*This article was originally published on Alberta Dugout Stories on February 4, 2025. You can read it here.

February 5, 2025

By Joe McFarland

Alberta Dugout Stories

They were the mainstays on prairie baseball fields for years.

Their names are virtually synonymous with the maple leaf, helping show future generations that they, too, could have professional dreams.

They would go onto play the game at the highest level, then come back home to show the way by becoming coaches themselves, giving back to the game they know and love.

Ahead of the 2024 Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum induction announcement, we produced a list of five builders who deserve to be recognized in St. Marys, Ontario.

With the coming announcement for the Class of 2025 on Thursday, Feb. 6, we thought we would come up with a list of five athletes who should, one day, get the call themselves.

Interestingly, four of the five we are proposing were anchors of Team Canada’s pitching staff in numerous international tournaments, including the Olympics and Pan Am Games.

The fifth is a former Toronto Blue Jay who wowed fans in Alberta with his speed and fielding, as he did when the Jays won the World Series in 1992 and 1993.

We landed on this set of five after lengthy conversations and mulling over other worthy names. But there will be plenty of opportunity to recognize other candidates in the future.

Here now is our list of the top-five players we hope to see get a call to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025.

Jim Henderson

One of the original Calgary Dawgs in 2003, Jim Henderson made his mark on the big leagues and while wearing the maple leaf during his 15-year professional career.

The Calgary native was drafted by the Montreal Expos in 2003, spending three seasons with the Expos and Washington Nationals before being acquired by the Chicago Cubs.

Henderson then went to the Milwaukee Brewers after the 2008 season, and finally earned a call-up to the bigs in 2012, going 1-3 with three saves and a 3.52 ERA in 36 appearances.

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Listen to Alberta Dugout Stories interview Jim Henderson here.

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He took over the Brewers’ closer role in 2013, notching 28 saves and a 2.70 ERA in 61 relief appearances.

Unfortunately, injuries got the better of the right-hander in 2014 and 2015, but he returned to the MLB with the New York Mets for 44 games in 2016 before bouncing around the minors for a couple more seasons.

All told, he went 10-11 with 31 saves (ninth all-time amongst Canadians) and a 3.61 ERA, striking out 177 batters in 137 innings.

Henderson was also a part of the gold medal-winning Team Canada at the 2011 Pan Am Games, as well as the Canuck squads at the 2013 and 2017 World Baseball Classic.

He’s now an assistant pitching coach for the Brewers.

Former big league right-hander Chris Reitsma (Calgary, Alta.) is now a pitching coordinator and the senior director of operations at the Webber Baseball Academy. Photo: Webber Academy

Chris Reitsma

Born in Minnesota, Chris Reitsma has long called Calgary home after growing up in the Alberta city.

A first-round pick of the Boston Red Sox in 1996, he made his MLB debut with the Cincinnati Reds just five years later.

Reitsma went on to a seven-year big-league and 12-year pro career, going 32-46 with 37 saves and a 4.70 ERA in 338 games for the Reds, Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners.

He also suited up for Baseball Canada at the 2006 World Baseball Classic and the 2008 Summer Olympics.

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Listen to Alberta Dugout Stories interview Chris Reitsma here.

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After his playing career was done, Reitsma came back home to Calgary, where he helped a young Michael Soroka find his way to becoming a first-round pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2015.

He’s become a full-time coach now with the Webber Academy Wildcats program.

Dustin Molleken

Dustin Molleken’s journey in the game has been anything but a smooth ride.

The Regina native has traveled the globe to play the game he loves, starting with college when he moved to Alberta to play for Prairie Baseball Academy.

Like Henderson, he was selected in the 2003 MLB Draft and took on a lengthy minor league career, including time in Japan.

It all culminated with a four-game stint in the majors in 2016 with the Detroit Tigers.

Despite posting a 4.32 ERA and eight strikeouts in just over eight innings of work, it wasn’t enough for Molleken to earn an everyday job.

He spent the next few seasons playing independent and Dominican Winter ball in hopes of getting one more shot.

His international resume with Baseball Canada is also very strong, having worn the red-and-white at the 2011 Baseball World Cup and Pan Am Games, the 2013 and 2017 World Baseball Classics, and the 2015 and 2018 WBSC Premier12.

A Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame inductee in 2024, Molleken has been a coach with the Junior National Team and is now spending time with Big League Experience. He has also served as a pitching consultant with the Moose Jaw Miller Express.

Mike Johnson

A product of the Edmonton area, Mike Johnson managed to put together a whirlwind 18-year pro career which saw him jet-set around the globe.

Drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993, he spent two summers with the Baby Jays in Medicine Hat (1994-1995) and worked his way up to the big leagues with the Montreal Expos and Baltimore Orioles in 1997.

His MLB career, which came to a close in 2001, shows a record of 7-14 with two saves and a 6.85 ERA in 81 games.

Johnson kept playing though, spending time in Japan, Korean and Taiwan, also coming home to play for his hometown Edmonton Trappers in 2004 and Edmonton Capitals in 2009 and 2010.

The righthander’s international resume is solid as well, with stops at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, the 2009 World Baseball Classic and the gold-medal winning 2011 Pan Am Games squad.

An inductee to the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2023, Johnson has spent plenty of time in his hometown coaching after his playing career came to a close.

Devon White

Several former Toronto Blue Jays have had their names enshrined at St. Marys over the years.

Joe Carter, Tony Fernandez, Roberto Alomar, George Bell, Carlos Delgado and, most recently, Jimmy Key, were named to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

If the Hall decides to add another one in 2025, might we recommend Devon White.

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Listen to Alberta Dugout Stories interview Devon White here.

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Known for being a key piece to the Blue Jays’ World Series championships in 1992 and 1993, White also dazzled Alberta audiences as a member of the Edmonton Trappers in 1985, 1986 and 1990.

With the Trappers, the switch-hitting outfielder hit .283 with 18 homers, 105 RBIs and 67 stolen bases in 192 games.

It was all part of what would become a 17-year major league and 21-year pro career.

White has also made the Blue Jays a part of his post-playing career, as he became the team’s hitting coach at triple-A Buffalo, and has traveled across the country as part of the Blue Jays Academy tours in recent years.

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With the talent coming out of Alberta and Saskatchewan in recent years, we can only assume more great athletes will be inducted to the hallowed hall in the years to come.

We would love to hear from you. Who else do you think deserves an opportunity to be recognized by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum? Comment below or add your thoughts to our social media posts!