Larry Walker (Maple Ridge, BC) places his Hall of Fame cap on his head wearing his Hall of Fame jersey, the day after he was elected in January 2020.

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Larry Walker had 16 triples in his 17-year career.

Now the former Gold Glove outfielder with the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals has added a third.

Walker, along with New York Yankees SS Derek Jeter, were elected to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on Jan. 21, 2020. That honor makes the Walker the winner of the 14th annual Canadian Baseball Network most influential Canadian honour.

And this is the third time he’s won.

We named Walker (Maple Ridge, BC) our 2020 winner on Jan. 11 ...

When it comes to triples Walker is tied for 489th lifetime along with Hall of Famers Bill Mazeroski (Pirates) and Phil Rizzuto (Yankees). The others tied at 62 are Don Blasingame (Cards, Washington Senators, Reds, Giants, Kansas City A’s), Harlond Clift (St. Louis Browns, Senators), Birdie Cree (Yankees), Shawon Dunston (Cubs, Giants, Cards, Mets, Indians, Pirates), Granny Hamner (Phillies, Indians, A’s), Frank Isbell (White Sox, Cubs), Garry Maddox (Phillies, Giants), Andy Pafko (Cubs, Milwaukee Braves, Brooklyn Dodgers), Elmer Smith (Indians, Senators, Yankees, Reds, Red Sox) and Whitey Witt (Philadelphia A’s, Yankees, Brooklyn Dodgers).

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Previous most Influential Canadians in baseball:

2020 Larry Walker

2019 Larry Walker

2018 Larry Walker

2017: Joey Votto

2016: Joey Votto

2015: Alex Anthopoulos.

2014: Edward Rogers

2013: Blue Jays fans

2012: Paul Beeston

2011: Greg Hamilton

2010: Joey Votto

2009: Paul Beeston

2008: Paul Beeston

2007: Paul Godfrey, Greg Hamilton

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This was an unusual year to make a list like this: the major league season was shorter than usual ... minor league seasons were cancelled ... international competition was cancelled ... independent league play was banged ... summer college teams didn’t play ... the draft was cut from 40 rounds to five ... minor league managers and coaches didn’t manage or coach ... some of the special players were invited to satellite camps, although few people ever went there ... roughly 35 scribes covered the World Series ... elite teams didn’t venture south in either July or October, so there was little chance for players to impress scouts for June of 2021 and recruiters ... poor Douglas College only played two games ... yet high schoolers still gained scholarships.

So farewell 2020 ... and away we go ...

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Larry Walker — Canada’s best position player.

1. Larry Walker, Hall of Famer.

In December 2020, the tweeting machine was at it again with perfect Canadian grace:

“HOF ballots are out. And I’m NOT sitting on the edge of my seat this year!! I know some are in disbelief that I made it. I don’t consider myself a HOF’er at anything so believe me, I’m still in disbelief!! But it happened! And to this minute I’m still thrilled and honored for it!”

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Larry Walker Canadian Baseball Network’s most influential in baseball in the 2020 calendar year

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Alex Anthopoulos (Montreal, Que.) received a new contract deal from the Atlanta Braves last February.

2. Alex Anthopoulos, Braves GM (2).

Anthopoulos is leading a revival of sorts in the Braves organization, a steady climb to what the team and its supporters hope will be a long-term position atop the NL East, a place they ruled for more than a decade. They’re aiming for more than division flags and NL pennants to hang at the team’s four-year-old park; Anthopoulos (Montreal, Que.) and the Braves talk frequently about their goal of winning the World Series.

The 43-year-old former Jays general manager hit the ground running and enjoyed success sooner than most expected after he took over as Braves GM in 2017, following the forced resignation of John Coppolella, later banned for life for malfeasance with international free agency. The Braves were stripped of 13 prospects and slapped with severe restrictions in signing international free agents following an investigation into the front-office regime of John Hart and Coppolella. Anthopoulos hired assistants and scouting chiefs he’d worked with before, greatly increased the Braves’ analytics department and use of advanced metrics on the field and in player acquisitions, and developed strong working relationships with employees at all levels in the front office and with holdover manager Brian Snitker and his coaches.

Stressing clubhouse chemistry along with talent in every personnel move, Anthopoulos built a team with a terrific vibe, a mix of youth and veteran leadership. The Braves clearly enjoy being around each other, and are not just permitted but encouraged to express themselves on the field. Players, coaches and Snitker routinely make unsolicited comments, praising the work that Anthopoulos does to build and maintain a team with pieces that fit, and with players who care about winning and about each other. The Braves have won three consecutive division titles since he took over, after losing 90 or more games in each of the three seasons before he arrived. In 2020, the Braves advanced to the NL Championship Series and had 2-0 and 3-1 series leads against the Dodgers before losing in seven games to the eventual World Series champions. Under the no-such-thing as a bad one-year deal, the Braves filled holes early by signing RHP

Charlie Morton ($15 million) and LHP Drew Smyly ($11 million).

Edward Rogers (Toronto, Ont.) the Rogers Communications boss has had a good off season by (George) Springer (-ing) into the season.

3. Edward Rogers, Chairman Rogers Communications, (3).

The head man on the campus allowed president Mark Shapiro the green light to run a players tab of $121.761 million US in 2019 according to Spotrac.com, led by Justin Smoak’s $8 million. Last year they committed to $135.437 million, with LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu making $20 million in the first of his four years. With the season shortened players received prorated amount (37.03%) of their contract, so Ryu was paid $7.406 million.

A total of $69.3 million are on the books for 2021 covering 10 players. The rest of the roster, barring free agent signs, is arbitration or pre-arbitration eligible. So, there is room at the cash box. Edward has given Shapiro and Ross Atkins the green light to hunt free agents. As in any free agent discussions in any year there are dozens of questions from both sides. But does a player want to sign to play a season (or half a season?) in Dunedin or Buffalo compared to New York’s Citi Field or Angel Stadium in Anaheim. The Jays can’t answer as to when Rogers Centre will be open, because Ottawa and Queen’s Park can’t give an answer.

The Jays used to complain in losing seasons how most of their expenses were in US currency, while the majority of their revenue was in Canadian funds and how they had to compete with New York and Boston. Except for when they had 11 straight winning seasons and World Series victories in 1992-93 and back-to-back post-season appearances in 2015-16. Problem for Rogers is that there was zero revenue from tickets in 2020. We keep hearing that some teams are against starting a season if there is not ticket revenue.

The Jays were ranked 15th in team valuations with a value of $1.625 billion -- under the average team valuation of $1.85 billion, according to Forbes. The Jays have a revenue of $265 million, with an operating income of $16 million, third lowest in the majors. Edward gave Shapiro a five-year extension after compiling a 337-371 record. Kudos to Edward for sticking with Vancouver as a full-season class-A club for 2021 and not going the geographical route by taking class-A Lansing.

It’s early, but the Jays attempted to deal for SS Francisco Lindor offering Cleveland higher-ceiling prospects (who went to the Mets) and free agent INF DJ LeMahieu (Yankees), finishing runner-up in both cases, according to reports. The Jays were also linked to RP Liam Hendriks (White Sox), INF Ha-seong Kim (Padres) and made an offer to Tomoyuki Sugano before he decided to stay in Japan. We don’t think they give silver medals in free agent pursuits? The Jays did add reliever Kirby Yates (), who worked 4 1/3 innings with the Padres due to elbow surgery and RHP Jason Chatwood ($3 million), who pitched 18 2/3 innings for the Cubs in 2020.

When Jack Morris, Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor, Dave Stewart and Joe Carter (re-signed as a free agent) signed with the Jays they came to win. The Jays are not at that stage. An example of what the Jays are fighting: the Yankees signed LeMahieu for a lower annual average salary lower than what Michael Young signed for the Texas Rangers 12 years ago and the Red Sox gave Pablo Sandoval six years ago.

Freddie Freeman, whose parents were born in Canada, was voted the National League MVP in 2020.

4. Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves.

Freeman won the NL MVP award and he could have won the Comeback Player of the Year too. On July 2, he tested positive for COVID-19. His fever rose to 104.5 degrees and he prayed: “Please don’t take me.” Freeman was born in Fountain Valley, Calif., but both parents’ roots go back to Toronto, Peterborough and Windsor -- all of which made him eligible for the World Baseball Classic. Our influential list operates under WBC rules.

He lost eight pounds and joined the Braves six days before the season began. In his first 15 games, he hit .200 with two homers. He then hit .384 with 11 homers and a 1.220 OPS from Aug. 9 through the end of the season. Freeman led the majors in runs scored (51) and was second in NL batting average (.341), on-base (.462), slugging (.640) and OPS (1.102). He had 28 first-place MVP votes. From life-threatening illness to MVP.

Brookfield’s Bruce Flatt (Winnipeg, Man.)

5. Bruce Flatt, Brookfield Asset Management.

Brookfield? The average fan who knows left field and right field ... but Brookfield, who are these guys? A Globe and Mail story indicated that Rogers and Brookfield are exploring A) rebuilding Rogers Centre, or B) a new facility on the lakefront. Flatt, known as “Canada’s Warren Buffett” is brilliant and controls far more wealth than Edward Rogers. Ward 10 councillor Joe Cressy said he had discussions “about the future of the Rogers Centre in broad terms in 2019.”

Many doubt the rationale of tearing down the dome and playing elsewhere for five years (Montreal? Greg Cranker Field in Mississauga?) New stadiums usually have zero return on investments. Could Rogers Communications, a public company justify that? Would the family privately fund this? Spend $400 million from the family, renovate the existing structure with a revenue share deal on an integrated real estate development in and around the property, now that could have a return.

Flatt (Winnipeg, Man.), a University of Manitoba grad, joined Brookfield in 1990 and became CEO in 2002. In 2019, he was ranked No. 1,717 on Forbes’ Billionaires list with a net worth of $1.3 billion. He began as a chartered accountant at Ernst & Young. Flatt, who owns 20% of Brookfield, led the company’s response to damage caused by the 9/11 attacks in Lower Manhattan. He was the Globe’s CEO of the Year in 2017.

Dan Shulman (Toronto, Ont.) won the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Jack Graney award.

6. Dan Shulman, broadcaster, Sportsnet (15)

We’ll never know how close Shulman was to pulling off a rare double. On Dec. 1, he won the Jack Graney award presented annually by the Canadian Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ont., to a member of the media who has “made significant contributions to baseball in Canada.” Nine days later, he watched broadcaster Al Michaels win the Ford C. Frick award. Shulman was one of seven others on the ballot: Buddy Blattner, Joe Buck, Dave Campbell, Dizzy Dean, Don Drysdale and Ernesto Jerez. As a point of reference ,it took Tom Cheek nine elections to win.

The 2019 Graney, which went to gifted writer Ken Fidlin, is still to be presented as the June ceremonies were cancelled. The 2020 season was far from routine for Shulman, who worked all 60 Jays games from the Sportsnet studios calling games off the monitors. He worked the playoffs for ESPN Radio from the first round through the World Series. Shulman’s call on the most exciting play of the post-season in Game 4 of the World Series was the best of any we heard:

With the Rays down 7-6, two out, runners on first and second, pinch hitter Brett Phillips took two strikes from Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen. Phillips singled to right scoring Kevin Kiermaier from second. Chris Taylor bobbled the ball, Randy Arozarena rolled home from first, but fell half-way past third and looked DOA. 1B Max Muncy made a weak throw home and Dodgers C Will Smith went for a sweep tag and didn’t hold onto the ball, allowing Arozarena to score.

Shulman (Toronto, Ont.) worked Jays games from 1995-2001 and 2016-present; as well as ESPN, 1995-2017, taking over Sunday Night Baseball in 2011.

Agent Joel Wolfe gained his Canadian passport in 2020.

7. Joel Wolfe, agent, Wasserman Group (7).

Usually the Wolfe year ender rundown starts and ends with a list of free-agent contracts complete with the signing bonuses drafted players received. This year? “My family and I have survived COVID and I got my Canadian passport. I’ll take that.” Wolfe’s parents were Montrealers and as a youngster he spent summers in the Eastern Townships.

Wolfe’s stable includes: Giancarlo Stanton (13 years, $325 million in 2014 with the Marlins, now with the Yankees), Yu Darvish (six years, $126 million in 2019 with the Cubs, now the Padres) and 3B Nolan Arenado (eight years, $260 million in 2019 with the Rockies). Clubs will be calling Wolfe as he represents free agent INF DJ LeMahieu. Forbes recently rated Wolfe as the No. 8 agent in sports as he signed contracts for $1 billion, earning $50.8 million in commissions.

Farhan Zaidi watches batting practice with San Fran Giants coaches.

8. Farhan Zaidi, Giants GM, (13).

San Francisco played at a .475 clip going 77-85 in 2019, Bruce Bochy’s final year. In 2020, the Giants were slightly better going 29-31 (.483) under Gabe Kapler. The best move for the Sudbury-born GM was bringing in Kevin Gausman, who was looking for a bounce-back year, got one and then received a qualifying offer, which he accepted. After going 3-9 with a 5.72 ERA in 17 starts (31 games) with the Reds and the Braves, he was 3-3 in 2020 owning a 3.62 ERA in 10 starts (12 games).

On the other hand, there was Billy Hamilton, the supposed solution in centre, was bought out of his contract, never played an inning for the Giants, then split 31 games between the Mets and the Cubs. Also Hunter Pence, making a return after a year in Texas, was miserable (he hit .096, .411 OPS), but he remained a fan fave, retiring in September. Another mistake was not having any reliable catchers after Buster Posey opted out due to COVID-19. Joey Bart is one of the top prospects but showed he wasn’t ready coming up late in the year. They didn’t bring in anyone to replace closer Will Smith, and that hurt.

Marnie Starkman (Mississauga, Ont.) made things happen in Buffalo, the Jays’ home for 2020.

9. Marnie Starkman, senior vice-president, Jays (46)

When the Blue Jays went to Montreal to play exhibition games at Olympic Stadium -- first ball inside the stadium in 10 years -- to make sure bullpens, turf, mound and press box were presentable, they dispatched their best: Howard Starkman.

When the Jays re-located to Buffalo’s Sahlen Field to play the first big-league game in Buffalo since Sept. 8, 1915 when the Buffalo Blues split a Federal League doubleheader against the Baltimore Terrapins they sent their best: Marnie Starkman, Howard’s daughter. Marnie had a tougher assignment than her father and a timetable of 19 days. The dominant stadium color when Marnie arrived was green. Like they used to say at Vero Beach “if it doesn’t move, paint it blue.” Blue Jays logos and padding seats were painted in Jays blue by the time the club arrived.

