September 19, 2023

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Question: When St. Louis visited Cincinnati recently, Cardinals 1B coach Stubby Clapp (Windsor, Ont.) asked Reds 1B Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) “are you chasing Larry Walker for homers?”

Answer: Votto replied: “No, I just want to play ball. No chasing.”

(Hall of Famer Walker has 383 homers, while Votto has 356. The Reds have a $20 million option (or a $7 million buyout) on Votto for 2024.)

Name: Abraham Contreras-Estevez

Team Black

Hometown: Blainville, Que.

Current team: Academie Baseball Canada

Previous team: Danillo Sports Academy, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Uncommitted

Greatest day on the ball field? “I was born in Montreal but from 13-16 I went back to Santo Domingo in the Dominican. In a 16U game for coach Danny Santana (Danillo Sports Academy), I had a game-winning double, a double and a single.”

Favourite player and why? “Fernando Tatis. I love his style and his energy ... and he’s from the Dominican. When I was younger my answer would have been Jose Bautista. In 2014, we came here from Montreal to see a game. Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Reyes were on the team too, but Bautista hit a homer (one of 35 he hit that season), so he was my favourite.”

If not a pro player, what’s the next best job you’d want to have when you grow up? “I’d either be selling real estate or work construction like my father Bernabie Contreras.”

What’s the most important life lesson you’ve learned playing ball? “Not every game is going to be great and how you treat baseball is how you will be treated in life. If you want to be a good ball player, you get your sleep, you don’t east fast food. You need discipline in baseball and you need discipline to get your rest.”

***

Q: Which scout sported the largest post-season ring on Tuesday?

A: Well, seated down the third base line were veteran scouts Raimondo Callari (Montreal, Que.) of the San Francisco Giants and Alex Agostino (St-Bruno, Que.) of the Philadelphia Phillies. Both cross checkers were wearing large rings with huge diamonds. Callari was only wearing ONLY one of his three World Series rings ... the other two he said were with daughter Olivia, 22, and son Matteo, 19. A joker walked by shook Callari’s hand, then knelt and kissed his ring. Agostino laughed and then showed his National League champs ring from 2022. Said Callari: “Ahhh ... second place to Houston, but theirs is bigger.” Replied Agostino “When the time comes and we win, we’ll get a bigger one.”

Name: C Joe Godfrey

Hometown: Bowmanville, Ont.

Team Red

Summer team: Ontario Astros.

Previous team: Clarington Orioles.

Uncommitted.

The most influential person in your baseball life and why? “Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen. He came from next to nothing (16th round draft choice in 2013, breaking into the majors five years later.)

Greatest day on the ball field? “The day I made my double-A team in Clarington. Coach Peter Hazelton took a chance on me and my career took off. I was a house leaguer before that. I went to the local tryouts and I made the team.”

Favourite player and why? “Jansen of course. I’ll never forget they were scoreless against the New York Yankees in the bottom of the 10th and he hit a walk off homer (a first-pitch bomb to deep left off Wandy Peralta to score Cavan Biggio and Whit Merrifield on May 17 before 27,431 at the Rogers Centre).

If not a pro player, what’s the next best job you’d want to have when you grow up? “I’d learn a trade ... like working on power lines. It’s what my uncle works for Alectra Utilities and I work there part time. They’re out of Lindsay, but they go and help when storms hit Florida or Indiana. What’s the first thing you do when you come across a downed power line? You check to see if it is live by checking the switch or check the voltage meter.”

What’s the most important life lesson you’ve learned playing ball? “How to deal with the struggles of the games. To not get too high, not get too low and keep pushing ahead.”

***

Q: What ever happened to Angus Mugford, vice president of the Blue Jays vaunted High Performance program and Clive Brewer, assistant director? Both were hired to great fanfare: Mugford, a sports psychologist from IMG Academy in December of 2015 and Brewer in February of 2016 from UK Strength & Conditioning Association.

A: Mugford lasted until May 2022 and now serves as a vice president with the New Jersey Devils, while Brewer departed after the 2019 season. Since then, he worked 11 months for the Columbus Crew SC and is now a freelancer with the International Soccer Science and Performance Federation Faculty.

Great Lake Canadians’ OF Jackson Long (Guelph, Ont.)

Name: OF Jackson Long

Team Red

Hometown, Guelph, Ont.

Current team: Great Lake Canadians.

Previous teams: FieldHouse Pirates, Guelph Royals.

Uncommitted.

The most influential person in your baseball life and why? “My dad (Andrew Long). He was a hockey player and played junior for the Guelph Storm (winners of 1997-98 OHL title losing the Memorial Cup in overtime to Portland ... the Storm was part of the Class of 2006 at the Guelph Sports Hall of Fame). My dad was drafted (fifth round, Florida Panthers) but wanted me to play baseball. It was safer.” (Andrew Long played six seasons in the minors with the Miami Matadors, New Haven Beast, Port Huron Border Cats, Louisville Panthers, Hamilton Bulldogs, Tallahassee Tiger Sharks, Florida Everblades, Columbus Cottonmouths, Kalamazoo Wings and Missouri River Otters).

The most influential person in your baseball life besides your father and why? “Andrew Karkoulas, who runs the PPA (Peak Performance Athletics) Hithouse in Guelph. He helped me develop my swing and made me better off the field. Off the field? To treat people with respect.”

