“It’s a lot to ask,” said Loewen, who then looked back to his 2006 start. “I think Ernie handled it well -- he didn’t tell me until the day before. The feeling you have is ... can you do it? Will they hit my best fastball. The answer is yes ... and no.”

The bottom line is Canada has a 1-1 record, winning a game that they were supposed to win and losing a game that they weren’t supposed to win. There are two games remaining in Pool C play: Colombia Tuesday and highly-regarded Mexico on Wednesday.

“If things go right and we win, who knows Mitch Bratt might come out in the next round and be lights out?” Loewen said. “He never got in a count where he could throw his out pitch. From what I was told, he handled it well.”

Any long term affects expected

Freeman: “Every experience in life is an experience, good or bad. He might be in the big leagues in four years.”

Walker: “I told him in the dugout ‘Way to battle,’ He’ll learn from that.”

Bratt said his outing was “pretty disappointing,” and wished he had put the team in a better spot. It was the best lineup he had faced since ... “The Chicago Cubs a few days ago. Facing Mike Trout was pretty cool, but I wished I hadn’t walked him on four pitches.”

* * *

Back at Chase: Loewen had his own return to the mound at Chase Field, although in 2006 it was called the Bank One Ballpark.

Loewen walked Trout and Goldschmidt before retiring Arenado on a fly ball in the fifth. He came out for the sixth and struck out Tucker.

Whitt hinted in the interview room that Loewen’s career might be over -- and strikeout was the perfect way to end it.

Said Loewen: “I’m here to pitch ... I guess I’ll have to talk to Ernie.”

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Pool C standings

TEAM W-L

USA 2-1

Canada 1-1

Colombia 1-1

Mexico 1-1

Great Britain 1-2

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The Good: Jared Young (Prince George, BC) hit a solo homer off Team USA starter Lance Lynn ... 3B Abraham Toro (Longueuil, Que.) had a pair of hits ... CF Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC) doubled off reliever Miles Mikolas ... Edouard Julien (Quebec, Que.) singled ... Indigo Diaz (North Vancouver, BC) worked a scoreless 1 2/3 inning (striking out Tim Anderson and Betts) ... Loewen worked a scoreless 2/3 ... Cade Smith (Abbotsford, BC) did the same.

The Bad: Canuck pitchers have walked 13 in 13 innings ... C Bo Naylor is hitless (Mississauga, Ont.) through two games.

* * *

Sam, Sam the Manager man: Daniel Cooper was born in Newport Beach, Calif. but his mother, Barbara, was born in London. He is the longest serving member of Team Great Britain. And he was in the winning dugout as Great Britain upset Colombia 7-5 for its first-ever win. Cooper has played for “Team GB” for 10 years and was previously mentored by Sam Dempster (Oshawa, Ont.) former dean of the Durham Lords.

“Sam was my first skipper,” said Cooper. “He introduced me to the program, that was 2012 when I pitched at Sioux Falls (in the independent American Association). I have my mom’s family all over London, Manchester.

“We have a few people that follow Team GB but they send messages. They are passionate.”

So, how famous are the Brits now? More famous that David Beckham? Or as Gordon Edes of Bally’s Sports asked manager Drew Spencer: “What remarks have you prepared when either the prime minister or the king calls later today?”

“Thank you, your majesty, but we’ve got one more game to win.”

The win by Great Britain helps Team USA, which lost to Mexico Monday, but could hurt Canada. The team finishing last has to re-qualify for the next event. The Brits were not expected to win a game.

* * *

Skirrow up next: RHP Noah Skirrow (Stoney Creek, Ont.) faces Colombia. He was signed as a free-agent by the Phillies the year that COVID-19 shrunk the draft from 30 rounds to five.

“I was told I’d go anywhere from the fourth-to-sixth round,” Skirrow said. “And then ... the sixth round disappeared. We had 20 teams show interest as a free agent.”

* * *

How ‘bout that Herd: The Great Britain win had a distinctive Buffalo feel to it. Chavez Young hit a two-run single to tie the score 3-3 against Columbia and also stole his fourth base.

Young is from Freeport, Bahamas and was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 39th round in 2016. He hit .237 with six doubles, two triples, six homers, 22 RBIs in 70 games, while going 21-for-22 stealing bases for the triple-A Bison. He was an all-star at class-A Lansing in 2018 and was dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates in January.

And the winning pitcher Graham Spraker worked 2 2/3 scoreless, striking out one. Last year at Buffalo he was 1-4 with a 4.82 ERA fanning 44 in 37 1/3 innings. After five seasons in the Jays system, he signed a minor-league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.

* * *

Most impressive: What Phillippe Aumont, the winner against Great Britain liked from the opener, an 18-8 win over Great Britain?

“The way our guys got right back into it,” said Aumont (Gatineau, Que.). “Edouard Julien (Quebec, Que.) homered on the first pitch in the bottom of the first when we were down 3-0. Our hitters made adjustments, it looked like they had a hard time getting an out.”

* * *

First timers: Michael Young, now an executive with the Texas Rangers and a coach with Team USA on manager Mark DeRosa’s staff, was on the first WBC Team USA in Phoenix.

“We were the guinea pigs,” said Young, “we didn’t know anything about tournament baseball. The deal was teams let us come, but everyone had to get their work in.”

We remember USA C Jason Varitek hitting a grand slam homer to cut Canada’s lead to 8-6 and the next inning Brian Schneider was behind the plate.

“It was an iconic team,” said Young.

That game was the most exciting I’d ever seen -- as CF Adam Stern (London, Ont.) put on a one-man show with an inside-the-park homer off Dontrelle Willis, a triple facing Gary Majewski and went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, as Adam Loewen (Surrey, BC) who had not pitched above class-A worked 3 2/3 scoreless.

Team USA had a Hall of Fame roster: Jeter, Griffey, Jones, along with Chase Utley, who will garner votes. Alex Rodriguez and Roger Clemens were also on the team but have not made it to Cooperstown and likely will not due to allegations of steroid use.

On pure excitement ...that 8-6 win stood as No. 1, until Sklyer Stromsmoe (Bow Island, Alta.) scored from second and Peter Orr (Newmarket, Ont.) scored all the way from first on two Team USA throwing errors in the Pan Am Games gold medal game at President’s Choice field in Ajax in 2015. It was a Bill Buckner/Kirk Gibson moment for a sudden change of outcomes.

* * *

Voice from the past: “I heard Mitch Bratt is starting against Team USA. It’s funny to think like four years ago he was pitching for the Brampton Royals, facing the Oakville A’s in the bantam eliminations and now he is facing MVPs Mookie Betts, Mike Trout and Paul Goldschmidt. I hope it goes well.” _ Wil Yamka (Oakville, Ont.) in an afternoon email. Yamka is now pitching for Cloud County Thunderbirds in JUCO ball in Kansas.