The service level, home to the visiting and home clubhouses as well as batting cages, was remade to resemble the Jays’ clubhouse in Toronto including the chairs which made the 98-mile trip to the socially distanced locker. The visitors used a tent in the right-field parking lot as a clubhouse, which included a workout, locker room and office facilities. Marnie also handled talks with city officials.

Jays had to foot the bill to make the improvements from field lighting to the infield (groundskeepers had been laid off since the triple-A season had been cancelled). Turf man Tom Farrell was imported from Toronto and few complained. Grass needed to be replaced, dugout extensions were added and the bottom 15 feet in centre field was painted black to darken the batter’s eye. Temporary lighting trucks were needed to reach broadcasting standards.

Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.) now has company in Cooperstown with Canuck Larry Walker.

10. Fergie Jenkins, Hall of Famer (11).

Jenkins took pen in hand in early June with a social media post in early June writing: “My family arrived in Canada by way of the Underground Railroad to escape abuse from slave owners in America. In Canada, I never really noticed racism. I am sure it was there (because it is everywhere) but I didn’t see it. Then, I made the minors and got to witness it first hand: not being able to get off the bus to get food, so white players brought us food, not being able to stay in the same hotel as the white players, being booed when you came out on the field, and being called the N word.

“Did it bother me? YES, but dad always said, ‘just worry about yourself,’” Jenkins wrote. “That was over 50 years ago! Have things changed? For some who fought and struggled to make a better life for themselves, yes. But even to this day, minorities are pulled over for no other reason than the color of their skin. When will it stop? It’s been going on for years. When do we think that Americans and people of the world will understand?

“I HOPE it is starting, that enough people have seen the outrageous and unjust treatment minorities still receive to this day. IT MUST stop ... but will it? I for one hope so – because the lives of these young black people matter! Please give them a chance to be better and the world will better from that. MAKE THE WORLD EQUAL FOR ONCE! Because it has never been equal for our minorities.”

11. Joey Votto, Reds (8).

As seasons go, it wasn’t a Votto-like year. His average (.226, career .304 average) and on-base mark (.354, after leading the NL seven times) were his lowest in 14 seasons. His OPS was his third lowest (.800 -- career .937 mark) year. NBA and NFL players speak out often. Not so much in baseball. On May 28, Amir Garrett an African American teammate of Votto’s, sent him a text about George Floyd, with a video of the police officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck.

Votto’s immediate reaction? He defended the policeman without opening the video. Then, the next day he opened the vid and wept sending a text to Garrett and apologized. On June 7, he wrote an op-ed piece in The Cincinnati Enquirer, entitled “My Awakening,” sharing his own ignorance on racism. “Only now am I just beginning to hear. I am awakening to their pain, and my ignorance. No longer will I be silent ... But I hear you now, and so that desire for normalcy is a privilege by which I can no longer abide. That privilege kept me from understanding the ‘why’ behind Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel during the anthem. That privilege allowed me to ignore my black teammates’ grievances about their experiences with law enforcement, being profiled, and discriminated against. Privilege has made me complicit in the death of George Floyd, as well as the many other injustices that blacks experience in the US.” Votto said “we have the same issues at home in Canada with our First Nations and the Black community.”

Said Garrett: “At first he didn’t hear me out, then he came back and said, ‘I’m sorry.’ The editorial meant a lot. You can see the kindness of someone’s heart.” Dr. Victoria Woeste, PhD replied on Twitter: “This was a searing confessional. It was courageous of him to write it, much less publish it. I hope this sets the tone for more white athletes to be true allies to their teammates and fans.” Votto, who is 92 hits away from 2,000, wore a Black Lives Matter t-shirt during batting practice.

Pat Gillick, Phillies’ senior advisor and former Blue Jays GM.

12. Pat Gillick, senior advisor, Phillies (10).

Gillick was busy evaluating collegians this spring. One player Gillick was in on was Arkansas shortstop Casey Martin, the club’s second pick who was given a $1.3 million signing bonus. He was also consulted on the hiring of new president Dave Dombrowski, who replaced Andy MacPhail, who Gillick’s search committee found to replace Ruben Amaro.

A minority owner of the club, the Phillies are owned by Tri-Play and Double Play as equal partners while Gillick and the estate of president David Montgomery own the remaining interests.

Greg Hamilton (Peterborough, Ont.) talks with first-rounder Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.).

13. Greg Hamilton, Baseball Canada (6).

The Canadian Junior National Team played six of eight scheduled games in St. Petersburg in March, before the trip was scrapped. The Juniors’ April trip to Florida, the summer trip to the Dominican Republic and the Pan American Championships/WBSC U18 World Cup qualifier were all cancelled. Senior play was placed on hold.

Although COVID cancelled trips of elite teams to the USA, Hamilton was able to scour the country looking for talent making summer trips to British Columbia, Alberta, parts of southern Ontario and Quebec to evaluate. It will be hurry up and go for the national teams in 2021 with: Olympic qualification, Olympics and U18 World Cup scheduled. Hamilton did get out in the fall to scout players making stops in Calgary, Okotoks, Vauxhall, Vancouver and Victoria.

He started the RBC Mentorship Program for the Junior National Team in 2020 with members of the program completing coursework that will assist them in their post playing days. Mentors included Justin Morneau (New Westminster, BC), Jason Dickson (Chatham, NB), Larry and Shawn Pearson (Guelph, Ont.) and Trent Kitsch (Kelowna, BC).

John Ircandia, managing director of the Okotoks Dawgs

14. John Ircandia, managing director, Okotoks Dawgs (12).

No baseball in Okokoks. No problem. Seaman Stadium added a hospitality area called Core 4 (+14) Corner. The name plays homage to the original Dawgs team. You might think Core 4 refers to Jim Henderson, who pitched in 155 games with the Brewers and the Mets, Emerson Frostad (10 years in the minors, including two seasons at triple-A Oklahoma City) and Vince Ircandia (Canadian Baseball Network second teamer in 2003, plus honorable mention in 2002 and 2004 at Niagara) and Matt Ircandia (Niagara). Yet there was not a set core 4 with the Dawgs the way the Yankees had a core 4.

Given different ages and development cycles of players, the Dawgs core changed from year to year. Hence the trailer (+14). Stadium capacity has been increased from 4,800 to 5,004. A new elevated viewing perch reminiscent of the Crawford Boxes sits above the left field fence. The Dawgs, Ircandia and the town spend $1.5 million on the new additions and a visitor’s clubhouse. While many teams and facilities had layoffs, the Dawgs kept everyone on staff.

The Dawgs academy grads headed to colleges -- or committed to schools -- with significant scholarships. With the depth of the Dawgs coaching staff and facilities, talent has been developed, heading to schools like Oregon State, Tennessee, Washington, Oregon, Washington State and Stetson. In 2020, the total scholarships awarded, if you are scoring along at home, came to $223,430 US. For 2021, the number jumps to $601,054 and for 2022-2024 the total scholarships awarded comes to $990,488 for a total of $1,814,972 committed scholarships. The four Okotoks angels -- photographer Angela Burger, trainer Savannah Blakley, coach Lou Pote and fireman Geoff Scott -- didn’t have to save any lives, the way they saved mine on Feb. 2, 2019.

15. Steven Bronfman and Mitch Garber, Montreal investors (23).

There are still a lot of moving pieces before a team returns to Montreal, either full-time or the plan which sees the Tampa Bay Rays split 81 home dates between St. Petersburg and Montreal: Bronfman told Le Journal de Montréal on Feb. 15 that his group was within “three or four months,” of becoming minority shareholders in the Tampa Bay Rays; Rays owner Stuart Sternberg said in December, he and the Rays had not been “just encouraged, but really beyond pleased on how things are progressing.”

Bronfman has been working to secure land to build a 32,000-seat stadium. A park wasn’t part of the initial proposal for a Peel Basin development, but developer Devimco says talks are ongoing to include a facility. With their lease to Tropicana Field running through 2027 and St. Pete’s officials not budging from that commitment, the Rays are currently looking to implement the split-season scenario come 2028.

The Players Association would have to green light the project. Will Brandon Lowe, Willy Adames and others will rent condos in both Montreal and Tampa? Bronfman (Montreal, Que.), of Claridge Inc. has investors Alain Bouchard, Couche-Tard founder; Eric Boyko, CEO of Stingray Digital Group Inc., Stephane Cretier, CEO of Garda World and Garber. Recently presented with the Order of Canada, Garber was chairman of Cirque du Soleil, saved Caesars Entertainment from bankruptcy and is a minority owner of Seattle NHL expansion team. Bronfman, Garber et al continue to elevate interest in Montreal. New president Dave Dombrowksi stepped away from Nashville and its expansion bid to join the Phillies. He said the Nashville group he was with has seen its pursuit hampered by COVID-19.

Ellen Veronica Harrigan (Agincourt, Ont.), former St. Catharines Blue Jays GM and current Los Angeles Dodgers’ senior director of administration.

16. Ellen Veronica Harrigan, Dodgers.

In 2002, we had a pre-game snack in the lunchroom at Dodger Stadium during the Blue Jays’ regular season inter-league visit. We met Harrigan in 1987 and we thought she might be the most intimidating person in the organization. But then we got to know how hard the woman worked, how when I’d go to class-A St. Catharines for a story, she’d phone back and say “bring your son and a pal, they can be ball boys.”

That day in 2002 walking through the press box, Hall of Famer Vin Scully came alongside and said, “I see you know our girl Ellen ... well I’m not sure what you are writing ... but we are sure glad to have her with the Dodgers.” I was so in awe about meeting Scully, methinks I forgot to write that 18 years ago. Harrigan is the only Canadian who will get a World Series ring next spring.

As senior director of administration, Harrigan (Agincourt, Ont.) didn’t allow COVID-19 or recovering from a second pulmonary embolism to keep her seeing the Dodgers win the Series in Game 6. Harrigan had made 11 previous trips to the postseason before winning in LA. This will be her third World Series ring. She received a pair for her work in the Blue Jays’ organization in 1992 and 1993.

Terry McKaig, UBC’s director of baseball

17. Terry McKaig, director of baseball, UBC (21).

McKaig spent summer after summer in the sun, playing for Canada in the 1995 Olympic qualifier, coaching the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in games and workouts and now running the program. He had been knocked down before. He has got up before. This time he has hit a line drive through the box.

Over the years we met dozens of scouts who spent their days in the sun and suffered from skin cancer. McKaig was 49 in September when he was diagnosed with cancer after a biopsy came back positive for a growth on his face. Some men I know have basically gone into a shell. Never mind that UBC will not play in the Cascade Conference this spring due to border closures, not McKaig, who is speaking on the subject.

He says player should wear “50+ spf sunscreen on all body parts exposed to the sun, reapply at a minimum every two hours, seek shade when you can and wear something on your head.” He chose to share his story and has a larger audience than UBC and ball players. He is aiming to get his message to city workers, policemen on the beat, farmers and little leaguers. The sun is the enemy -- when not protected.

18. Joe Natale, president and CEO, plus Tony Staffieri, CFO, Rogers Communications (14/26).

Natale is the dean of the Rogers campus. And the chancellor is Staffieri. Prior to joining Rogers, in 2017, Natale held the same position at TELUS Corporation. The University of Waterloo graduate is on the board of directors at the Hospital for Sick Children. He sits in the office of the late Ted Rogers.

Staffieri joined Rogers in 2012, implementing a new financial and cost productivity program delivering consistent efficiency improvements. He has also led various corporate finance initiatives, including acquisitions and the improvement of the company’s balance sheet structure with new and innovative financing arrangements. He began his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers and left in 1998 to join Celestica International, moving to Bell Canada in 2005. As Senior Vice President Finance, he continued to focus on the operational finance aspects of the company. Staffieri serves on the board for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, and Ryerson University. They approve the budget. They brought you free-agent Hyun Jin Ryu on a four-year $80 million contract a year ago. Mark Shapiro reports to Edward Rogers, Natale and Staffieri.

Dr. Heather Morrison (Charlottetown, PEI) chief public health officer in PEI, the only province to declare provincial champions in 2020.

19. The PEI four: Dennis King, Dr. Heather Morrison, Walter MacEwen, and Randy Byrne.

The first province to see live sandlot action was the only one to declare provincial champs. There was a lot of credit to go around: PEI premier Dennis King (Brookfield), a “former baseball guy,” and the Chief Public Health Office Dr. Morrison (Charlottetown) kept COVID-19 largely at bay on the Island so play could begin June 29. Baseball PEI’s president MacEwen (Stratford) was very helpful and innovative as the Board got together on implementation. Byrne (St. Peter’s Bay), Baseball PEI executive director, said the 11 minor associations were quick and adaptive to the challenges posed by quickly pivoting to online registration. For the most part the membership was positive, understanding and upbeat. Premier King was a smooth-fielding 1B for the Cardigan Clippers for one year and then for about three years with the Georgetown Eagles.

King, MacEwen and Byrne are all originally from Kings County, a baseball hotbed. MacEwen taught King at Montague Regional in the 1980s and all three played in the Kings County League. Dr. Morrison was PEI’s first female Rhodes Scholar and UPEI Female Athlete of the Year, in 1991.

The PEI Youth Selects Selects edged the Morell Chevies 6-5 at Memorial Park as the first pitch in Canada was thrown in earnest, while the Chevies bounced back with an 8-3 win in the nitecap to split the doubleheader. Provincial winners were: Capital District Islanders and Summerside Chevys Kirev at 18U; Capital District, Bedeque Blue Jackets and Charlottetown Royals at 15U; Eastern Express, Northside Cubs and Cornwall Cougars at 13U; Eastern and Cornwall at 13U.

Former London Badger Jamie Romak (London, Ont.) won the Tip O’Neill award.

20. Jamie Romak, SK Wyverns.

When Tip O’Neill played the first of his six seasons with the American Association’s St. Louis Browns in 1884, St. Louis was the far west. In the east were the New York Metropolitans and the Brooklyn Atlantics. In between were the Columbus Buckeyes, Louisville Eclipse, Cincinnati Red Stockings, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia A’s, Toledo Blue Stockings, Richmond Virginians, Pittsburgh Alleghenys, Indianapolis Hooisers and the Washington Nationals. We’re sure O’Neill did not envision baseball expanding to the coast and around the world.

Or that a Canadian -- playing in Korea -- would win the Tip O’Neill Award, created in 1983 and presented annually to “the Canadian born player judged to have excelled in individual achievement and team contribution adhering to baseball’s highest ideals.” Romak won playing for SK Wyverns. He knew what the award was all about. He knew what an honour it was. To hear him interviewed on TV and radio you could not be anything but happy for the London Badger grad, proud Canadian and former Team Canada player.

