By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

As bad as 2021 was for going to ball games whether at the sandlots, or Rogers Centre or Vancouver fans having to travel all the way to Hillsboro, OR … as bad as it was for wave after wave of the COVID-19 virus …. as bad as it was being unable to travel to see your loved ones or grandchildren …. it was bad.

Yet for Canadians in baseball … we basically could have had a three-way tie of the best Canucks when it came to our 15th annual exercise of naming the top 100 Most Influential Canadians in baseball for the year 2021.

We didn’t have a tie — but what we do have is Edward Rogers of Rogers Communications, checking in at No. 3.

3. Edward Rogers, Rogers Communications (3).

First things first: Edward Rogers and I have never been pals. Never. But during the recent family feud over who would control the Rogers empire, it was obvious very early who the average Blue Jay fan should have been rooting for? The choice was between Edward OR Loretta Rogers, Edward’s mother and widow of company founder Ted Rogers, who was backed by Edward’s sisters Melinda Rogers-Hixon and Martha Rogers.

Since Ted Rogers died in 2008, one and all have told us that the person at the Rogers’ 333 Bloor St. East campus who cared most about the ball team was Edward.

Jays fans have known all along what they were getting in Edward. He wasn’t the Labatt Brewing Company (owners from 1976–1995) nor Interbrew (1995-2000). Could anyone see Interbrew giving George Springer a six-year, $150 million US deal last January? With zero net revenue from ticket sales expected? No. Labatt would rate as A+, Interbrew as D- and Rogers is currently a C+.

Would the Loretta Rogers faction of the Rogers family have given RHP Jose Berrios a seven-year, $131-million extension? Or give a five-year, $110 million contract to RHP Kevin Gausman? Or commit to spending $200-to-$250 million on fixing up the dome?

People complain about a lack of grass, but do fans in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles say “Hey what about it ... Saturday ... wanna go watch the grass grow?”

Without Edward, we are not convinced that those contracts would have happened at a time when Rogers is focused on acquiring Shaw Cable or investing $3.3 billion in 3500 MHz band. If the Jays advertise a 7:07 start on a Tuesday night, the latest first pitch is going to be 7:08. That’s a big deal for someone who grew up in Kingston and three straight trips to Jarry Park saw three straight rain outs. So the trip consisted of stopping for a sandwich and then heading home.

In 2021, the Jays drew 805,901 fans -- 27th in the majors, better than only Baltimore, Tampa Bay and Oakland (an average of 10,074). As a point of comparison, triple-A Las Vegas Aviators averaged 9,299 in 2019. The Jays were at home on the road much of the season, playing 21 games at TD Ballpark in Dunedin and 23 at Buffalo’s Sahlen Field before playing 37 at Rogers Centre. The Jays sat eighth in attendance, drawing 1,750,144 (an average of 21,607 per game) in 2019, when they last played a full home schedule.

Edward Rogers in front of communications pioneer, his father, Ted Rogers. Photo: Peter J. Thompson/National Post

“Edward grew up as ‘Ted’s son,’ I’m sure it wasn’t easy,” said one owner. “I have the highest level of respect for him as a baseball executive and owner.”

Cash flow is considered steady when it comes to the Rogers’ wireless and communications empire. That is good news for shareholders, but revenue from the ball team? Now, it can go up and down through bumpy times.

Most everything we read or heard leading up to the November court case in BC in the battle for control of Rogers, said Edward would lose ... or lose on appeal. But the court sided with Edward and he was confirmed as chair of Rogers Communications. No appeal. Ring the bell. This one is over.

During the family feud, we also heard fans compare Edward to former Leafs owner Harold Ballard. But other then the two men gaining control of a major Toronto sports franchise, Edward is nothing like the late Leafs owner.

Ballard, we’re told by sharp hockey minds like the knowledgeable Jim O’Leary -- who was there as a legendary hockey reporter and columnist with the Toronto Sun -- was a cheapskate. He expected his GMs to operate on the cheap. When the WHA came along in 1972, Ballard watched the likes of Bernie Parent, Rick Ley, Jim Dorey (Kingston, Ont.), Jim Harrison, Paul Henderson and Brad Selwood leave rather than pay the new market value.

Money issues ultimately led to the departures of Dave Keon, Darryl Sittler, Steve Thomas, Gary Nylund and others. When Gerry McNamara was GM under Ballard, he always felt pressure to spend carefully. Those around the Maple Leafs in those days said the quickest way to Ballard’s heart was to show him that you’d saved him money.

By contrast, the Jays sat 15th in 2021 with a current value of $1.675 billion, with $116 million in revenue and an operating loss of $56 million. Yet that didn’t stop Edward from opening the vault this fall for Berrios and Gausman.

Ballard was a bully, braggart, misogynist and convicted criminal (fraud and theft). I don’t recall anyone calling Edward any of those things.

Ballard was always around the team and interfering constantly. He traveled with the team and even watched most practices. He used the media to belittle players and management and enjoyed the chaos he often created. There was the Roger Neilson firing, rehiring and attempt to have Neilson wear a bag over his head to make a dramatic entrance on a Saturday night Hockey Night in Canada game. He took shots at Laurie Boschman, Sittler, Vaive and Clarke.

How many times have you heard Edward publicly rip an underperforming slugger? Never.

Ballard was not a fan of looking people in the eye. Punch Imlach learned he was fired when he arrived at the Gardens to find his reserved parking spot was gone. He was returning to work after recuperating from a heart attack. McNamara learned he was gone when he was handed a payphone in Hartford.

Knock Edward all you want for posing for pictures with Donald Trump, but the days of knocking him for not spending on his ball team are over. Who knew a year ago Edward Rogers, the richest owner in baseball according to Forbes with a current net worth of around $11.5 billion,

Who know Edward Rogers would have more on the ball than Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers?