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 5 (June 2nd 12pm ET-June 6th 10am ET)
Out of the following five choices, which one do you feel should move on to the semi-final round?
1) National Team Qualifies for 2008 Olympics
Canada headed into the Final Olympic Qualifier in March 2008 with one goal in mind- do whatever it takes to earn a spot in the Beijing Games. A veteran team coached by Terry Puhl and featuring the likes of Adam Stern, Stubby Clapp and Jimmy Van Ostrand travelled to Australia for a quick training camp before opening the event in Taiwan with wins over Mexico and South Africa before suffering a loss to Australia that set the stage for a must-win game against host Chinese Taipei. In a game that ranks up there with the greatest in National Team history, Canada came out on top of a 6-5 ten inning decision in a contest that featured the benches clearing at one point in front of a sold-out house of 30, 000 Taipei fans. The win gave the team a boost as they proceeded to beat Spain, South Korea and Germany to win the qualifier and earn a spot in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games.
2) Scott Thorman drafted in 1st round of 2000 MLB Draft
In 1999 the Junior National Team program (18U) underwent a facelift adding multiple events/training camps throughout the year to give players maximum exposure to US College programs and MLB scouts, while also providing an opportunity to further develop players. Although Chris Reitsma, a member of the 1995 Junior National Team, went in the 1st round (34th overall) of the 1996 MLB Draft, Scott Thorman became the first member of the new era of the Junior National Team to be taken in the 1st round of the MLB Draft when the Atlanta Braves took him 30th overall in the year 2000. Thorman went on to play parts of two seasons with the Braves and represented Canada at the 2006 World Baseball Classic and the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Since Thorman, six players (Adam Loewen, Jeff Francis, Phillippe Aumont, Brett Lawrie, James Paxton, Kellin Deglan) that have played with the Junior National Team program have gone on to be drafted in the annual MLB Draft’s 1st round.
3) Chatham, NB wins 1995 Sr. National on home soil
The Chatham Ironmen hosted the 1995 Baseball Canada Senior National Championship and they gave their fans and community something to remember forever as they captured the gold medal defeating the Quebec Elites 7-6 in the championship contest at Ironmen Field. Pitcher Chris Burns had a day for the ages pitching in two games including the gold medal contest on the final day of the tournament and won both of them with the first, an 18-5 win over Ontario in the semi-finals. Four Ironmen (1B Kurt Allen, SS Mike Dunnett, 3B David Godfrey and P Chris Burns) were named tournament all stars, while Dunnett was named best defensive player of the tournament. Coach Greg Morris, who was inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 1996, was the manager of the squad. The community in Chatham/Miramichi rallied around not only their team, but also the entire event as crowds of upwards and over 3,000 regularly attended tournament games.
4) Baseball Canada named 2011 COPABE (Confederacy Pan American Baseball) Federation of the Year
The 2011 season was special for Baseball Canada as the Senior Men’s team won bronze at the IBAF Baseball World Cup in Panama and later earned a stunning upset over the United Sates to claim the gold medal at the Pan Am Games in Mexico last October. Also making some noise in 2011 was the Junior National Team who won the silver medal at the COPABE 18U World Qualifier in Colombia. These accomplishments did not go unnoticed as in September 2012, it was announced that Baseball Canada had been recognized as COPABE Federation of the Year. The gold medal at the Pan Am Games was the best result that the Senior National Team has had in a major international baseball competition and best result since the Junior National Team won gold at the 1991 World Junior Championships.
5) Walker, Whitt, Soulliere inducted into CBHOF (2009)
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inducts a new HOF class each June in St. Marys, Ontario and the 2009 class held special meaning for Baseball Canada as current National Team Manager Ernie Whitt, Senior National Team First Base Coach Larry Walker and long-time Baseball Canada Business Manager Bernie Soulliere were all inducted together. In addition to their ties to Baseball Canada and their tremendous contributions to our National Teams program, these individuals were inducted for their impact on Canadian baseball including the many teams, players and individuals that they have been involved with through the years.