21. Jeff Mallett, part owner, Giants (18).

Mallett had a busy June. He was “sad and mad” at the impasse between ownership and the Players Association. The sides had been unable to negotiate a return to play from the hiatus due to the global pandemic. “The answer ... is my fan answer,” he told Canadian Press. “I’ve a high level of frustration. I saw it with Major League Soccer, we saw it up-close and personal. We were at the table and saw everything and were able to do it (strike a deal with the MLS Players Association).”

While the MLS negotiations were “bumpy,” he said “everybody involved wanted to find a solution. I haven’t seen that on the baseball side.” And in 17 days a deal was set for the 60-game season. Mallett is co-owner and executive chair of the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The Giants’ worth is valued at $3.1 billion, fifth in the game, according to Forbes. That’s a one-year increase of 3%. The Giants made an estimated $452 million in revenue, good for an operating income of $96 million, second-highest in the game, behind the Astros ($99 million). The Giants earned $154 million from gate receipts in 2019.

Andrew Tinnish (Ottawa, Ont.), Toronto Blue Jays’ assistant GM.

22. Andrew Tinnish, assistant GM, Blue Jays (19).

Jays GM Ross Atkins has a trusted man to talk to in Tinnish when it comes to player evaluation whether it be Jays players or otherwise. Tinnish (Ottawa, Ont.) drafted Aaron Sanchez, Noah Syndergaard, Marcus Stroman and others as scouting director has been working in Latin America of late. The July 2, 2020 signing date for 16 year-olds was pushed back to Jan. 15, 2021.

Tinnish gave SS Manuel Beltre $2.4 million bonus. The 5-foot-9 155 pounder was considered one of the most advanced hitters available, according to MLB Pipeline, which ranked him 24th of the top 30 teams. With more than 200 game at-bats during the last calendar year, Beltre might be the most advanced hitter in this year’s class. He played internationally with teams from the Dominican Republic (U14 and U15) in 2014 and moved on to travel ball teams in Florida, played in the Cal Ripken World Series and has been a regular at Perfect Game events. He gave Dominican prospects C Jonathan Peguero ($400,000) and OF Yeuni Muñoz a ($315,000) bonus. Tinnish also signed from Venezuelas SS Luis Garcia, SS Martin Gimenez and OF Yhoangel Aponte, plus from the Dominican SS Luis Bautista, RHP Angel Santana, RHP Robin de Jesus and SS Manuel Contreras, as well as Cubans RHP Livan Chaviano and INF Adrian Sotolongo.

One Tinnish sign made his major-league debut this year: C Alejandro Kirk. Tinnish’s duties also include the Pacific Rim as well. He sign some older players in October, the one with the highest ceiling being Cuban LHP Kendry Rojas for $215,000. He signed Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.) when Sandy Rosario and Tinnish took over international coverage in 2017, Tinnish and Lopez caused a stir at the Jays complex when players heard the two conversing in French. Tinnish was enrolled in French immersion at Elmdale, Parkwood Hills, Winston Churchill and Merivale schools in Ottawa.

23. Vladimir Guerrero, Jays (9).

Young Vlad has not been as advertised, but he has been better than some might think. In his first 183 games in the majors he hit .269 with 39 doubles, four triples, 24 homers, 102 RBIs and a .778 OPS. In his father’s first 183 games with the Expos, Poppi batted .299 with 37 doubles, seven triples, 27 homers, 87 RBIs and an .830 OPS. Poppi played one position while Vlady junior was moved from third to first and struggled defensively at both places.

While Junior was not to be confused with Adrián Beltré -- a three-time All-Star, a three-time Gold Glove winner and two-time Silver Slugger -- news clips from the Dominican have been encouraging this winter. As someone who has battled weight issues since grade 11, Guerrero looks to be winning the war.

He wants to return to third base. It will be good for the nutritional team that the number of players weighing more than 250 pounds on the roster has been cut in half, leaving Alejandro Kirk as the only nose guard in camp. This winter he hit .359 with two homers, 11 RBIs and a .996 OPS for the Leones del Escogido in Santo Domingo.

24. Jeffrey Royer, general partner, Arizona Diamondbacks (16).

The Toronto resident is a director of Shaw Communications, as well as his baseball interests and serves as chairman of Baylin Technologies Inc. a provider of antenna and related systems for the mobile, broadband and wireless. In December he subscribed for 1,333,600 units of Baylin, for a subscription price of $1,000,200 million. Baylin now owns roughly 45.1% of the common shares outstanding.

First becoming involved with the DBacks in 2004, he committed $160 million US over a 10-year span to own roughly 40% of the Arizona franchise. In 2016, Ken Kendrick, spokesman for the Phoenix-based club, Michael Chipman, Dale Jensen and Royer were the stakeholders.

The Diamondbacks were valued at $1.29 billion, according to Forbes the same as in 2019. The Diamondbacks are the 20th most-valuable franchise. Forbes showed revenue of $278 million for the Diamondbacks and its operating income at $27 million.

Beeston and Beeston: David Beeston, left, a lawyer with the Red Sox, talks shop on TVO with his father Paul Beeston of the Toronto Blue Jays.

25. David Beeston, Chief Strategy Officer, Red Sox (31).

When we first met David Beeston in the 1990s he and all-star press box attendant Bill Grady would write the evening schedule of game’s on the white board in the press box. This was before there were out-of-town scoreboards set inside the outfield fences and prior to this inter web, which I think has a chance to stick. Grady and David would pick games and keep a running tally of who picked the most winners.

David is “all growed up.” He’s a lawyer and a member of the Red Sox front office. There are three parts to his job: serving as liaison between baseball operations and the business side, working for the Fenway Sports Group whether it be real estate or the regional sports TV business, plus owners John Henry and Tom Werner as well as president Sam Kennedy always look to invest like a 5,000-seat theatre beyond left field which was set to open in 2020.

26. Holly Lapierre, build it and they will whiffle.

Major league ball shows ads about kids playing stick ball, softball, frisbee, anything in an effort to increase interest amongst youngsters. And then they go and whack 40 minor-league teams to cut costs (this was before the virus arrived). Outside of Halifax, sits Hammonds Plains, which was home to five mini stadia this summer while some provinces didn’t even have peewee ball on the sandlots. There were roughly 900 players participating in a socially distanced wiffle ball tournament held at parks which resembled Rogers Centre, Yankee Stadium, Minute Maid, Oracle Park and Fenway Park complete with a Green Monster, CITGO sign, Coca Cola sign and a Pesky Pole. The age groups were 9U, 11U, 13U, 15U, open and girls.

Lapierre was Baseball Canada’s Volunteer of the Year in 2009, served as Baseball Canada treasurer (2014-2018), won Baseball Canada Female Builder Award in 2018 and serves on the Canadian Hall of Fame board in St. Marys, Ont. Lapierre stepped down from chairing the Baseball Canada Girls Committee after several years in the role. Known as the heartbeat of Hammonds Plains where as president of the association, the city hosted numerous Nationals, most recently 16U in 2019.

Brantford’s Scott Hillman was inspired by her presentation at Baseball Canada’s annual general meeting a few weeks before a similar program at Access Storage Sports and Entertainment Complex.

27. Buddy Black, manager, Rockies (22).

Black’s Rockies finished in a tie for the 20th best record in the shortened 60-game schedule. Colorado had 26 wins, the same as the Royals, Angels, Mets and Nationals. They had more than the Orioles and Diamondbacks (25 each), Red Sox (24), Tigers (23), Rangers (22) and the Pirates (19).

The former NL manager of the year has a 13-year record of 649-713 (.477 winning mark). He has weapons for next year in 3B Nolan Arenado, who earns $35 million if the Rockies don’t deal him, plus RF Charlie Blackmon ($21 million), SS Trevor Story ($17.5 million), CF Ian Desmond ($8 million), RHP German Marquez ($7.5 million) and RHP Jon Gray ($6 million).

Black remains eligible to manage or coach for Canada in the next World Baseball Classic since his pop Harry is from the Edmonton area and his mom is from Melville, Sask. His father was recruited from the Olds Elks to skate for the UCLA Bruins in 1938.

28. Paul Beeston, president emeritus, Jays (28).

Beeston is on the board at the National Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and always gets his calls returned. Has two World Series rings from the Jays, while his son David Beeston has a pair with the Red Sox. The team Paul loves fared better than David’s in 2020.

The former president of the Jays has his same office, parking spot and skybox at Rogers Centre. Under normal circumstances he and former day one employee Howard Starkman would sit together in the Level 300 bunker like Conn Smythe and Harold Ballard. Often on home nights there can be a special guest in the bunker: anyone from George Bell to Cito Gaston to Pat Hentgen to Jimmy Devellano and Don Fehr. However, in 2020 the attendance total was zero.

29. Bob McCown, broadcaster (40).

It is as if he has never left. Robert is back with his podcast starring Bob McCown, with your host Bob McCown (twitter.com/mccownpodcast). It is available on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or Podbean. He has had guests from the Jays president Mark Shapiro, GM Ross Atkins and Paul Beeston, Jays president emeritus, Dodgers president Stan Kasten, broadcasters Dan Shulman, Buck Martinez and Bob Ryan of Boston. His Cleveland Browns are not doing badly either.

Now some might say Robert does not belong on this list, but let me ask you this: how many people in our top 100 had a 15,170-word feature appear on them appear in Canada’s national newspaper the last two months? Robert tells all in a wonderfully written piece by Simon Houpt. One recent top 10 podcast list we saw had Robert atop the ranking ahead of the likes of Spittin Chicklets, Pardon My Take, Overdrive, PTI, The Fighter and the Kid and The Bill Simmons podcast.

Of all the people I have met since starting to write in the 1960s, my Mount Rushmore consists of Pat Gillick, Johnny Bench, Wayne Parrish and Robert.

30. Arlene Anderson, CEO, Sam Bat (20).

Alfred Maione, Ben Milinkovich and Anderson were gold presenters at the 2020 Winter Meetings equipment managers virtual trade show in December. Their first quarter in 2020 was the best in company history. Milinkovich was in Florida at spring training when recalled March 11, the day after Anderson’s birthday. All employees but Scott Smith were laid off in April. Smith made bats from start to finish for orders still on deck solo for three months. Smith had been in the original group working out of Sam Holman’s garage, left and returned in 2011.

With a 60-game schedule, plus zero minor leagues and a shrunken sandlot team schedule, online orders became the focus. Anderson painted bats for both pros and custom retail which she said was wonderfully therapeutic. Anderson thanked her loyal customers for their support.

This year’s client list included 123 players (69 major leaguers) including Jays Vladimir Guerrero (Montreal, Que.), Rowdy Tellez and Jonathan Villar. Others Diamondbacks’ Carson Kelly, who played peewee in Markham, Ont.; Ronald Acuna Jr. and Austin Riley, Braves; former No. 1 over-all pick Adley Rutschman, Orioles; Ian Happ and Jason Kipnis, Cubs; Mike Moustakas, Nicholas Castellanos and Phillip Ervin, Reds; Cesar Hernandez, Domingo Santana, Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) and Daniel Johnson, Indians; former triple crown winner Miguel Cabrera and Christin Stewart, Tigers; Garrett Stubbs, Astros; Alex Gordon, Royals; Jared Walsh and Jose Briceno Angels; Jarrod Dyson, Cubs; Joc Pederson, Dodgers, Pablo Lopez and Jose Urena, Marlins; Ryan Braun and Avisail Garcia, Brewers; Pete Alonso and Wilson Ramos, Mets; Luke Voit, Yankees; Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm, Phillies; Jose Osuna, Colin Moran, Chris Archer, Guillermo Heredia and Erik Gonzalez, Pirates; Franchy Cordero, Padres; Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC), Harrison Bader and Junior Fernandez, Cardinals; Ji-Man Choi, Mike Brosseau, Joey Wendle and Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, Rays and Scott Heineman, Rangers.

31. Owen Caissie, Chris Kemlo, Cubs/Padres.

Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) showed up at the 2019 Tournament 12 saying he was eligible for the 2021 draft. He said he would re-classify to attend the University of Michigan. Except players are eligible for the draft when their class graduates. In other words scouts decide if you take a victory lap. Caissie won the T-12 home run derby in September of 2019 and with the Canadian Junior National Team in March of 2020, homered into the backdrop in straightaway centre. The high schooler turned around a 95 MPH pitch from veteran minor leaguer Connor Overton, a seven-year pro. In December, he was one of four players shipped to the Cubs in a package for Yu Darvish.

Padres’ Murray Zuk (Souris, Man.) the senior Canadian scout liked Caissie in 2019, Zuk’s final year and rookie scout Kemlo (Oshawa, Ont.) closed the deal, with a $1,200,004 bonus (less than the suggested slot of $1,650,200) after San Diego selected Caissie from FieldHouse Pirates. Kemlo also wears other hats running the Prep Baseball Report and in 2021 will serve as pitching coach of the Toronto Mets 16U coach under Glenn Jackson.

Lee Delfino (Pickering, Ont.), the former Blue Jays farmhand drafted in the sixth round by the Blue Jays in 2001 from East Carolina University, and George Halim (Dundas, Ont.) helped in his development. Caissie got in some work attending the Padres alternate site at San Diego State University.

32. Justin Morneau, broadcaster/executive, Twins (42).

Morneau was elected to the Canadian Hall of Fame in St. Marys on Feb. 4, 2020. The induction ceremonies were like a lot of things: cancelled due to the COVID-19 virus. Hopefully John Olerud, Duane Ward, Expos broadcaster Jacques Doucet and Morneau will be inducted this summer, after last.

On Jan. 23, 2020, Morneau was presented the Kirby Puckett award for Twins Alumni Community Service. The former American League MVP, who moved to Minnesota full-time after his retirement, raised funds and served as a spokesman for youth with rheumatoid arthritis. He has been instrumental in the success of the annual “Home for the Holidays” event with the Minnesota Assistance Council of Veterans at Target Field. Along with his wife Krista, they host an annual holiday coat drive in the Twin Cities which has donated 40,000 coats distributed in 11 years.

The former AL MVP estimates he worked 28 Twins games in 2020 and since Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven retired, he could do 66 -- depending on length of schedule, which has yet to be determined. Morneau (New Westminster, BC) was in the studio with Jamie Campbell and Joe Siddall for one day during the Championship Series and all the World Series games. Ex-Jay LaTroy Hawkins, Torii Hunter, Michael Cuddyer and Morneau are all special advisors in the Twins baseball ops department.

33. Doug Mathieson, GM Langley Blaze/Brewers scout (39).

If you asked Mathieson and Blaze coach Jamie Bodaly they’d say “the kids did it themselves.” Maybe, but Mathieson and Bodaly’s coaching, plus the exposure they give their players on trips south of the border to Arizona and Florida has shown recruiters how much talent the Blaze has. Big-time players are headed to big-time schools.

