‘It took me back to when I played for Team Canada’

Late last month, two batt ers wearing number 26 chatted by the batting cage, awaiting their turns. The one sporting the unruly goatee was Adam Lind. Someone asked about the other 26.

“That’s Mike,” Lind replied. “From Peterborough.” Robson, who posted a 6-0 record and 1.12 ERA between rookie-level Bluefield and Vancouver’s short-season Class A club, had never worked into the seventh inning in his brief pro career before last Sept. 9. McCullough lifted him with one out and a man on third in the seventh. Robson had allowed three hits, no walks and struck out two. Among those cheering as he walked to the dugout were 120 friends and family members.

“That last game he pitched — championship game, he gets to start at home,” McCullough said. “He probably couldn’t have written it any better, and he pitched probably the best game of his career as a professional. It was the longest he had gone and he really did great.”

Robson certainly could not have imagined a better ending. Or playing for a better team. In the minors, the emphasis is on individual player development, with team accomplishments secondary. But the C’s were different.

“Everyone got along,” Robson said. “We all wanted to win. Usually [in the minors] everyone’s for themselves. It took me back to when I played for Team Canada because we all wanted each other to do well. And we all loved being there in Vancouver.”

The Canadians became a Blue Jays affiliate in 2011. Under co-owners Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney, the franchise has been a huge success: big crowds, Canadian content and three championships, a mini-dynasty virtually unheard of in the minors, where rosters constantly change between and within seasons.

McCullough, whom the Jays recently promoted to co-ordinator of minor league instruction, managed for two years in Vancouver and cannot imagine a better atmosphere for young players.

“The environment in which they play every night is great,” he said. “And by the team winning there for a few years, the kids that come don’t want to be the ones to let that down. The expectation is that you go up there and have a chance to play for a championship.”

On the night of Sept. 9, the players celebrated with a threefingered salute to their fans and their team’s championship tradition. In 2014, the challenge is on to make it four.