Canada eyes a return to Olympics
The World Series Champion Toronto Blue Jays had more players from California (six players), Ohio, Florida, Minnesota (two each) and even the Dominican Republic (three) and Puerto Rico (two) than they did from Canada. In fact, journeyman outfielder Rob Ducey was the only Canuck to take the field for the Jays during the season, and he didn't contribute much, collecting just one hit in 21 at-bats before being traded in July.
The Canadian National Team, on the other hand, wasn't quite as successful in '92, failing to earn a trip to the Olympics in Barcelona. They were also home for Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000.
Those failures, however, led to the formation of a new national program in 1998, which helped Canada earn its first Olympic birth in 2004 and has the team prepared for a trip to Beijing in '08. That journey begins with this week's pre-Olympic qualifier in Arizona.
"We had physically talented kids," Canada's National Team Director Greg Hamilton said. "The greatest challenge we had to face was finding a way to get our players exposed to better competition at younger ages."
The new program allowed Team Canada to "start playing baseball year-round," Hamilton said. "We started exposing our kids to the instructional league schedule." They also started playing more internationally in places like the Dominican Summer League and the Academy Professional League, "which really gave us a lot more playing time."
To help maintain its schedule through Canada's harsh winter months, the team began using the Atlanta Braves Spring Training complex at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., said Hamilton, who also serves as a bench coach for the team. The program, which also receives more talent from Canada's evolving club system, paid instant dividends in the 1999 Pan-American Games, where Team Canada finished second to international power Cuba.
"The results in the 1999 Pan-American Games were a bench mark. We believed and were able to prove we were worthy of being one of the respected countries in international baseball," Hamilton said.
The success at Pan-Am was overshadowed four years later by Team Canada's fourth-place finish in Athens. And simply making the Olympics for the first time wasn't enough for shortstop Stubby Clapp.
"From our point, as players, we were disappointed. Sure, we had never been there before, but there was no doubt in our mind we should have been in the top three. As a team, we expected a lot more," he said.
Clapp, who is most famous for his name, and driving in the winning run against the U.S in the 1999 Pan-Am Games, has high expectations for this current team despite 10 new players.
"I expect us to finish high [in the pre-Olympic qualifier], and go to Cuba with a chance to qualify for first in the Olympics. That's the way Team Canada is. We know we can compete with the best and don't settle for anything less," said Clapp who is considered a clubhouse leader by manager Ernie Whitt.
Whitt, a Detroit native, says he relies heavily on Clapp and Team Canada's other veterans to help the new players understand the urgency it takes to be successful in international play.
"The biggest difference with the regular game [professional baseball] is the season is like a marathon, Whitt said. "In the international game, every game is like a playoff game."
| ||||||||||||
Whitt doesn't think this year's team possesses as much power as the 2004 club.
"We've only got two or three players who can hit it out of the park," the Canadian manager noted. "So we are going to have to manufacture runs by bunting, using the hit-and-run and getting good pitching and good defense.
Scott Thorman is one player who does have some pop in his bat.
The Atlanta Braves first base prospect hit 21 home runs and drove 92 RBIs between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Richmond last season, and attributes a lot of his professional success to Canada's national program, because it introduced him to wooden bats at an earlier age and let him face professional pitching at 17.
One player Thorman plans on driving in a lot during the tournament is leadoff man and Seattle Mariner prospect Sebastien Boucher.
The young, speedy outfielder is making his first appearance on Team Canada and knows what's expected from him.
"Get the offense started and get on base any way possible," said the 24-year-old.
"It's one of the greatest honors I could have had baseball-wise. It's fantastic to go out and represent your country and show what your country can do," Boucher said.
Team Canada's biggest strength is on the mound, where, Hamilton says, they have "some really plus arms." The staff is led by two of Canada's best prospects ever -- Baltimore Orioles' Adam Loewen and Philadelphia's Scott Mathieson.
Thanks to the revamped program and the success that has come with it, Canada is a legitimate international baseball power and is no longer just for hockey.
"Baseball doesn't take a back seat to anyone in Canada," Whitt said. "The players know they have the media coverage and the expectations are higher than it was."
Team Canada will begin the six-team round-robin tournament against Nicaragua on Tuesday. The other four teams in the tournament are the U.S., Panama, Guatemala and Mexico. The top four teams will qualify for next year's Western Hemisphere qualifying tournament in Cuba.
Chad T. Jones is a contribtor to MLB.com.