Atop the list are RHP Theo Millas (Burnaby, BC) who is headed perennial powerhouse LSU, LHP Justin Thorsteinson (Richmond, BC) to Oregon State, C Russell Young (Cloverdale, BC) to Gonzaga and RHP Loretto Siniscalchi (Burnaby, BC) to Washington State. Also off to school are the likes of LHP Zac Laird (Langley, BC) Niagara, 1B Nolan Sparks (Saskatoon, Sask.) to UBC, OF Nick Holdershaw (Langley, BC) Dubuque, C Jayden Ring (Langley, BC) Sierra, LHP Lukas Frers (Surrey BC) Galveston, INF Samson Back (Surrey, BC) Central Arizona, RHP Jaden Lamothe (Langley, BC) Parkland, Tom Poole (Calgary, Alta.) Cloud County and RHP Kyle Pfeifer (Langley, BC) Western Nebraska.

The Blaze’s spring trip was cut short before they were to supposed to leave had on its roster: RHP Calvin Zeigler (Heidelberg, Ont.) of the Great Lake Canadians, who is headed to Auburn, OF Owen Cassie (Burlington, Ont.) of the FieldHouse Pirates chosen in the second round by the Padres, RHP Chase Marshall (Surrey, BC) to Washington, LHP Leland Wilson to Texas Tech and Hawaiian OF Kala’i Rosario, who was drafted and signed by Twins scout Walt Burrows (Brentwood Bay, BC) who saw him at the Perfect Game event.

34. Rob Thomson, bench coach, Phillies (32).

When Joe Torre was managing the Yankees dynasty during spring training in Tampa and someone would ask a question about what was planned for two days down the road he’d always answer “Check with Robbie.” Thomson (Sebringville, Ont.) ran training camp and earned four World Series rings as minor league coordinator.

This 2020 season he ran two camps for Phillies manager Joe Girardi -- one in the spring, the other during the summer. He had COVID during the start of the second training. Still, he managed to run things from Clearwater for the first week until he was cleared. Once cleared, he went to Philadelphia and finished the camp. He has five rings from his days with the Yanks.

Former Ontario Blue Jays RP Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) is expected to get late innings for the Blue Jays in 2021. Photo: Amanda Fewer

35. Jordan Romano, Blue Jays (-).

Romano was a Blue Jay at an early age -- an Ontario Blue Jay. Then, he went on to pitch for the Connors State Cowboys (4-3, 3.74) and the Oral Roberts Eagles (3-4, 2.66, 12 saves). The Jays and scout Dallas Black selected Romano in the 10th round in 2010.

After appearing in 17 games for the Blue Jays in 2019, this hard-throwing righty emerged as a go-to guy in 2020. Romano was capital D dominant as he did not allow a hit or a run in his first eight outings. In all, he worked 15 games with a 1.23 ERA fanning 21 in 14 2/3 innings, while registering two wins and two saves. His season was cut short due to a finger injury. He was almost ready to return when the season ended.

36. Walt Burrows, scout, Twins (34).

The former head scout for the Canadian branch of the Major League Scouting Bureau, Burrows has the next Canadian minor leaguer to be promoted in RHP Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.). It is either him or infielder Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.), who played for Canada in the Premier 12 qualifier, but then at Premier 12 played for the Dominican.

An Ontario Blue Jays grad who earned Canadian Baseball Network minor league Pitcher of the Year honor in 2019, Balazovic was a fifth-round choice in 2016. Normally this is where we’d give you some numbers of how he did at double-A ... except there weren’t any minor leagues played in 2020.

Here is how highly regarded he is. He was invited to spend the 2020 summer at the new CHS Field -- the Twins alternate site -- in St. Paul, home of the Saints. Jordan is following in the footsteps of his grandpa Joe Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.) who played two seasons in the Cleveland system at class-C Fargo-Moorhead and class-B Burlington. Balazovic is tied with Cleveland’s Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) as the highest ranked Canadian in the minor league system. Both are fourth of the top 30 in their respective organizations. He also signed free agent INF Willy Alexander Diaz Vasquez (Edmonton, Alta.) for $20,000.

37. Allan Simpson, Canadian Hall of Fame selection committee (65).

The process for being nominated for the J.G. Taylor Spink award used to work like this: a writer had to be nominated by his local Baseball Writers of America Association chapter, a three-man committee selected the three names on the ballot. Then, the writers would vote.

Voting was done at the general BBWAA meeting held at the World Series. Then, the electorate was changed to anyone who was eligible for a Hall of Fame voting (10 years continuous coverage) and conducted by mail. San Francisco’s Susan Slusser nominated Roger Angell of the New Yorker, who was not a BBWAA member and did not work at a newspaper. But man, the man could write. Angell made the ballot and won in 2014, “classing up the joint” as one former winner said.

Denver’s Tracy Ringolsby nominated Simpson -- not a BBWAA member and a man who did not work at a newspaper. Simpson, founder of Baseball America, made the ballot, but finished third. It’s a lengthy process -- take it from someone who won a fourth time nominated. Simpson (Kelowna, BC) changed the way the game was covered. The Sporting News used to bill itself as “The Baseball Bible.” Baseball America took over doing a better job covering the minors, draft and prospects. Now every paper, every website covers the draft, the minors, minor league transactions and prospects. Simpson is also head of the Canadian Hall of Fame selection committee.

38. Alex Agostino, crosschecker, Phillies (53).

Scouts wish that they could have a year as productive as Agostino, who signed seven players from the area he cross checks after the draft. Players had a choice to go where they wanted since they had multiple teams after them and they chose the Phillies. Agostino (St-Bruno, Que.) and his group put in a lot of time on Zoom and phone calls with players and it paid off in the long run.

All signed for $20,000 were Liberty Flames RHP Noah Skirrow (Stoney Creek, Ont.), plus RHP Buddy Hayward, Harvard Crimson, RHP Sam Jacobsak, Northeastern Huskies, RHP Blake Brown UNC-Asheville Bulldogs, Billy Sullivan IV, Delaware Blue Hens, LHP J.P. Woodword, Lafayette Leopards and LHP Jake McKenna, a high schooler from Ocean City, NJ.

An Agostino sign, C Logan O’Hoppe -- a 23rd rounder, who signed for $215,000 in 2018 -- was at the Phillies alternate camp at Lehigh Valley in 2020.

Calgary PBF Redbirds’ grad Mike Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) is hoping to be ready for opening day. Photo: Amanda Fewer

39. Mike Soroka, Braves and James Paxton, free agent (4/5)

Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) tore his right Achilles tendon Aug. 3 against the Mets coming off the mound on a J.D. Davis’ grounder. Soroka underwent surgery several days later and resumed throwing off flat ground in November. In 2019, Soroka was second in the NL Rookie of the Year award and sixth in the Cy Young Award voting when he went 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA. In 2020, he worked 13 2/3 innings.

In early March, the Yanks said Paxton (Ladner, BC) would miss three-to-four months after he had a peridiscal cyst removed from his back. He made his first start July 25 and managed four more in 2020, due to a Grade 1 flexor strain. His agent Scott Boras said Paxton is “back to normal” after his back rehab.

While there isn’t a timetable for Soroka -- it is doubtful he could be ready for an opening day -- he is locked up by the Braves. Paxton, the only Canadian big leaguer to throw a no-hitter in Canada, is a free agent looking for a one or two-year deal. He has been throwing for teams. Both could impact a race.

40. Steve Wilson, International crosschecker/Pitching analyst, Yankees (17).

The biggest noise made from an international scouting department sign was RHP Deivi Garcia, 21, in this past COVID-19 shortened year. The Dominican native was 3-2 with a 4.98 ERA in six starts, striking out 33 in 34 1/3 innings.

Venezuelan Miguel Yajure, 22, made his major league debut and made a nice first impression: 1.29 ERA, striking out eight in seven innings during three appearances. At the winter meetings, the Yankees added four young prospects to the 40-man roster, signed by their international department: RHP Yoendrys Gomez, RHP Roansy Contreras, SS Oswald Peraza and SS Alexander Vizcaino.

Dominican OF Jasson Dominguez, signed for $5.4 million, didn’t really get to play (top prospect in 2019, No. 66 in 2020). The July 2, 2020 deadline was pushed back to Jan. 15, 2021. Young players are looking forward to a minor league season. As one scout said, “If these young kids don’t get playing and developing we could see some of their chances die on the vine across the game.”

Adnan Virk (Kingston, Ont.), MLB Network

41. Adnan Virk, MLBNetwork (103).

He spent time with DAZN and ESPN and while all our American friends raved about him, we seldom saw him on TV. The first to rave about him was Jayson Stark of The Athletic a couple of years back. Now, he says, “Adnan is one of the most talented people I’ve ever worked with in my life. He has this incredible grasp of a 1,000 different story lines, facts, moments, life stories, movie plots and epic games that seem like they’re always right there, waiting in his brain, any time he needs them. It’s such a gift. When I would do shows with him, it was like he saw the whole show in his head before we ever got to set, before we even knew how half the games would end. He barely needed a note. He knew it, saw it and felt it. He’s a font of positive energy and laughs. You could ask him to do 12 shows a day, and he’d do all 12 and never think twice. He’s the best!”

Added gifted scribe Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated and MLB Network: “Adnan is very knowledgeable (about movies, too) and does a good job. He has fit in well at MLB Network. He’s a big reader who gives writers credit (unlike many from ESPN’s Bristol campus) and actually remembers stuff I’ve written better than I do sometimes.”

In 1984, Virk’s family moved to Kingston (Canada’s first capital) and five years later headed west to the hamlet of Morven, where his parents owned a gas station and Zack’s Variety store. He played soccer and hoops for the Ernestown Secondary School Eagles before graduating to attend Ryerson University. Don’t know Virk? Check out his wonderful, fact-filled tribute to Dan Shulman. The night Canada played Team USA at the World Juniors Virk sported a Team Canada jersey during Intentional Talk with Kevin Millar.

42. Kyle Boddy, minor league pitching, Reds (38).

Boddy has gone from being a radical man with radical ideas, to being “out there,” to being hired by the oldest pro team. He has been named to SABR’s list of 50 most influential off-field people in the last 50 years. Boddy was born in Cleveland to his Toronto-born father.

He runs an indoor facility at Kent, Wash. working with weighted balls, Rapsodo’s pitch-tracking camera, TrackMan technology and so much more. He opened a second Driveline location in Arizona and has worked with the best, like Ron Wolforth, a regular at The Baseball Zone in Mississauga.

His star pupil has been RHP Trevor Bauer of the Reds, the NL Cy Young award who was 5-4 with a 1.73 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 73 innings in 2020. Bauer was selected third overall from the UCLA Bruins in 2011. Reds prospects who made strides in the spring and during fall instructional were Jared Solomon, Noah Davis, Graham Ashcraft and Lyon Richardson.

Boddy is not the only Driveline employee in affiliated ball, other clubs and their hires: Phillies _ Joel McKeithan, Jason Ochart, Eric Jagers, Max Dutto, Bill Hezel, Zack Jones and Dan Aucoin; Yankees _ Sam Briend, Daniel Moskos and Rachel Balkovec; Giants _ Matt Daniels, Jack McGeary and Michael Schwartze; Blue Jays _ Demetre Kokoris and Cory Popham minor league pitching coaches; Dodgers _ Rob Hill and James Buffi; Brewers _ Cam Castro and Bryan Leslie, Rangers _ Griffin Gowdey and Cody Aden, Twins _ Sumair Shah and James Barber, Diamondbacks _ Micah Daley-Harris; Angels _ Tanner Reklaitis; Reds _ Eric Jagers and the Cubs _ Casey Jacobson.

43. Dave McKay, coach, Diamondbacks (41).

McKay (Vancouver, BC) completed his seventh season as first base coach and outfield coach of the Diamondbacks in 2020. The Canadian Hall of Fame inductee is also in charge of aligning the D-Backs outfield. McKay’s baserunners were successful in 23 of 30 stolen base attempts, good for a National League-best 76.67% success rate. Starling Marte, Nick Ahmed and Tim Locastro led the way in steals.

McKay was also the first Canadian to appear with the Blue Jays, going 2-for-4 with a RBI in the club’s inaugural game on April 7, 1977 against the Chicago White Sox. He served on Tony La Russa’s staffs in Oakland and St. Louis for 27 years and has been the first base coach on three World Series champs (1989 A’s, 2006 and 2011 Cards).

Manager Torey Lovullo will bring back his staff for 2021, which includes former Jays Darnell Coles (hitting coach) and Eric Hinske (assistant hitting), plus Luis Urueta (bench), Matt Herges (pitching), Mike Fetters (bullpen), Tony Perezchica (third base) and Robby Hammock (quality control/catching coach).

Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae shown here with Blue Jays broadcast colleague Buck Martinez.

44. Hazel Mae, Sportsnet (56).

Catch commissioner Rob Manfred and the face he made when he heard his voice piped through the stadium speaker bounce back after presenting the World Series trophy at Globe Life park? In 2020, it was a difficult season for broadcasters too. Most worked from the studio, which could have made for awkward interviews since the person asking questions can’t always see the interviewer and it is impossible to gauge facial expressions. Like Manfred, there was a tricky audio delay to deal with. Not for Mae.

Always prepared, Mae would text or email players in order to get more insight on particular plays. Interviewing the Jays virtually was not the chore for Mae it was for some. Trickier interviews took place during the postseason (Sportsnet covered the playoffs until the World Series). That meant engaging players Mae didn’t cover during the season. Many did know her, however, from her days with the Red Sox and as MLB Network’s first employee. Her 1-on-1 with new Marlins GM Kim Ng went viral on twitter (from 2020’s International Women’s Day), an interview with Rays’ Kevin Kiermaier in October was memorable as well as a talk with World Series MVP Corey Seager after the Dodgers won. Mae was offered to spot with TBS’ crew of Don Orsillo and Jeff Fancoeur but required isolation before entering the bubble. That meant it was not possible due to her Sportsnet commitments.

Mae was first with the number -- the record signing bonus -- that the Jays gave Vandervilt’s Austin Martin, the fifth over-all choice in 2020. And the number of the signing bonus was $7,000,825, surpassing RHP Alek Manoah, the 11th over-all choice in 2019 with a $4,547,500. And it’s not her fault Michael Brantley changed his mind -- three other national writers had Brantley coming to Toronto. Either the Astros upped their offer or the family decided to stay south of the border.

45. Stubby Clapp, coach, Cardinals (36).

One of the best ever to play for Canada wore the No. 10, although he was always No. 1 in the hearts of fans following the Canucks on the international stage. He wore No. 29 in his 23 games with the 2001 Cardinals under manager Tony La Russa and in 2019 his first year as coach he wore No. 11. In 2020, Paul DeJong wanted to wear No. 11, so Clapp coached first base wearing No. 82 ... the total sum of his wife and children’s ages.

