THAT CALL’S TO THE HALL
Former Blue Jays GM Gord Ash joins a Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame class that includes Jason Bay and Ryan Dempster,
Baseball may be known as America’s pastime, but Jason Bay and Ryan Dempster have some uniquely Canadian memories of their time in game.
They represented Canada on the national stage when road hockey games among teammates kept things light away from the actual competition. They made those first treks to the Rogers Centre, then known as the SkyDome, to play on the hallowed ground of their favourite childhood team. And, inspired by the likes of Larry Walker and Matt Stairs, they became the stars that inspired the next generation of Canadian players.
Bay, a slugger out of Trail, B.C., who spent the bulk of his11-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, remembers feeling a little different when he got to Toron- to and saw a little maple leaf next to his name on the ballpark scoreboard, signalling to fans that, although in opposing colours, he was one of them.
“Thank God I was Canadian because, for the most part, they took it easy on me, otherwise they can really get on you,” he said of the “surreal and gratifying” moments he played on Canada soil.
Dempster, a native of Sechelt, B.C., and a longtime Chicago Cubs right-hander who remembers Joe Carter’s World Series-winning home run in 1993 like it was yesterday, said getting to step on Toronto’s mound was similarly dreamlike.
“It was really surreal and an incredible moment, because you realize in those moments, when things like that happen, that dreams really to come true if you work hard enough for them, you push yourself hard enough,” he said. Another dream came true Thursday, when Bay and Dempster were announced as half the 2019 class that will be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ont., this June. They will be inducted alongside current Phillies bench coach Rob Thomson, a native of Corunna, Ont., near Sarnia, and former Jays general manager Gord Ash, who worked for his hometown Toronto team from 1977 to 2011 and is now with the Milwaukee Brewers as the vicepresident of baseball projects.
“Each of this year’s inductees is a proud Canadian that has had a tremendous impact on baseball in this country,” Scott Crawford, the hall’s director of operations, said in a release. “Jason Bay and Ryan Dempster are two of the most successful Canadian players of all time, while Rob Thomson and Gord Ash have seven World Series rings between them and are highly respected in the professional baseball community.”
Bay, a left fielder, also played for San Diego, Boston, the New York Mets and Seattle during his career. He is the only Cana- dian to win National League rookie of the year honours, an award he received in 2004 after hitting .282 and belting 26 home runs in 120 games. He is a one-time Silver Slugger winner, a three-time all-star and a three-time Tip O’Neill award winner as the top Canadian player.
Dempster, who split his career 16-year career with Florida, Cincinnati, the Cubs, Texas and Boston, is a two-time all-star and a one-time Tip O’Neil award winner who finished his career with a 4.35 ERA over 2,387 innings.
Ash and Thomson, both touted for their talents in player recognition and development, both agree players like Stairs, Walker, Bay and Dempster are part of just the beginning of a rich baseball tradition north of the border.
“I do think there’s a very bright future for baseball in Canada in terms of developing elite players,” Ash said. “I think we’ve already seen the start of it, you’re going to see more.”