Verge: Asis has ambitious plans, including Filipino night at Rogers Centre
“The friends he surrounded himself with growing up didn’t play baseball, but Ryan Asis drew all the inspiration he needed from the Toronto Blue Jays.
Standing in front of the TV as an eight-year-old, he’d come set like the pitchers, and swing for the fences inside his childhood home.
“I fell in love with it that way,” said Asis (Mississauga, Ont.).
Back then, he was an eight-year-old with a baseball dream, fueled by the golden years of the Blue Jays winning the World Series in 1992 and 1993. If the Jays hadn’t been good, he probably would have retired as a kid in the 90’s, he said, but they were on fire, and became Asis’s motivation.
Thanks to that incredibly talented roster, including manager Cito Gaston, he now has a dream of helping grow the game for other members of his Filipino community. He’ll be taking 40 players with the Philippines Baseball Group to the Blue Jays game against the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday at Rogers Centre as the director of the Canadian chapter.”
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Verge: Scrappy Groves hopes to help Niagara to upset at NCAA Regional
“It’s fitting that the leadoff hitter for Niagara University in the NCAA Baseball Regional Friday is used to being the underdog.
Nick Groves had to fight for success on the baseball diamond growing up in London, Ontario. The centre fielder wasn’t given any genetic handouts, as a small kid who was always undersized.”
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Verge: Catterall, Gélinas and Padgham dominate Down Under
Women’s National Team members Sena Catterall (Pierrefonds, Que.), Alizée Gélinas (Trois-Riviéres, Que.) and Raine Padgham (Abbotsford, B.C.) recently starred in the 2023 Australian Women’s Baseball Showcase.
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Verge: Ex-Jay Snider sharing experiences to be mental health advocate in youth sports
“Alone in a hotel room, with no screaming crowd and bright lights to distract him from his own mind, Travis Snider spirals.
The Toronto Blue Jays outfielder is struggling at the plate, with his self worth, and with unhealed childhood trauma that he’s tried to repress.
“I still never got to the point of grieving, of processing these emotions to where I could just let go of it and go play the game,” Snider said. “I was always carrying that baggage with me.”
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Verge: Asay’s legacy lives on in annual jamboree set for Saturday
The third annual Amanda Asay Memorial Jamboree will take place in Burnaby, B.C. on Saturday. Canadian Baseball Network writer Melissa Verge has the details.
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Verge: Smith guides the OBA and roughly 71,387 players, up 15,000 from 2022
“When the Toronto Blue Jays do well, the Ontario Baseball Association sees an increase in interest in its programming, said Mary-Ann Smith, executive director, Ontario Baseball Association.
From 2022 to 2023, the number of players registered jumped more than 15,000. Specifically, the OBA increased its registration from 55,837 players to 71,487 players.”
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Verge: Capitales to retire Boucher's number on August 18
Former star outfielder Sebastien Boucher (Hull, Que.) will have his No. 18 retired by the Quebec Capitales on August 18.
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Verge: Smith choses splitters and sliders over chemistry career
Abbotsford Cardinals alum and Cleveland Guardians reliever Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.) was a star on the mound and in the classroom at the University of Hawaii. Canadian Baseball Network writer Melissa Verge shares Smith’s story of choosing splitters and sliders over a career in science.
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Verge: Padgham blazing a trail at Thompson Rivers University
“The sacrifices are in the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches Raine Padgham eats, sometime in between classes, studying and baseball practice.
There’s not always time to fire up the hot plate and cook an extravagant meal when you’re juggling studies, and your first season as a university ball player with Thompson Rivers University.
But, there’s always time for baseball.
It’s that dedication to the sport that has her suiting up in the WolfPacks black and orange as the first woman to play baseball for Thompson Rivers.”
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Verge: B.C. Girls Baseball League to begin play in June
The B.C. Girls Baseball League, the first in the history of the province, is set to begin play in June. Canadian Baseball Network writer Melissa Verge has the details.
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Verge: Remembering Canadian AAGPBL ace Helen Nicol Fox
Canadian Baseball Network writer Melissa Verge remembers All-American Girls Professional Baseball League superstar pitcher Helen Nicol Fox (Ardley, Alta.).