Clapp played four years and managed two seasons at triple-A Memphis. How big was Clapp in Memphis? His No. 10 is retired. At triple-A, he managed Randy Arozarena, the best bat in the Tampa Bay Rays lineup. And he managed future Cards Harrison Bader, Tommy Edman, Chris Ellis. Jack Flaherty, John Gant, Giovanny Gallegos, Austin Gomber, Ryan Helsley, Dakota Hudson, Andrew Knizer, Daniel Ponce de Leon, Rangel Ravelo, Alex Reyes, Edmundo Sosa, Lane Thomas, Tyler Webb, Justin Williams, DeJong and Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC). Clapp was the first to hug O’Neill as Peter Orr scored the game winner in the 2015 Pan Am Games. Clapp was coaching third and O’Neill was the scheduler hitter when Orr scored on a pair of USA errors.

46. Maury Gostfrand, agent (33).

Gostfrand (Montreal, Que.) has a staff of first-round draft picks led by the league leader in information Ken Rosental (MLB Network, Fox Sports and The Athletic), wordsmith Tom Verducci (MLB Network, Sports Illustrated) and prolific Jayson Stark (MLB Network, The Athletic). Baseball clients include MLB Network’s Ryan Dempster (Gibsons, BC) and Kevin Millar, ESPN’s Eduardo Perez, son of Hall of Famer Tony Perez and Tim Kurkjian. as well as broadcasters John Kruk (Phillies) and Dave O’Brien (Red Sox).

Gostfrand looks after the business deals for Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre and former Reds’ GM Jim Bowden for CBS Sports, The Athletic, ESPN Radio and MLB.Network radio. Gostfrand merged his Vision Sports Group company with The Montag Group and is now a partner. The Montrealer grew up in the Chomedey area rooting for the Expos and formed the Vision Sports Group before merging with The Montag Group in January, 2018, becoming a partner.

Jim Stevenson (Leaside, Ont.), left, with Ralph Bratton as the two Astros scouts showed off their rings.

47. Jim Stevenson, area scout, Astros (27)

Stevenson (Leaside, Ont.), who scouts for the Astros out of Tulsa, Okla. had three players on the Astro roster: RP Josh James (1-0, 7.27 in 13 games with 21 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings) a 34th rounder, 3B Abraham Toro (.149 with two doubles, three homers, nine RBIs and a .513 OPS in 25 games) and INF Jack Mayfield (.156, a doubles, three RBIs in 29 games with a .453 OPS), who Stevenson signed in 2013 as an undrafted player. Toro (Longueuil, Que.) was a fifth-rounder from Seminole State (OK) in 2016 and the Canadian Baseball Network’s 2019 minor league hitter of the year winning the Randal Echlin award. Teams ask for him in trade talks.

Stevenson had three elsewhere for a total of six in the majors in 2020: LHP Dallas Keuchel from Arkansas, a Cy Young award winner with the Astros (6-2, 1.99 in 11 starts with 42 strikeouts in 63 1/3 innings) in Year 1 of his three-year $55.5 deal with the White Sox; RHP Adrian Houser, a second rounder from Locust Grove, Pa. who signed for $530,100 (1-6, 5.30, with 44 whiffs in 56 innings) and now with the Brewers and the A’s strong-armed CF Ramon Laureano (.213, eight doubles, a triple, six homers, 25 RBIs, and an .704 OPS in 54 games), a 16th rounder. Not many scouts have six big leaguers at the same time.

While Stevenson didn’t have one of his players drafted, he signed five free agents for $20,000: RHP Zach Matthews of Oklahoma Sooners, RHP Cesar Gomez, UT Arlington Mavericks, RHP Jonathan Sprinkle Central Missouri Mules, 1B Peter Zimmerman, Missouri Tigers and CF Justin Dirden, Southeast Missouri State Redhawks.

48. Josh Naylor and Cal Quantrill, Padres/Indians (21/49).

Big Money? Get that weak stuff out of here. That’s what Naylor’s bat seemed to be saying facing Gerit Cole of the Yankees in the opener of the AL Wild Card Series. He doubled to centre in the second, doubled even deeper to right centre in the fourth and singled to centre in the seventh. A 3-for-3 night facing Cole. Then he doubled to right facing reliever Luis Cezza finishing 4-for-4. Nine total bases. Alas, the Indians lost the opener 12-3. In Game 2, Naylor hit a two-run double facing Masahiro Tanaka as Cleveland went up 4-0. Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) set a record with hits in his first five postseason at bats and became the second big leaguer (tying Chris Burke with the 2005 Astros) to collect four extra-base hits in his first five playoff at bats. The Yanks won 10-9 to complete the sweep. Naylor was 5-for-7 (.714) with three doubles and a home run in two playoff games.

Naylor and RHP Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) were dealt by rock star GM A.J. Preller Aug. 31 as part of an eight-player deal, which saw the Padres land Mike Clevinger, who has undergone Tommy John surgery after four games on the coast. Quantrill worked a scoreless outing in Game 2 of Cleveland’s Wild Card Series, walking one and striking out another.

On the season in the two stops, Quantrill, an Ontario Terriers grad, was 2-0 with a save and a 2.25 ERA walking eight and striking out 31 in 32 innings. He pitched in 18 games making three starts for the Padres. Former Ontario Blue Jay Naylor hit .247 in 40 games with the Padres and Indians with three doubles, a triple, a homer, six RBIs and a .621 OPS.

Naylor’s brother Bo (Mississauga, Ont.) also in the Cleveland system and Twins RHP Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.) are fourth among the top 30 prospects in their respective organizations, according to MLB Pipeline.

49. Jamie Lehman, California scout, Blue Jays (50).

Lehman went from scouting and signing Canadian and New York state players to buzzing around the hotbed of California. Is the shortstop in San Diego better than the one in Sacramento? Lehman makes the call.

Lehman was heavily involved in drafting RHP Nick Frasso from the Loyola Marymount Lions. The Jays gave the fourth rounder a $459,000 signing bonus. Frasso pitched four scoreless innings in his lone start for USA Baseball in 2019 and entered the spring expected to go in the top 100 players selected. Unable to last five innings in either of his first two starts in 2020, he was shut down with forearm tightness. The 6-foot-5, 200 pounder can dunk a basketball.

The final pick Lehman made in his old job -- lefty Jake Fishman, a 30th round pick from Division III Union College in Schenectady, NY -- was selected in the Rule V draft by the Miami Marlins in December. In 2019, Fishman was 1-1 with a 3.45 ERA at double-A New Hampshire, striking out 74 in 62 2/3 innings.

50. Ron Tostenson, national crosschecker, Cubs (45).

Tostenson (Kelowna, BC) the former Blue Jays scout, was involved on the Cubs’ 2020 first rounder (16th overall), INF Ed Howard, a Chicago high schooler. They gave him a $3.746 signing bonus. Howard is a true shortstop with power potential. Likewise he had input when the people at Wrigley chose second rounder Burl Carraway, a lefty from Dallas Baptist given a $1.05 million as a bonus. Carraway is said to have plus stuff across the board with enough strikes to be a back end of the bullpen piece and should be quick to the majors.

The Cubs also selected OF Jordan Nwogu (Ottawa, Ont.) from the Michigan Wolverines and gave him a $678,600 bonus. INF Nico Hoerner, a first rounder from Stanford, Tostenson was in on in 2018, was given a $2,724,000 signing bonus. Hoerner batted .222, with four doubles, 13 RBIs and a .571 OPS in 48 games the Cubs in 2019. He was the first player from the 2018 draft to make the majors.

Langley Blaze and Junior National Team alum Tyler O;Neill (Maple Ridge, B.C.) won a Gold Glove in 2020.

51. Tyler O’Neill, Cardinals (72)

When he appeared with Team BC at Labatt Park, he had a chance -- some said -- to be the next Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC). Well, they were of similar stature and both played for the Langley Blaze, O’Neill has played in 171 games in his first three seasons (well 2 1/3), Lawrie played in 257 in his first three seasons.

No one compares O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC) to Lawrie now, especially since he became the first Canadian outfielder to win a NL Gold Glove Award since Larry Walker (Maple Ridge, BC) won with the 2002 Colorado Rockies. He also became the first Canuck to win a Fielding Bible Award, thanks to nine defensive runs saved and fielding all 89 defensive chances flawlessly. He has a fair piece of real estate to cover before anyone compares O’Neill’s bat with Walker’s. The Cards every day left fielder hit .173 with five doubles, seven homers, 19 RBIs and a .621 OPS.

52. Shi Davidi, Sportsnet (52).

It’s never easy covering a team your company owns, it’s rougher still to cover games strictly off the TV in the Zoom world of 2020. Yet, Davidi was able to pull it off, whether he was writing columns for his website, tweeting up a storm, being interviewed on TV or radio. As a teacher at Centennial College he has the ability to pass on first-hand knowledge.

His Anthony Alford piece is worth a reread as the former Jays outfielder told Davidi: “Black people can’t fight this fight on our own. It’s going to take everyone coming together to fight and change the system.” In the early going he was critial of the current Jays off-season progess writing: As Davidi wrote when the Jays missed out on D.J. DJ LeMahieu: “Better to overspend on the player you really prefer than to get hung up on value and then hitch yourself to a less appealing option, at least in my opinion. That way you don’t end up with a Kendrys Morales when you really wanted an Edwin Encarnacion.”

Davidi is the president of the Toronto chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America and has 108,100 followers on Twitter.

53. Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney, co-owners Vancouver Canadians (61).

On Oct. 19, 2020 the news broke that the A’s would be operating a club out of Vancouver in 2021. In 2019, the Canadians ranked 24th in minor league attendance drawing 235,980 fans to historic Nat Bailey (an average of 6,210 in 38 dates). A flashback to the 2010 stats, when Vancouver was an A’s affiliate they drew 153,592 -- good for 83rd in North America (an average of 4,068 for 38 dates). Now the C’s will be in a full 132-game season league.

Kerr, a former forest product company CEO, went to UBC with Phil Lind, Rogers Communications’ vice chairman. Mooney, A&W restaurants chair, and Kerr bought the C’s in 2007. The Jays were always solid corporate citizens when they staged Tournament 12 for the best high schoolers in Canada. In this instance they did what was best for baseball in Canada compared to what was easiest: choosing BC over Lansing, Mich., an affiliate for 2005.

Kerr told TSN 1040 “from a geographic standpoint, Toronto would’ve been better off going to Michigan.” He explained BC Premier John Horgan “on his own volition, picked up the phone during the election and phoned the chair of (Jays ownership) to indicate how important it is to the province and the people of Vancouver, that the Jays stay.” Kerr also said “we’re on TV after the Jays some Saturday nights (a six-game package) in Ontario and get good ratings.” The two clubs have a 10-year agreement and major construction will begin after the 2021 season.

54. Jacques Doucet, broadcaster (71).

Doucet has already won the Jack Graney award from St. Marys. Now, he will join Dave Van Horne (Expos/Marlins), Allan Simpson (Baseball America), Tom Cheek (Blue Jays), Tony Kubek (Jays/Yankees/NBC) with a Hall of Fame plaque in the Canadian Hall of Fame. Of course, Claude Raymond (St-Jean, Que.) and Graney (St. Thomas, Ont.) elected for their playing days also became broadcasters. Statistician Allan Roth (Montreal, Que.) worked in the broadcast booth for NBC giving Curt Gowdy, Sandy Koufax, Pee Wee Reese and Kubek in-game info from his index cards. Bill Humber (author, historian) is a HOFer too. Doucet will be inducted when the next ceremony takes place along with Justin Morneau (New Westminster, BC) John Olerud, and Duane Ward.

Ford C. Frick award voting records only go back to 2004. Doucet has been a finalist in 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2020. Doucet (Montreal, Que.) served as the Expos French-language, play-by-play man (1972-2004) and has called Blue Jays games in French for TVA Sports since 2011. If Cheek and Van Horne touched people, Doucet lifted their hearts. He was inducted into the Quebec Hall of Fame in 2002.

Joe Siddall (Windsor, Ont.), Toronto Blue Jays analyst

55. Joe Siddall, Jays broadcaster (62).

Siddall (Windsor, Ont.) had four seasons in the booth as future Hall of Famer Jerry Howarth’s winger. The nice part of those early years after his spring debut in Clearwater was that he filled in a little on TV with Buck Martinez when Pat Tabler had a series or two off. He’ll be back with Blue Jays Central this season.

The 2020 season saw a relaxed Siddall work pre-game, in-game and post-game with Jamie Campbell. He seldom spoke too quickly -- maintaining his pace, as one voice expert praised. Siddall was not a homer. When manager Charlie Montoyo hit Danny Janzen third and Cavan Biggio in the No. 8 spot, he knocked it. The answer from the manager was “we like the match-ups.” But if the analytic department makes out the lineup, someone from the analytic department should give the reasoning rather than putting Montoyo out on a limb or a Zoom call.

56. Jim Baba, Baseball Canada (55).

The year started with Baba set to fly to Japan and serve as the technical director for the tournament in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The year ends with Baba looking forward to flying to Japan for the 2021 Olympics -- without an estimated departure time.Baba had to navigate Baseball Canada through COVID and was part of decision-making group that cancelled Canadian national championships in April, one of first organizations to do so.

57. Jamie Campbell, Jays broadcaster (62).

When Ontario hospitals and doctors needed help in the spring, Conquer COVID-19 sprung into action. The group was comprised of physicians, business leaders, entrepreneurs and everyday volunteers named Joe, Joanne or Jamie. They helped ensure frontline workers had masks, gloves and supplies.

Campbell (Oakville, Ont.) drove a van to deliver Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to Timmins, Sudbury and Kingston (Canada’s first capital) twice each. He also visited North Bay, Thunder Bay, Iroquois Falls, Espanola, Barrie, Bowmanville, Peterborough, Hawkesbury, Ottawa, Cornwall, Belleville, Sutton, Orillia, Collingwood, Brantford, Listowel, Mt. Brydges, Strathroy and Windsor, travelling roughly 8,000 kms. Like Johnny Cash, he’s been everywhere. Donations to buy PPE came from individuals and businesses. The founder of Spotify gave $1 million, personal donations were made, an anonymous NHLer gave a five-figure amount, actor Ryan Reynolds was a participant and ‘Conquer Covid’ T-shirts were sold.

Without baseball to talk about Campbell picked up a second cell, gave out the number to fans who wanted to “talk ball.” No less than 4,000 Canadians requested a call. Campbell spoke to roughly 1,300 before play began. He brightened some lives on some lonely days, yet he never phoned me once.

