Canadian thread 2

[colbyjack]

It seems as though the previous Canadian thread is lost for now, so I thought I'd start another one since it would be a good idea to keep your eye on players north of the border. Slam! Sports has a few player profiles on the best Canadian draft-eligible players:

 

Illinois C Chris Robinson

 

Robinson is a strong-armed catcher that has tremendous makeup and leadership skills. He threw out 40% of opposing baserunners this past season, and he hit pretty well too. He has pretty decent plate discipline, and the article above draws a comparison to Joe Girardi. Since Robinson attends the University of Illinois, he's not a true Canadian prospect, but he's Canadian nonetheless.

 

Top prep Canadian Nick Weglarz

 

Weglarz likely will draw comparisons to fellow Canadian slugger Justin Morneau and Scott Thorman. While Morneau started his career as a catcher, Weglarz is a 1B today and he will be a 1B in the future. That's not to say that he's not good defensively around first, it's just that he's not very fast, and probably doesn't project well anywhere else on the field. He has a good bat, exciting power potential and a keen eye. He likely will be the first Canadian drafted, and he has committed to play for OK St.

 

A few other Canadians include RHP Ivan Rusova, who is of a slighter build similar to Alexandre Periard from a year ago. He has good arm that easily pumps out low-90s fastballs. He doesn't have the polish of Periard, who was projected as a 3rd to 5th round pick a year ago (he only fell because of the visa issues). Rusova is more of a top 10-round guy.

 

Marcel Champagnie turned a few heads at a Perfect Game event this spring. He's a very athletic SS with very good actions, speed and arm strength.

 

Not the greatest Canadian class given the lack of depth, although there are more, and you know Team Canada will be out mining the Great White North.

[batman]

Kevin Glew penned a nice article for MLB.com about Canadian baseball and Bob Elliot's book The Northern Game: Baseball the Canadian Way. You can learn more about the book at the Sport Classic Books website or you can purchase it at Amazon.com. I'm definitely going to see if I can ILL this one.

 

mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/co...141759.jsp

 

"Book details Canada's baseball impact"

By Kevin Glew / Special to MLB.com / July 23, 2005

 

It might be called America's pastime, but that doesn't mean the only baseball being played in North America is south of the 49th parallel.

 

As Bob Elliott's new book, "The Northern Game: Baseball the Canadian Way," illustrates, Canada not only has a rich baseball history, but it's producing an increasing number of professional and collegiate players.

 

"Right now, we have the most Canadians we've had in the Majors since 1884," said Elliott. "We have close to 650 kids playing at schools in the states."

 

These growing numbers are a result of improved grassroots programs and a proliferated number of opportunities for Canadians to showcase their skills, writes Elliott. These enhancements are the main reason that Canada's baseball team finished fourth at last year's Olympics.

 

And while the author had been accumulating stories about Canadians and their contributions to baseball for years, it was his country's Olympic berth that motivated him to put the book together.

 

Despite being raised in Kingston, Ontario, a city that some claim is the birthplace of hockey, Elliott has always preferred baseball to Canada's most revered ice sport.

 

Personal indifference aside, Elliott, who has covered Major League Baseball for 25 years, reveals in his book that playing hockey has influenced Canadian Major Leaguers such as Larry Walker, Justin Morneau and Eric Gagne. Some scouts even see it as an asset for a Canadian to have played hockey, suggesting that the sport teaches toughness. This rink mentality has helped forge a positive identity for players from the Great White North.

 

"Years ago, I thought it was a derogatory remark to say a player was 'Canadian,'" explained Elliott.

 

His perception changed, however, after a conversation with Pete LaForest, a Devil Rays catching prospect from Hull, Quebec, at a pre-Olympic tournament in Italy last year.

 

"He said it means, 'He's hardworking. He's got a good work ethic,'" Elliott recalled.

 

Walker, the most successful position player to emerge from north of the 49th parallel, is a testament to this gritty style of play. A goaltender in his teen years, it was only after the Maple Ridge, British Columbia, native was cut from his junior team that he decided to focus on baseball.

 

After a near Triple Crown season in 1997, the then-Rockies outfielder became the first Canadian to be named the National League MVP. Elliott notes in his book, however, that this unprecedented achievement was still not enough to earn Walker the honor as Canada's best male athlete that year (he lost to Formula One driver Jacques Villeneuve).

 

One accolade that Walker has won nine times is the Tip O'Neill Award -- a trophy handed out annually by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame to Canada's top player. O'Neill, a Woodstock, Ontario, native, remains the only Triple Crown winner not enshrined in Cooperstown. A career .326 hitter, the Canadian legend batted .435 for the St. Louis Browns in 1887. The author, who is a member of the baseball writers' board-appointed historical overview veteran's committee, has attempted to get O'Neill's name added to the Hall's Veterans Committee ballot, but so far has not been successful.

 

Another overlooked Canadian is former Red Sox owner J.J. Lannin. At the helm of the Bosox from 1914 to 1916, the entrepreneurial Canuck signed Babe Ruth and won two World Series during his reign. In the book, Elliott shares the story of how Lannin's great-grandson, Christopher Tunstall, predicted that the Red Sox would win the World Series after his great-grandfather was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in June 2004.

 

Another Canadian who would love to hoist the World Series trophy is Dodgers closer Gagne. Elliott writes that the flame-throwing Mascouche, Quebec, native is a product of Canada's improving provincial baseball programs. And while the All-Star reliever has become a poster boy for the Quebec program, British Columbia has become the most prolific province in spawning Major Leaguers -- Morneau, Jeff Francis, Rich Harden and Jason Bay all hail from Canada's westernmost province.

 

Bay, the first Canadian to win the National League Rookie of the Year award, was originally drafted by the Montreal Expos -- a team that after several seasons of uncertainty has moved to Washington, D.C. Elliott, recalling treks to see the Expos with his dad, expresses in the book how emotional he was at the final series at Olympic Stadium.

 

"I remember telling [sports Illustrated writer] Michael Farber at the second-to-last game that I was going to cry tomorrow. At the last game, I sat there watching videos from way back. I saw highlights of Mack Jones. I remember being in grade 10 watching him," lamented the author.

 

The Expos' legacy, however, lives on in the Nationals and in the Canadian players -- like Bay and Walker -- that the club developed. These two former Expos products could play a significant role on Canada's entry in the World Baseball Classic next March. In a pool with the United States, Mexico and South Africa, the Canuck team, Elliott believes, has a chance to pull an upset.

 

"Do I think it's possible that in one game Erik Bedard [Orioles pitcher from Navan, Ontario] and Rich Harden could beat the Americans? Yeah, I think so," he said.

 

"The Northern Game: Baseball the Canadian Way" is published by Sport Classic Books and is in bookstores now.