Baseball Canada’s 50 for 50 contest is designed to find the top moment or story in the 50 year history of the organization.
Week 10 (Voting: July 7th 12pm ET-July 11th 10am ET)
Out of the following five choices, which one do you feel should move on to the semi-final round?
1) Host Kentville (NS) Wildcats win 1985 Senior Nationals
The 1985 Kentville Wildcats became the first Nova Scotia baseball team to win a National Championship when they hosted the tournament in their own community in August 1985. With 13 local players on the roster, the team rallied from a 6-0 deficit with 2 outs in the eighth inning against powerhouse Ontario to win the final, 7-6, in front of 4,500 hometown fans. A key point in the game when relief pitcher Bob Oakley had to pitch out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the ninth. It is possibly one of the greatest comeback stories in Nova Scotia Sport history. All the members of the team shared the tournament MVP. Kevin Macleod, Sandy Van Blarcom and George MacLean were Tournament All-Stars, and Ian Mosher was the MVP of the championship game. In the fall of 2013, the 85 Wildcats were inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame.
2) Canada defeats USA in 2006 World Baseball Classic
2006 marked the first time that Major League Baseball players competed against each other at the international level. Team USA fielded a world class lineup that included the likes of Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Marx Teixeira, Ken Griffey Jr, and Roger Clemens. For the matchup against Canada, manager Buck Martinez elected to go with well established major leaguer Dontrelle Willis, while team Canada manager Ernie Whitt put his trust in 21-year old Adam Loewen who had yet to partake in a major league game. After giving up a first-inning walk to Jeter and walking the next two batters, Lowen settled down and got Chipper Jones to ground into an inning-ending double play to quash the American threat. After having less than 12 hours of rest following a harrowing 11-8 win over South Africa the previous night, Canada showed no signs of fatigue, scoring in each of its first five innings to take an 8-0 lead on the Americans. Canada’s first three hits off of U.S. starter Willis were all triples. Adam Stern (Port Stanley, Ont.) was a double away from hitting for the cycle and Canada would shutout the United States in eight of nine innings without using one current Major League pitcher to shock the Americans 8-6.
3) Andrew Albers wins 2011 COPABE Player of the Year
Baseball Canada enjoyed a banner year in 2011 as the Senior National Team captured the gold medal at the Pan American Games in Lagos de Moreno, Mexico with a 2-1 victory over the United States in the championship game and took home the bronze medal at the IBAF World Cup in Panama. Albers was a key contributor on the mound for the Senior National Team in both starting and relief roles. Albers started the World Cup opener against Puerto Rico and threw 5 shutout innings to pick-up the victory. He followed that up with five combined innings of shutout relief in wins over Chinese Taipei and the Netherlands where he gave up only two hits. When Canada faced a must win situation against South Korea with a medal round spot on the line, Albers came through with another five inning shutout performance to earn the win. At the Pan Am Games Albers continued to dazzle in relief as he threw three solid innings as Canada opened the tournament with a win against Puerto Rico. After a loss to Cuba, Canada defeated Venezuela and host Mexico in the semi-finals which booked a date with the United States in the Gold Medal game. Manager Ernie Whitt handed Albers the ball and after surrendering a run in the bottom of the first he shutdown the US and struck out eight batters en route to earning the win in the gold medal game.
4) Ray Carter-Longest tenured President in Baseball Canada history
Baseball Canada has had ten presidents in its 50-year history, but none have served longer than current Baseball Canada President, Ray Carter who’s been at the helm of the federation for the past 14 years. With nearly 40 years experience ranging from the local to international levels, Carter began volunteering as a coach and groundskeeper with the Tsawwassen Amateur Baseball Association after settling in Delta in 1975, and eventually became President of the organization. He went on to hold positions as President of BC Minor Baseball, President of Baseball BC, Vice-President of Baseball Canada and, in 2000, he was elected President of Baseball Canada, a position he still holds today. As a long-time sport volunteer, Carter was honoured with the Governor General’s medal for volunteerism in 1993, and, in 2006, was inducted into the Delta Sports Hall of Fame. His name also holds a permanent place at a Midget baseball diamond in Tsawwassen, christened “Ray Carter Field” in 2009. In 2011, he received the Daryl Thompson Award from Sport BC for his contribution to sport in an extraordinary way over an extended period of time.
5) Canada wins bronze at 2009 IBAF World Cup
The 2009 edition of the Senior National Team was a prototypical Canadian team featuring veterans like Adam Stern, Chris Robinson and Chris Begg, while young up and comers Bret Lawrie and Nick Bucci brought their talents to the squad. Up until 2009, Canada had never medalled in the 37-year history of the IBAF World Cup, something that this team wanted to change. The tournament format was a grind with the first round talking place in Sweden, while other rounds took place in Germany and Italy. After cruising through South Korea, Netherlands Antilles and Sweden, Canada hit a roadblock dropping a pair of games to the United States and Australia to open round two. This stingy Canadian group didn’t let the losses affect them and fought back with wins over Mexico, Japan, Netherlands Antilles, Italy and Chinese Taipei which allowed them to advance to round three. After wins over Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the Netherlands, Canada positioned themselves at a shot at the gold medal, but a loss for Cuba left them playing for bronze. It the end it wasn’t close as Canada defeated Puerto Rico 6-2 wrapping up a tournament that saw them win 12 games and lose only three in a 17 day period, and come home with a bronze medal wrapped around their necks.
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