58. Phil Lind, Vice Chairman, Rogers Communications (54).

Lind has been a dear friend and wise associate of the Rogers family going back decades. He was the right hand man of the innovative Ted Rogers, a man with a vision. He advised Ted to buy the ball club and can spot a $3 bill at 100 paces in the bright sun. In past the No. 2 man on the Toronto Blue Jays directory has represented the Blue Jays at the quarterly owners meetings.

This year the meetings were virtual due to COVID-19. Some calls had invites to three or four people while others was one representative. Mark Shapiro took the solo calls, while Lind was there for the larger calls. When I see him on the field from a distance, I think I am looking at my father. We’re sure some baseball people thought losing a team within driving distance (Lansing, Mich.) and keeping a team on the coast (Vancouver) made little sense. Our bet is Lind pointed out Rogers had better name recognition and sizzle in Canada than across the river from Windsor and 90 minutes down the road to Jackson Field. This despite the fact Vancouver-Concord, N.H. flights are less than direct.

59. Dan Vertlieb, sports lawyer/agent (24).

After having the top draft in North America in 2019 -- Oregon State C Adley Rutschman, who earned a record $8.1 million bonus from the Orioles -- he had another first rounder in 2020. Portland high schooler RHP Mick Abel went 15th overall to the Phillies, signing for an over slot value of $4.075 million. Slot value for the 15th spot was $3.8858.

OF Jake Vogel, a third-round pick of the Dodgers from Huntington Beach High, signed for $1.62 million and LHP Dylan MacLean, a Portland high schooler, went in the fourth to the Rangers for a $1.2-million bonus. The Beverly Hills Sports Council had nine picks of the top 130.

Doug Melvin (Chatham, Ont.), Milwaukee Brewer senior advisor

60. Doug Melvin, senior advisor and Gord Ash, VP Projects, Brewers (44/58).

The two men have a lot in common: both are former general managers (Melvin with the Rangers, 1994–2001, Brewers 2002–2015, Ash with the Blue Jays 1995-2001), both have been inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame in St. Marys (Melvin in 2012, Ash in 2019) and they are dear friends. They belong to an exclusive club. The only other two Canadian big league GMs to have a plaque are George Selkirk (Huntsville, Ont.), who ran Washington Senators and Murray Cook (Sackville, N.B.), who ran the Expos, Yankees and Reds.

Melvin is a senior advisor to Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns. Ash, assistant GM under Melvin from 2002-2015, is supervising the Brewers’ new facility in the Dominican Republic, located northeast of the Santo Domingo airport, near Guerra. Ash is part of TSN’s roster of analysts.

61. Blake Corosky, agent, True Gravity (29).

Mariners rookie 1B Evan White an AL Gold Glove winner earned almost three times the major-league minimum. Represented by Corosky (Toronto, Ont.) White was selected in the first round (17th overall) in 2017 signing for $3.125 million. And in 2020 earned $1.3 million. The 2020 season was Year I of a six-year $24 million deal Corosky negotiated for the Ohio native.

White will earn $1.3 million in 2021, then $1.4 in 2022, $3 million in 2023, $7 million in 2024, $8 million in 2025 and then three option years (of which $4 million of the $33.5 million is guaranteed.) With only 18 at-bats above double-A Arkansas, he made the jump to the majors and will take some time to adjust, hitting .176 with seven doubles, eight homers, 26 RBIs and a .599 OPS.

Another client, LHP Andrew Albers (North Battleford, Sask.) was in Japan for 10 months pitching for Orix Buffaloes in 2020, winning Canadian Baseball Network top arm in foreign lands. And RHP Logan Hofmann (Muenster, Sask.) was selected in the fifth round out of Northwestern State and given a $125,000 bonus by the Pirates.

He also represents RHP Josh Burgmann (Nanaimo, BC) in the Cubs organization, RHP Indigo Diaz (Vancouver, BC) of the Braves and C Kole Cottam, who is in the Red Sox system and his parents come from Burlington, as well as 20 American minor leaguers.

62. Roger Rai, special assistant, Rogers Communications (47).

Besides advising his University of Western Ontario friend Edward Rogers, Rai is an independent director of the BRAGG Gaming Group Inc. Rai “advises Edward Rogers, the representative controlling shareholder of Rogers Communications on business development, revenue development, partnership development, talent development and sports,” according to a Form 8-K submitted to the United States Securities And Exchange Commission in 2018 regarding Stem Holdings, Inc. BRAGG is an innovative B2B online gaming solution provider offering a turnkey solution for retail, online and mobile iGaming, as well as advanced casino content, sportsbook, lottery, marketing and operational services. He has a BRAGG salary of $264,108.

After the 2015 season, Rai was the point man in the search to replace president Paul Beeston making calls to former GMs: Tigers Dave Dombrowski, Dodgers Ned Colletti, Orioles Dan Duquette and Kenny Williams of the White Sox. White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf fielded a call from Edward Rogers himself and told Williams Toronto had asked for permission. Reinsdorf refused permission. Williams said, “I was already called.”

63. Dr. Randy Gregg, Edmonton Riverhawks.

Dr. Gregg, who played 10 seasons in the NHL, all but one with the Oilers, is point man for the 18-man group which took over the lease on Re/Max Field. Included in the group are his brother Gary Gregg of Gregg Distributing, who stepped in to save the Oilers when Peter Pocklington departed and Dale Wishewan, who owns Booster Juice, and about 800 stores. Former Jays slugger Jose Bautista used to own a store but sold his interests. Wishewan, born in nearby Sherwood Park, is part owner of the Vegas Golden Knights. The new group should not have trouble selling advertising on the outfield wall.

The Western Canada loop saw the Edmonton Prospects operate at Re/Max, yet the Riverhawks will play in the West Coast League. The Prospects, trying for a new park in Spruce Grove, called it a hostile take over. Gregg’s group is putting in significant upgrades and opening up the park to other entities on off nights. The Riverhawks will help with a travel subsidy for BC and USA teams to make the trip. Paying for other teams to fly in can be expensive, but they have deep pockets.

The initial signings for the Sharks include Alberta players Myles Pallister (Lacombe) and INF Michael Brisson (St. Albert) who both attend Niagara University, RHP Shaun Atamanchuk (Beaumont) from Georgia Gwinnet and OF Clayton Loranger (Sherwood Park) of Stephen F. Austin State.

64. Mike McRae, assistant coach, Virginia Commonwealth (49).

The former Canisius skipper is responsible for the Rams’ pitching staff and recruiting. His staff had a 3.70 team ERA in 17 games -- 95th of 298 programs, behind Central Connecticut State and ahead of San Diego State. A bright spot was RP Evan Chenier (Georgetown, Ont.) who went 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA and one save. His win was against Charlotte (one earned run in three innings) and the save was facing Sacred Heart (scoreless inning in a 5-3 win). He had put up scoreless outings against Sacred Heart (twice) and Old Dominion.

Coach Shawn Stiffler landed 15 newcomers for 2020-2021, crediting McRae (Niagara Falls, Ont.), for landing RHP Justin Humenay (Beaconsfield, Que.) and LHP Campbell Ellis (Georgetown, Ont.). Humenay was a 2020 Preseason Perfect Game All-American, a three-time Tournament-12 participant and earned Founders League Second-Team all-star honours. Ellis, an Ontario Terriers grad, won the Canada Cup gold with the Ontario Youth Team and pitched twice in T-12.

65. John Barr ESPN.

Part of ESPN’s Enterprise Unit, covering investigative and human-interest features, mostly for Outside the Lines and E:60, he interviewed Brandy Halladay in a poignant interview for the documentary “Imperfect” which aired in May. Barr (London, Ont.), graduated in 1992 from Indiana with a Masters degree in journalism and the U of T in 1989 with a bachelor of arts degree in history/political science. They did roughly 40 interviews in the eight-month project.

Twice Barr won a Peabody award -- for his work on the NFL’s concussion crisis in 2013 and the Larry Nassar sexual assault scandal in 2019. In 2011, Barr’s Outside the Lines report on human trafficking and the 2010 World Cup won a National Edward R. Murrow Award for video investigative reporting, the first time the award had ever been presented to a sports network. Barr has won dozens of awards for his work at ESPN and in local TV, including eight Regional Emmy awards.

He worked in Bloomington, Ind., Hopkinsville, Ky., Terre Haute, Ind., Harrisburg, Pa., Baltimore and Minneapolis. Before joining ESPN, Barr operated his own production company, producing and reporting segments for The National Geographic Channel and Court TV.

66. Bill Byckowski, scout, Reds (37).

As a crosschecker, Byckowski reported on OF Austin Hendrick, the Reds’ first rounder selected 12th overall from Imperial, Pa. Hendrik was given a $4-million signing bonus. And the former Canadian Baseball Network scout of the year and winner of the Jim Ridley award, scouted fourth rounder OF Mac Wainwright of Lakewood, Ohio high who signed for $512,000, as well as fifth-round choice RHP Joe Boyle of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish who signed for $500,000.

Former first rounder DH Jesse Winker (.255 with seven doubles, 12 homers, 23 RBIs, .932 OPS in 54 games with the Reds in 2020) was evaluated before the draft by Byckowski, as was CF Nick Senzel (who slumped in 2020, batting .186 with two homers, eight RBIs and a .604 OPS in 23 games with the Reds.)

67. Ryan Dempster, MLB Network, Chicago Cubs (57).

Next to Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.) Dempster is the second-best arm Canada ever produced. Jenkins won 284 games in 19 years and Dempster 132 in 16 seasons. Dempster (Gibsons, BC) also sits fourth with 87 saves behind career leader Eric Gagne (Mascouche, Qué.) 187 saves, John Axford (Simcoe, Ont.) 125 and John Hiller (Toronto, Ont.) 125.

A Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer, Dempster is a Hall of Fame impressionist when it comes to doing broadcaster Harry Caray (My fave was always when Harry would turn to partner Steve Stone and say “STEVE! How come you always rip the players when we are in commercial and not on air?”) Dempster is a regular on the MLB Network. He also worked as a special assistant to the president Theo Epstein of the Cubs. He hosts an online sports talk show called Off the Mound for which he interviews major league stars and entertainment personalities in his own unique way of Canadian humor.

68. Mike Shaw, travelling secretary, Blue Jays.

Remember those scenes in movies when someone yells “ROAD TRIP!” No one yelled, but the Jays left the Rogers Centre July 20 for exhibition games in Boston and on Oct. 1 flew Tampa-Buffalo-Toronto ... a 74-day ROAD TRIP! Looking after the players, staff, buses and planes was Shaw (Oakville, Ont.). Leaving Rogers Centre, bags and suitcases were lined up from the Jays clubhouse to almost the visiting clubhouse (think third base to first) inside the bowels of the stadium.

That first trip was the toughest because the Jays did not know where their home games would be. Back in the days when writers flew charters, players, staff and broadcasters would board. Then, anywhere from 30-to-45 minutes later the truck would finish loading equipment underneath. There was so much baggage that an operations manager came aboard and told Shaw everything would not fit. Shaw put on an orange security jacket and went underneath: “We need this, we don’t need that.” Probably 25% of the cargo stayed behind and was shipped via truck to Washington -- site of the Jays’ first home game. Clubhouse manager Scott Blinn drove to Washington and picked up the home uniforms to take to Buffalo.

Shaw had sent rooming lists to a Pittsburgh hotel -- if the Jays were approved to play there. Likewise, he’d been in touch with a Baltimore hotel which said rooms would not be a problem. But state health officials in Pennsylvania and Maryland said no, meaning Buffalo would be home. Shaw estimates he booked 70 rooms for 46 nights (3,220) on the road and 65 rooms for 32 games in Buffalo (2,080) ... about 5,300 in all.

Shaw said there was less paperwork in 2020 since the club didn’t have to go through customs. They flew a 174-seat Air Canada Airbus 321. On the road when the Jays left the hotel a fleet of six buses (12 players per bus) was waiting. “After the first trip, it was pretty smooth,” Shaw said, but he admitted Kenny Carson, the Jays first travelling secretary, “might have thrown a brief case or two.”

69. Tom Tango, Advanced Media, MLB (70).

If you watch the MLB Network, you hear stats your father never told you about. The man who is THE EXPERT in metrics like barrels, catch probability, exit velocity (speed off the bat) and sprint speed to describe performance is this man, known as TangoTiger (Montreal, Que.) online. His title is senior data architect.

The best numbers from the 2020 postseason Jays, courtesy of TV star Sarah Langs. Most barrels: Teoscar Hernandez, 23, while the major league leader was Padres’ Fernando Tatis, 32; most five-star catches: none, while Rays’ Kevin Kiermaier, led with four; infield outs above average: Santiago Espinal one, Rockies’ Nolan Arenado and Tatis tied for the lead with seven each; most OF OAA: none; top spot a tie between Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger, Luis Robert of White Sox and Jackie Bradley of Red Sox with seven apiece; highest average exit velocity Hernandez, 93.3 MPH (fifth in the majors), with Tatis at 95.9 MPH, Above-average in sprint speed (minimum 10 competitive runs): Hernandez 28.3 ft/sec, Derek Fisher 27.9, Bo Bichette, Randal Grichuk and Cavan Biggio all at 27.7, with the fastest man Diamondbacks’ Tim Locastro.

So, zero five-star catches, one infield out above average, zero OF OAA, a -11 on outfield OAA (last in the majors) and a -7 on INF OAA (26th) ... is it any wonder Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins decided to improve defence? Check out the bottom of most Baseball-reference pages: Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball.

Les McTavish (Lethbridge, Alta.), coach, Vauxhall Academy

70. Les McTavish coach, Vauxhall Academy (67).

The Jets were unable to successfully defend their title in the prestigious Bishop Gorman Tournament in Las Vegas in 2020 after winning the March before. Head coach Les McTavish (Lethbridge, Alta.) plus assistants Jim Kotkas (Lethbridge, Alta.) and Joel Blake (Lethbridge, Alta.) managed to play five weekends in the fall against the Prairie Baseball Academy and the Calgary DBacks.

Committing to schools are OF Jackson Clemett (Calgary, Alta.) to the University of Utah, RHP Anson McGorman (Parksville, BC) Sacramento State, LHP Ben Adams (Ottawa, Ont.) St. John’s University, RHP Levi Abbott (Lethbridge, Alta.) and 1B-OF Carlin Dick (Abbotsford, BC) to Canisius. Headed to NAIA schools are RHP Justin Adamoski (Burnaby, BC) UBC, OF Dallas Cummins (Vauxhall, Alta.) Missouri Valley, RHP Shaye McTavish (Lethbridge, Alta.) and INF Kalem Haney (Lethbridge, Alta.) University of Mary. JUCO commits are OF Aaron Vulcano (Cloverdale, BC) Colby, RHP Tyler Boudreau (Halifax, NS) Midland, RHP Jack Mount (Ottawa, Ont.) and C Ty Wevers (Lethbridge, Alta.) Cloud County, RHP Reece Keller (Spruce Grove, Alta.) McCook, INF Nick Gravel (Fall River, NS) Hill and RHP Maddux Mateychuk (Dominion City, Man.) Mineral Area.