Greatest day on the ball field? “The Canadian Premier League all-star game (when he won MVP honors at beautiful Royal Field) with a triple, a single (and also a diving catch in the field.).

Favourite player and why? “Bo Jackson. Especially when I was younger. Because of Bo Jackson, Auburn is my dream school. It’s where (Hall of Famer) Frank Thomas and (former Jays MVP) Josh Donaldson went to school. Quarterback Cam Newton too (Editor’s Note: And Minnesota Twins star Edouard Julien (Quebec, Que.)).

If not a pro player, what’s the next best job you’d want to have when you grow up? “Probably real estate. Is there a lot of money in it? Yes. I’d follow in my dad’s footsteps. He runs AJDL Investments now.”

What’s the most important life lesson you’ve learned playing ball? “That hard work beats talent. There is always someone better somewhere, but you can always work harder.”

***

Q: Who should be next on the Blue Jays Level of Excellence?

A: Well, plenty of names have been mentioned, including Lloyd Moseby, listed on most of the top 10 leaderboards when it comes to offensive statistics, Pat Hentgen, a Cy Young award winner and Tom Henke, who helped get the Blue Jays over the hump arriving one humid night in Baltimore and leading after the 1992 World Series parade. We’d like to add another name -- broadcaster Jerry Howarth, who called more games than Tom Cheek.

RHP-INF Josiah Romeo

Team New Blue

Hometown, Caledon, Ont.

Current team: Mississauga Tigers.

Previous teams: FieldHouse Pirates, Guelph Royals.

Uncommitted.

The most influential people in your baseball life and why? “(Older Tigers teammates) Taeg Gollert (Toronto, Ont.) and Lachlan Maude (Etobicoke, Ont.). Taeg is at Missouri State and two years older. Anytime I went into The Den to hit, he’d take me and showed me ways to improve my game. And last season I saw a lot of improvement. Lachlan taught me how to be a leader and battle though adversity. Our coaches (Sean Travers and Greg Byron) expected things from him. They never had to tell him anything twice. Lachlan is going to a JUCO in New Mexico.”

Greatest day on the ball field? “I have two ... We were in a tournament in Oklahoma. It was the last inning. We had a one-run lead. They had runners at second and third. I made a diving stop at short and stepped on the bag for the double play. Game over.

“The other one we were playing East York in the quarter finals at Flower City (in Brampton) and they had a pretty arm going for them. We were down by two. I made a backhanded play to end one inning. In the sixth, I hit a homer to left centre. And in the seventh I had a double off the fence and that kind of opened the doors.”

Favourite player and why? “Shohei Ohtani or Ronald Acuna. Ohtani obviously because he is a two-way guy. He pitches and locates his fastball. And he can hit the ball 114 MPH off the bat. Acuna is probably the best lead-off player in the game ... all those stolen bases, all those home runs.”

If not a pro player, what’s the next best job you’d want to have when you grow up? “Maybe a coach. Or a basketball player. I used to play elite (hoops).”

What’s the most important life lesson you’ve learned playing ball? “The struggles and how to deal with them. To make your weakness your strength.”

***

Numbers

3 Blue Jays big-league alumni on hand in 2023 _ Denis Boucher (Lachine, Que.), Jeff Francis (North Delta, BC) and Scott Richmond (North Vancouver, BC).

7 Blue Jays Alumni on hand in 2019 (last time the event was held at Rogers Centre) _ Jesse Barfield, Boucher, Rob Butler (East York, Ont.), Francis, Lloyd Moseby, Paul Spoljaric (Lisle, Ont.) and Duane Ward.

8 College recruiters and coaches on hand _ University of British Columbia (two), Georgetown, Niagara, Pepperdine, Sacramento State, North Kentucky, Western Kentucky and Mary.

24 _ Pro scouts representing 13 teams on hand: Toronto Blue Jays (seven, including scouting director Shane Farrell, plus regional scouts Jamie Lehman (Brampton, Ont.), Adam Arnold (St. Thomas, Ont.), head Canadian scout Patrick Griffin (Oakville, Ont.) and Jasmine Roy (Montreal, Que.), Cincinnati Reds (three), Arizona Diamondbacks (two), Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals (two), Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays.

24 Coaches on the Futures teams_ Andrew Albers (North Battleford, Sask.), Cole Armstrong (Surrey, BC), Chris Begg (Uxbridge, Ont.), Marc-Antonie Berube (Trios Pistoles, Que.), Jamie Bodaly (Langley, BC), Denis Boucher (Lachine, Que.), Sebastien Boucher (Gatineau, Que.), Lee Delfino (Burlington, Ont.), Corey Eckstein (Ancaster, Ont.), Jeff Francis (London, Ont.), Glen Hunter (Winnipeg, Man.), Jean-Gilles Larocque (Azilda, Ont.), Rich Leitch (Whitby, Ont.), Les McTavish (Settler, Alta.), Dustin Molleken (Regina, Sask.), Peter Orr (Newmarket, Ont.), Lou Pote (Okotoks, Alta.), Jimmy Richardson (Mississauga, Ont.), Scott Richmond (North Vancouver, BC), Chris Reitsma (Calgary, Alta.), Chris Robinson (Dorchester, Ont.), Jamie Romak (London, Ont.), Adam Stern (London, Ont.) and Nigel Wilson (Ajax, Ont.).