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Verge: Lotzkar, Myette, Springenatic, Wawrzasek part of Langley Blaze elite coaching staff
The Langley Blaze boast an impressive roster of coaches that includes Kyle Lotzkar, Ken Myette, Dennis Springenatic and Stosh Wawrzasek. Canadian Baseball Network writer Melissa Verge spoke with them ahead of their annual spring Arizona trip in March.
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Verge: Cade Smith wins CBN's Wayne Norton Award, as top minor league pitcher
Abbotsford Cardinals alum and Cleveland Guardians pitching prospect Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.) has been named the Canadian Baseball Network’s 2023 Wayne Norton Award winner, as top Canadian pitcher in the affiliated minor league ranks.
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Verge: Stephenson becomes first Women's National Team player elected to Canadian ball hall
“Her impact on Canada every time she took the field was so profound, one Ashley Stephenson gracing the lineup card wasn’t enough.
A roster full of Stephenson’s — that’s what you hoped for, said former longtime Women’s National Team Manager Andre Lachance. Her competitiveness, reliability, and passion x9. (Or 20.)
“She was the type of player that you wish you had 20 of them on your team,” said Lachance, who managed the Women’s National team for 15 years.”
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Verge: Trailblazing Stephenson preparing for second season as pro coach, World Cup
“I like to think that I was always going to be someone who really tries to push boundaries and tries to make things happen in whatever I want to do,” Women’s National Team great and Vancouver Canadians coach Ashley Stephenson (Mississauga, Ont.) recently told Canadian Baseball Network writer Melissa Verge. “I don’t want to be mediocre at things, I want to be exceptional at things. And sometimes to do that you’ve got to take scary steps.”
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Verge: Big league dream fulfilled, Lien shows his strength returning to Canadian roots
Canadian Baseball Network writer Melissa Verge recently caught up with Dong Lien, who after working as a strength and conditioning coach for the Philadelphia Phillies, has returned to his Canadian roots and is helping young players with the Langley Blaze and North Shore Twins.
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Verge: Jackson receives best Christmas present, able to bring son home from hospital
Free agent reliever Jay Jackson received the best Christmas present this year. He and his fiancee Sam Bautista were able to bring their son, JR, home for Christmas after 166 days in the NICU in Salt Lake City, Utah. Canadian Baseball Network writer Melissa Verge recently spoke with Jackson.
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Verge: No set of brothers are an Island, the Russells -- from Grand Manan to 13U nationals
“A ball, a glove, and a twin brother with the same love.
That was all Tripp and Braeden Russell needed to get them started in baseball.
A partner for anything is challenging to find when your hometown is only accessible by ferry, surrounded by the Bay of Fundy. The island of Grand Manan, N.B., where the twins grew up, has a population of less than 3,000 people. It’s home to a lot of wildlife, fisherman and beautiful views - and few baseball players. But they had an advantage over other young ball players on the island. They didn’t have to look far for someone to play catch with, because they always had each other.”
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Verge: Xavier re-defines bat boy duties: helmets, bats, gold … Part III, Mississauga Tigers
“The ice water drenches 11-year-old bat boy Xavier Maccagno, courtesy of his 18 older brothers.
If there are screams, it’s excitement, and perhaps it’s a bit colder than expected.
Not to go tell mom or dad. He was screaming in excitement, not as an upset sibling sounding the alarm to tell on his older “brothers” that he got water poured on him.
Yes, 18. It was saved for him, with love from Maccagno’s new family, the Mississauga Tigers. Refreshing at first, he said. Then when the wind picks up and the adrenaline wears off, just cold.”
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Verge: Xavier re-defines bat boy duties: helmets, bats, gold … Part II, Mississauga Tigers
“Tigers on three,” a young boy’s voice yells out. “One, two, three, … “TIGERS,” the players scream.
The huddle of Ontarians plus one Albertan at Legacy Dodge Field in Fort McMurray exudes passion, and the Albertan, 10-year-old Xavier Maccagno, is an important contributor to it. He’s loud. He’s got a personality larger than the space from the backstop to the centre field wall.
And he’s there to help the Mississauga Tigers win it all at the Baseball Canada’s 2022 18U Nationals in Fort McMurray.”
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