71. Greg Brons, Going Yard facility (68).

The Gordie Howe facility is one of the best indoor complexes -- which has a top-flight weight room, two full-size infields with turf indoors, plus nine batting cages and six Hack Attack pitching machines -- in Canada. It is a resource Saskatoon players did not have 20 years ago. Or 10 years ago. Now, places like Lloydminster, Moose Jaw and Swift Current are developing facilities where youngsters can hit and throw in order to be ready for the season.

Logan Hofmann (Muenster, Sask.), former Muenster Red Sox, was drafted by the Pirates in the fifth round. Making the annual Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian college team were Nolan Machibroda (Saskatoon, Sask.), Tyler McWillie (Waltrous, Sask.), Danny Berg (Saskatoon, Sask.) and Hofmann, who didn’t allow a run in four starts at Northwestern State University. Each contributed to the 2016-17 national title.

72. Rick Johnston, coach, Ontario Terriers (63)

Johnston was his usual exuberant self, developing youngsters into players and community contributors, while managing the pandemic protocols with the seriousness deserved. Under Johnston’s leadership, The Baseball Zone (which he co-owns with Nicole and Mike Tevlin) stayed open for much of the year with athletes performing in a safe environment. He insisted anyone training wear a mask when that wasn’t a government regulation.

When the Baseball Zone opened, he could not turn on a computer, but during 2020 he was a Zoom call fiend. Ontario Terriers success stories include RHP Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) of the Indians, INF Elijha Hammil (Oakville, Ont.) with the Junior National Team and Cameron Chee-Aloy (North York, Ont.) 18U, MVP of the Canadian Premier League all-star game. He homered off Calvin Ziegler (Heidelberg, Ont.) likely the top Canadian high school arm in the 2021 draft.

Johnston was rated No. 97 by Don Barrie in the Peterborough Examiner’s Top 100 most influential sports figures over the past 100 years in the mecca known as the Lift Lock City.

73. Scott Crawford and Jeremy Diamond, Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame (69).

The former CEO of Myseum of Toronto, Diamond is the new chair of the Hall in St. Marys, Ont. A public historian, Diamond has experience in fundraising and communications. When not walking the halls, Diamond (North York, Ont.) is a sandlot coach. He joined the board in 2017 and took over in June 2020 for Adam Stephens.

The 2019 season was Year I of the 2,500-square foot addition to the museum which was officially opened that spring. Crawford (Georgetown, Ont.) didn’t get to open for a full season in Year II as our worlds changed March 12 thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Crawford is hoping that this summer baseball fans will have more of an opportunity to enjoy the R. Howard Webster Foundation visitors lounge, a multi-purpose room for groups and social events, and curator Christi Hudson’s exhibits. They can also visit the Harry Simmons Memorial Library and Centre for Canadian Research which houses one-of-a-kind historic documents and artifacts.

74. Chris Reitsma, senior advisor amateur pitching, Royals (76).

The former Reds, Braves and Mariners reliever, who pitched in the majors for seven years (32 wins, 37 saves in 338 games), has an eye on the best arms that Kansas City selects each June. And with the fourth overall pick in June 2020, the Royals chose LHP Asa Lacy from Texas A&M and gave him a signing bonus of $6.67 million.

Reitsma (Calgary, Alta.) was also involved in selecting second-round pick RHP Ben Hernandez, a Chicago high schooler, who received a $1.45 million bonus, plus fourth rounder LHP Christian Chamberlain of Oregon State who landed $450,000. Fifth-round choice RHP Will Klein from Eastern Illinois received a $200,000 bonus.

Great Lake Canadian Chris Robinson (Dorchester, Ont.) and El Presidente of the Canadian Premier League.

75. Don Campbell, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians, Chris Robinson, Great Lake Canadians.

As president of the Canadian Premier Baseball League, Robinson oversaw an expansion year in 2020. Added to the Fieldhouse Pirates, Great Lake Canadians, Ontario Astros, Ontario Blue Jays, Ontario Nationals and Toronto Mets were five more: the Ontario Royals, Ontario Terriers, Newmarket Titans, Ottawa’s Watson Elite and Windsor Selects.

The Canadians run by Adam Stern and Robinson could have a 1-2 punch in this year’s draft with Great Lakes grad RHP Eric Cerantola of Mississippi State and RHP Calvin Ziegler (Heidelberg, Ont.), who has committed to Auburn University.

Don Campbell (Nepean, Ont.) of the Ottawa-Nepean Canadians and the Premier League of Ontario.

The Premier Baseball League of Ontario, the first and oldest premier league in the province was suddenly left with three teams: London Badgers, Ontario Yankees and Ottawa-Nepean. Linda Lewis and Campbell added the Oakville A’s, Oshawa Legionnaires, Sarnia Braves, Sudbury Voyageurs, Tecumseh Thunder and King’s-Edgehill Prep School in Windsor, NS. Campbell was inducted into the Ottawa-Nepean Canadians Hall of Fame at their 50th anniversary banquet.

76. Kory Lafreniere, scout, Jays (73).

Lafreniere (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) is a Canadian scout for Canada’s team. He is also the Blue Jays’ scouting coordinator. Lafreniere signed Ontario Blue Jays OF Dasan Brown (Oakville, Ont.) in the third round (Brown was the highest Canadian selected in 2019). The Ontario Blue Jays grad was given a $797,500 signing bonus and was the highest Canadian high schooler the Jays have signed since fourth rounder RHP former Langley Blaze RHP Tom Robson (Richmond, BC) received $325,000 bonus in 2011.

Of course, Lafreniere had help evaluating players before March 12 and late in the summer when play resumed for the grade 11s and 12s. Scouts Jasmin Roy (Montreal, Que.), Jay Lapp (London, Ont.), Rene Tosoni (Coquitlam, BC) and Patrick Griffin (Oakville, Ont.) were busy in the shortened season, but did not land a Canuck in the draft.

77. Joey Ellison, coach, Ontario Blue Jays (83).

The organization has been run by Gary Wilson, Danny Bleiwas, Sean Travers and now Ellison, who is in his second year as top dog for owners Stephanie and Joe Wilkinson. Ontario Blue Jays grads to make the Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian college First Team are C Max Hewitt (Midhurst, Ont.) of the Oklahoma State Cowboys, DH Ryan Dos Santos (Mississauga, Ont.) Dodge City Conquistadors and David Mendham (Dorchester, Ont.) Connors State Cowboys, voted Canadian college Player of the Year.

On the second team were: C Garrett Takamatsu (Burlington, Ont.) of the Central Oklahoma Bronchos, SS Tyler Small (Mississauga, Ont.) Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Golden Norse, OF Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont.) Vanderbilt Commodores and Malik Williams (Toronto, Ont.) Lipscomb Bison, plus third teamer OF Jacob Ervin (Mississauga, Ont.) Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.

Corey Eckstein arrived from the Abbotsford Cardinals in August. Other coaches include Mike Steed (Burlington, Ont.), Tim Smith (Toronto, Ont.), ‘Everyday’ Eddie Largy (Mississauga, Ont.), Hyung Cho (Scarborough, Ont.), Conner Morro (Caledon, Ont.), Mark Kinal (Mississauga, Ont.), Tony Hrynkiw (Brampton, Ont.), Justin Marra (Toronto, Ont.), Mike Siena (Hamilton, Ont.), Pat Visca (Toronto, Ont.), Rich Clemons (Mississauga, Ont.), Shawn Schaefer (Waterdown, Ont.) and Kyle Mackinnon (Caledon, Ont.).

78. Mike Wilner, broadcaster, The Fan (88).

Wilner did his job on Jays radio broadcasts in the 2020 season. Same as always, without the post-game show. In December, Baseball Canada decided to honour Wilner with its first media award to an individual “who has made a positive impact to Baseball Canada and its member provinces at a national, provincial or local level,” but before it was announced, he lost his job. Then, the Toronto chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America made Wilner co-winner of its John Cerutti award with Anthony Alford.

A Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame board of director, Wilner is the master of ceremonies each year at the year’s best banquet: the Baseball Canada fundraiser. We expect to him to bounce back -- as a New York saloon keeper once told us “like a Spaldeen tossed from a speeding cab at 3 a.m. on 2nd Ave.”

I’ve never been fired except one night in Boston for filing the Jays notes late to USA Today (there went $60 a week), but I have been banned from The Fan three times, after starting in the CJCL days. Once by Thing 1 (Keith W. Pelley), once by Thing 2 (Scott Moore) and a third time (unknown), but never by Robert McCown. Let go. Banned. Not rehired. Tomato. TO-mat-TOE. Whatever the term, it’s not easy. Especially when people would come up to me and say “Hey I enjoy listening to you on The Fan.” We wish him well.

79. Steve Simmons and Rob Longley, columnists (81).

Longley saw more games in person than any other Toronto scribe covering 37 Jays games in Buffalo and Boston as he put 4,500 kilometres on his Toyota RAV4. One trip to Boston he stopped in Cooperstown and also slid by Rochester N.Y. the Jays alternate training site. The advantage of being in Buffalo was the ability to see what wasn’t on TV (bullpens, players working on defence, batting practice and players coming back from injury). Access was restricted, but there were opportunities to bump into people in the know at the hotel.

His best reads were Charlie Montoyo’s role in keeping the team motivated despite the challenges, “Life in the bubble,” describing what it was like for Jays in Buffalo on their season-long business trip hotel-Tim Hortons-park-hotel repeat; Julian Merryweather (the “exciting player” obtained in the Josh Donaldson deal) having instant success and what it is like to cover a game inside and outside of empty Fenway Park.

With Longley on the road and Simmons at the idea machine (his house) he cranked out pieces like Cito Gaston discussing Black Lives Matter and growing up in San Antonio, how baseball shaped Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Danny Ainge, from Jays infielder to Celtics GM and the Jays not starting ace Hyun Jin Ryu to open the wild card series in Tampa.

He also compiled 50 Most Influential Toronto sporting people of the past 50 years which included Paul Beeston, Pat Gillick, Robbie Alomar, Ted Rogers, Jose Bautista, Joe Carter, Josh Donaldson, George Bell, Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth, Alex Anthopoulos, Roy Halladay, Carlos Delgado, Joey Votto, Herb Solway, Gord Kirke and Gaston. He is the dean of Toronto columnists and his Sunday notes pages are a must read as they have been since 1988.

William Humber, Canada’s foremost baseball historian and Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee

80. William Humber, Canadian baseball historian (75).

This partial season did not ruin the summer for this Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer. His era and primary focus is the game in Ontario from 1803 to 1872. After 1880? Not really interested. He’s doing a book on Bob Addy (Port Hope, Ont.) the first pro Canadian with the 1871 Rockford Forest Citys, who went 4-21 on the National Association season. As part of the SABR 19th Century speaker series Humber spoke on “A Thoroughly Modern Ballplayer: The Imaginative, Illicit and Improbable Life of Bob Addy.”

Humber is also working on a book about the legendary Tex Simone, a part of the triple-A Syracuse Chiefs for 52 years. Simone broke in with the Chiefs in 1961 as part of the grounds crew. He advanced to trainer and traveling secretary. In 1967, Simone served as the Chiefs’ business manager and P.R. director. In 1970, he was named GM and from 1997-2013 he served as the club’s executive vice president and chief operating officer.

81. Jonathan Erlichman, coach, Tampa Bay Rays.

Erlichman (Toronto, Ont.) was the only Canadian wearing a uniform at the World Series as the Rays’ process and analytic coach. The former Blue Jays intern, was nicknamed “J-Money.” He has an important role but keeps a low-key presence. In 2019, he was trying to learn his place ... what to do in the clubhouse, on the field and during batting practice.

In the COVID-19 2020 season, writers were not close enough to judge his impact, yet the Rays brain trust greatly value his intellect and his perspective. He didn’t sit next to manager Kevin Cash all game discussing strategy. If they didn’t think he was a great help in 2020, he probably would not be back for 2021.

82. Dasan Brown, Blue Jays farmhand.

The highly respected Baseball America rated the former Ontario Blue Jay as being the fastest base runner, the best athlete and the best defensive outfielder in the Jays’ system. He was drafted in the third round by scout Kory Lafreniere (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.). We’re not a nation of speedsters with the single season stolen base high for Canucks at 33. Larry Walker (Maple Ridge, BC) set that mark with the 1997 Rockies, which was one more than Terry Puhl (Melville, Sask.) with the Astros in 1978.

Of course opposing pitchers didn’t retire Brown this summer -- they didn’t retire anyone as the minor leagues were scrapped due to the virus. In 2020, Brown (Oakville, Ont.) worked out with former coach Sean Travers, now of the Mississauga North Tigers. Former Ontario Blue Jays Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont.) of the Vanderbilt Commodores and OF David Calabrese (Maple, Ont.), selected by the Anaheim Angels trained together in August at St. Marcellinus high in Mississauga. Then, Brown went to Dunedin.

83. Stu Scheurwater, umpire (84).

In his third year in the majors, Scheurwater (Regina, Sask.) worked 48 games, including the first two rounds of the postseason. He umped the two-game, Braves-Reds wild card series and the three-game Marlins-Braves Division series. He was on the plate as the Reds Trevor Bauer threw 7 2/3 scoreless with 102 pitches and Braves’ Max Fried put up seven zeros. Atlanta won 1-0 in the 13th on Freddie Freeman’s walk-off single, the 377th and final pitch of the afternoon.

On July 29, 2020, Scheurwater ejected Rowdy Tellez after a called strike three and coach Dante Bichette as the first out in the bottom of the 10th inning at Nationals Park. The homeless Jays were the home team in DC. The game was scoreless with two out in the top of the 10th when Adam Eaton singled off Shun Yamaguchi to break the tie and Asdrubal Cabrera hit a bases-loaded triple. Scheurwater, is the first Canadian to ump in the majors since the late, great Jim McKean (Montreal, Que.), who retired in 2001 and passed in 2019.

84. John Lott and Richard Milo, former scribes.

Both of these men have a few things in common: baseball was a passion for both before they began covering their teams, both have retired, both are former catchers and both should have a Jack Graney award in their futures. Milo caught in the Montreal junior league and was actually scouted by Jim Fanning. He played for Canada against USA at Jarry Park, which had RHP Scott Sanderson. Years later Milo (Matane, Que.) and Sanderson were in the same Expo clubhouse, with Downtown, as he was known in the Olympic Stadium press box, writing for La Presse Canadienne.

