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Hammonds Plains Mosquito’s rub shoulders with Blue Jays

OTTAWA-With the closest Major League Baseball Stadium to Hammonds Plains, NS over 1,000 kilometres away in Boston, it is not often that folks from the town near Halifax get to see big-league players in person.

Well that all changed on January 12th when Toronto Blue Jays players Eric Thames, Brett Cecil and JP Arencibia travelled to Halifax as part of the club’s annual Winter Tour. The Hammonds Plains Mosquito A’s, Baseball Nova Scotia Provincial Champions in 2011, were lucky enough to meet members of the team prior to a Halifax Mooseheads hockey game.

“To experience meeting actual players from the Jays with one of my sons was very special and will be a great memory,” said coach Blain Sullivan.

Mr. Sullivan’s eleven year-old son, Cameron, plays second base and outfield for Hammonds Plains and says that his son enjoyed meeting Blue Jays catcher JP Arencibia who was really talkative and funny with the young, awe-struck ball players.

Brad Brophy, another coach on the staff whose son Josh plays on the team echoed Mr. Sullivan by saying that the favourite Blue Jay of many players was the personable Arencibia.

“JP was very comfortable talking to the kids,” said Mr. Brophy. “He said there was nothing wrong with playing video games in moderation as long as you also get plenty of exercise outdoors. In fact, JP said he plays video games himself.”

The chance to meet the Blue Jays was a fantastic reward for a team that achieved great success on the diamond in 2011. It also gave the young players a chance to hear the professional players stories on their path to the big leagues along with the sacrifice and hard work required to make it to that level. According to Mr. Brophy this experience will be something that his players will cherish for a long time.

“I know that an experience like meeting the Jays has a great positive effect on the young players,” he said. “These kids were in awe and really enjoyed meeting and being able to talk to professional ball players.”

For Mr. Sullivan, seeing his son meet and interact with the Jays players was a personal highlight as a parent that he will always remember.

“I've been a huge ball fan all my life, and I've coached my three sons for over 12 years,” he said. “To experience meeting actual players from the Jays with one of my sons was very special and will be a great memory. It was definitely one of my coolest moments as a parent and coach.”

The Blue Jays resurrected their Winter Tour last year after a lengthy hiatus. With stops in Western Canada in 2011, the Jays focussed on Eastern Canada in 2012 with stops in Ottawa, Montréal, Halifax and St. John’s.

In Halifax, the Jays players were well received as they met fans at an autograph session, toured HMCS Halifax and attended the Mooseheads game.

“Large, appreciative crowds at all their stops in Halifax shows the support the Jays have here in Nova Scotia,” explained Mr. Brophy. “The players were terrific ambassadors for the Blue Jays and definitely enhanced the team’s image in Nova Scotia.”

“What the Winter Tour is doing is allowing the players to make that personal connection with thousands of fans,” added Mr. Sullivan. “The Jays were already popular in Nova Scotia especially in the 90's- this tour will have a direct impact on helping improve the connection with the young kids and develop another generation of big Blue Jay followers.”


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