Lott was a house league coach at the tyke and peewee levels in Newmarket before becoming the Most Respected Man on the Blue Jay beat. Then, he coached his children at the same level and later junior while he played in the senior league. For senior games, the agile Lott caught occasionally ... all the way up to age 55. The former president of Newmarket Baseball, wrote for newspapers, VICE and The Athletic before hanging it up. He had a lot to hang up: his pen, pad and tape recorder, his cameras and his boom mike (or go-go-gadget arm). I’ve read some fine send-offs over the years (even about me) but have never seen so many players pay tribute to a writer ... no doubt a tribute to both the subject and author Mike Cormack as well.

Baseball Canada president Jason Dickson (Chatham, NB) alongside the man he took over from President Ray Carter (Tsawwassen, BC).

85. Jason Dickson, president, Baseball Canada (82).

The biggest decision of the 2020 season wasn’t to cancel a game due to darkness, rather to basically cancel all nationals, which had been scheduled for August. Dickson and his associates pulled the plug in early April. It was an early decision as some provinces made decisions month by month.

Dickson (Chatham, NB) was acclaimed in June as president and is serving his third, two-year term in the role. The former Angel has a close pal in Cooperstown in Tim Mead, who took over for Jeff Idelson as president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in upstate New York. The Anaheim Angels have been around for almost 60 years and Mead spent 40 years with them.

Dickson is part of the Junior National Team RBC Mentorship Program along with Justin Morneau (New Westminster, BC), Larry and Shawn Pearson (Guelph, Ont.) and Trent Kitsch (Kelowna, BC).

86. The Griffins, Richard and Patrick (89).

Not to be confused with Vancouver’s Griffiths family, these are baseball people. Patrick Griffin, the son, is a Jays amateur scout. He was a busy man at winter showcases and indoor facilities before March 12 when COVID-19 blew into the province. He was at King’s Christian school in Oakville, the University of Toronto Scarborough campus and Dorchester, Ont. evaluating high school players in the fall when live action returned. He was one of the best catchers in the province for his age group with the Oakville A’s, served with the class-A Vancouver Canadians and then at 1 Blue Jays Way. He is an enthusiast.

Richard, the Jays P.R. director, began working for the Expos with Larry Chiasson and Monique Giroux. Dave Perkins, of the Toronto Star, hired Griffin in 1995. In this his second season on the other side of the fence, he was capably aided by Adam Felton and Rodney Hiemstra. Felton spent the season on the road. Griffin and Hiemstra stayed in Buffalo manning Zoom control headquarters from their war room inside the Buffalo Marriott. Griffin went downstairs for the last homestand and to Tampa for the wild card, while Hiemstra reminded some of the charming Alex Trebek as host of Zoom calls.

87. Dana Bookman, Canadian Girls League (86).

COVID-19 doesn’t know gender ... it locked down diamonds for women and men, girls and boys. Yet, Bookman, founder and CEO of the Canadian Women’s Baseball Association (including Toronto, Manitoba and Nova Scotia leagues) was busy in the virtual world. Her league created a virtual eight-week, season giving players opportunities to develop skills and setting goals.

The league -- with 1,200 participants nationally -- was free to anyone who wanted to play (age 4-to-16). Players were placed on teams and spoke to coaches online, given uniforms, bat and ball, as well as a video at the start of each week. A producer for CBC, CTV and Discovery, Bookman could not find a girls-only loop for her daughter. So, she started her own league. Girls could play baseball bingo in 2020 with 25 possible drills ... running around the house three times, three days in a row, playing catch with someone in the house (outside) and fielding 10 ground balls.

88. Gregor Chisholm, columnist, Toronto Star (96).

Chisholm is part of the young breed of scribes making a point or giving his opinion, backed by sound analytics. He did an excellent job covering the Toronto Blue Jays for MLB.com with his staff which included John Matthew IV and an intern. He moved from website to newspaper.

Chisholm (Saint John, NB), a graduate of of St. Francis Xavier University and Ryerson, now has the ability to spell Randal Grichuk’s position “centre,” as opposed to “center.” He operates without emails from New York. Instead, his emails now come from 1 Yonge Street. He promptly comments on the Jays situation or major league trends and news.

89. Alexis Brudnicki, MLB Pipeline.

The best story ideas in both 2019 and 2020 were from Alexis. Same for the top series of the past two years. It was an idea we’d never seen before. Brudnicki, who the Blue Jays sent to scout school at the Arizona Fall League, was like any talented scribe ... and didn’t throw a thing out. With a blank Major League Scouting Bureau form, Alexis asked all the first and second-year Blue Jays players to describe their: frame, build, shoulders, torso, chest, arms, hands, waist, legs, flexibility and growth potential. Next rating their current and future ratings (on a 20-to-80 scale) in areas like hitting ability, power, speed, arm strength, field, instincts, aggressiveness, base running, arm accuracy and range. MLB.com and MLB Pipeline ran the pieces which included Canucks OF Dasan Brown (Oakville, Ont.), INF Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.), OF Noah Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.), OF Tristan Pompey (Mississauga, Ont.) and OF Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.).

Asked the different kinds of power he had Caissie answered “all of these.” C Danny Jansen marked his speed as an 80 ... compared to other catchers, whereas scouts compare speed to all position players. Rowdy Tellez circled “barrel chest” since people have described that way since he was nine. Julian Merryweather on his hopes for 2020: “trying to improve this scouting report.” When Thomas Pannone filled out the grading scale at fastball velocity Alexis asked “Probably ... below ... average?” He pretended to be shocked and upset. Then said “You’re right.”

90. Ryan McBride and Rick Leitch, Toronto Mets

The Mets moved other from their former facility -- Out of the Park Sports -- in Scarborough to a new location -- Toronto Mets Performance Centre -- in Richmond Hill. The old space was desired as a movie studio so a mutual agreement allowed the Mets to leave the lease early. They’re at East Beaver Creek (Highway 7 and 404) with a 17,000 square foot facility. They added a second story mezzanine for parents. And McBride (Whitby, Ont.) made sure there was more parking spots. Darryl Reid, Duncan Watt, Hugh Walters, Mike Rodriguez, Honsing Leung, Chris Sereda, McBride and Leitch literally moved everything from one spot to another in May and finished in November, which may include the world’s largest plyo wall.

Meanwhile, Leitch (Whitby, Ont.) was busy helping place the likes of Robert Battista (Toronto) at Pepperdine University, Will Droll (Thunder Bay) to Pitt, Caden Shapiro (Toronto) to Princeton, Blake MacMillan (Mississauga) to Niagara and Ben Jones (Toronto) to Dayton while Matt Turino (Toronto, Ont.) transferred to St. Louis. Also on the way are Justin Murray (Markham) to Salem, Ethan Boisvert (Oshawa) West Virginia Wesleyan, plus JUCOs Brando Leroux (Toronto) Chipola, Stef Turino (Toronto), Three Rivers, Jonah Feldstein (Toronto) Ithaca, Sam Mitcham (Whitby), Justin Carinci (Ajax) and Jake Bucovetsky (Toronto) Highland, Brody Black (Toronto) Dawson, Jacob Miller (Oshawa) and Aaron Manias (Uxbridge) Howard College, Alex Scoular (Whitby) Lake Michigan and Jonathan Stoddart (Oshawa) Pratt. Mets grads OF Denzel Clark (Pickering), Tyler Black (Toronto) and Mitch Bratt (Newmarket) are expected to be drafted in June.

The Canadian Baseball Network named six former Mets to its all-Canadian team: first teamers Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) Jones and Clarke, second teamers: Jonah Offman (Thornhill) and Daniel Carinci (Ajax) and third team Evan Magill (Ajax).

91. Robert Witchel

After spending only summer camp in Toronto, the Blue Jays charitable arm, Jays Care, wanted to stay close to home, its fans and maintain its ties to the community and the country. Executive director Witchel accomplished that and then some as the Blue Jays were awarded the Bud Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence.

Jays Care had $7.5-million in COVID-19 relief effort to aid those acutely affected. Rogers Centre didn’t have fans in the seats, rather volunteers loading bags of necessities for a food drive. In all, over eight million meals were delivered. Outreach projects included Jays Care training of 1,500 teachers, youth leaders and volunteers in virtual programming and 2,000 adaptive equipment kits delivered to families of children living with disabilities.

92. Shannon Curley, executive, Jays.

Whether it is two minutes into the conversation or two hours eventually the agent or free-agent player will pop the question: “ahhh, so where will you guys play next season? Toronto, Buffalo and Dunedin.” Now, it’s up to Mark Shapiro or Ross Atkins to field that hot shot.

That question answered, Curley, senior manager, player relations and community marketing, explains what the ball club does for families (all clubs are not as attentive). How the Jays will look after finding a condo to stay, take care of the wives and children on road trips or stay at the road hotel. The Jays are trying to return to the days when R. Howard Webster -- an original owner -- assured that the organization was family oriented.

93. Tim and Sid, Sportsnet.

We’re not regular listeners we admit since we are hooked on music (XM CH57 No Shoes Radio). And we would not call Tim Micallef and Sid Seixeiro strictly baseball commentators, far from it. They deal with the subject of the day -- and when it’s baseball -- they usually hit grand slams. We’ve always been a Micallef fan from his days as “The Voice,” (the Deep Voice) of Canadian University Football or USports as the cool kids call it. Can we bring those games back after the virus?

Seixeiro is No. 1 in the city when it comes to a rant. He can rant and roll ... at 120 words per minute, as the volume of your car radio or TV goes up and up and up. Very entertaining. The pair were together for all of 2020 despite talk we heard one wanted to leave. Now, Seixerio heads to Breakfast Television on Citytv in March.

94. Michael Bonanno, agent (98).

The agent had a second straight successful draft: OF Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) of the FieldHouse Pirates went 45th overall to the San Diego Padres and was given a $1.2 million signing bonus and in 2019, Ontario Blue Jays INF TJ Schofield-Sam (Brampton, Ont.) went in the 12th to the Oakland A’s. He was given a $320,000 bonus, from scout Matt Higginson (Grimsby, Ont.).

Bonanno has 43 clients in the Ballplayers Agency, including RHP Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) voted rookie of the year by the Toronto chapter of the BBWAA, LHP Brandon Waddell, a Virginia Cavs teammate of INF Daniel Pinero (Toronto, Ont.), who made his debut with Pirates and was claimed by the Twins, Indians’ C Beau Taylor, who caught TJ Zeuch’s no-hitter, OF Seth Brown of the A’s, INF Jon Berti and LHP Josh D. Smith of the Marlins, RHP Marcus Walden of the Red Sox and Yankees C Erik Kratz.

Although his newly-born son Cruz Bonanno has yet to commit, he represents four Padres farmhands: LHP Erik Sabrowski (Edmonton, Alta.), RHP Jake Sims, (Guelph, Ont.) and RHP Carter Loewen (Abbotsford, BC), plus the Twins’ duo of C LaRon Smith (Spruce Grove, Alta.) and OF Willy Diaz (Edmonton, Alta.).

Sam Katz (Winnipeg, Man.) hopes to run two indy league teams this summer: the Winnipeg Goldeyes and the Ottawa Titans.

95. Sam Katz, co-owner, Winnipeg Goldeyes, Ottawa Titans (111).

It’s awfully difficult to operate a team without any home dates. Tougher still to operate paying expenses for “home” games on the road. The Winnipeg Goldeyes didn’t play at Shaw Park, rather they were the home team for American Association dates at Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo, ND due to border closures. It was only a four-hour drive south to Fargo. The AA has become a partner league of the major leagues. Did 2020 scare the former Winnipeg mayor off baseball?

Not quite. He joined the Ottawa Titans with the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group and then Jacques J.M. Shore was added to the team’s ownership group. Shore is a partner of the law firm Gowling WLG and a past chair of the firm’s Government Affairs Practice and a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, for dedicated service to Canada.

Katz’s Field of Dreams Foundation has raised more than $900,000 for children’s charities in Manitoba including an annual golf tournament, K’s For Kids promotion, Catch and Release ticket program, TCBY pitch speed booth proceeds, memorabilia auctions and 50/50 tickets at home games. Under manager Rick Forney and GM Andrew Collier the Goldeyes won the 2017 AA title beating the Wichita Wingnuts in the best-of-five final. Wes Darvill hit .309 for the Goldeyes who went 62-38 that year.

96. Marc Griffin, broadcaster, RDS (91).

In season or out, Griffin is there to bring Quebec fans news and opinion. Alain Usereau, who has written a book on the Expos, and Griffin broadcast both ESPN and FOX games from the studio. It might be post game after the Dodgers won the World Series in Game 6 against the Rays, or Kim Ng being named GM of the Marlins. Or maybe it’s talking about the passing of Derek Aucoin, the only Québécois who came up through the Expos system to pitch for the big league club or the death of Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda. Whatever the subject, the former Dodgers farmhand was there to do “Le commentaire,” as the legendary Serge Touchette used to for le Journal de Montreal.

When they broadcast games from the studio -- like most teams -- we’re told by friends in the Montreal area that Usereau and Griffin (Boucherville, Que.) are an entertaining listen. Griffin was signed out of the National Baseball Institute in 1989 by the Dodgers, playing three seasons at class-A Vero Beach and class-A Bakersfield, plus two climbing the Expos ladder at class-A West Palm Beach and double-A Harrisburg. He’s been an analyst at RDS since August 2011 and the same year, joined Baseball Quebec’s board. His son Henri Griffin is an INF with the Okotoks Dawgs.

97. Scott Mathieson, Baseball Canada alum

No one knows when or where the Olympic qualifier will take place for 2021 in Japan. It is supposed to happen in July, but a lot of things that were supposed to happen didn’t happen. No one knows what the roster will look like for sure. Yet, despite two Tommy John surgeries, despite not having thrown a pitch since Nov. 8, 2019 when Australia eliminated Canada at Premier 12 Olympic qualifying tournament in Seoul, Korea, Mathieson is ready to pitch.

“He completely gets it,” as one Baseball Canada executive said. He supports the program and has been a coach with the Junior National Team, reminding some of either Chris Reitzma or Denis Boucher. Part of the best-ever 2002 draft, Mathieson made his major-league debut June 17, 2006 losing to the Tampa Bay Rays 7-2. He allowed four runs in six innings. When the Phillies were in town for the 2011 Mizuno camp (for Canadian high schoolers), which was talking place at the Rogers Centre, Mathieson asked if he could come speak to the players and help anyway possible.

Mathieson (Aldergrove, BC) was 1-4 in 15 games with the Phillies making eight starts before joining the famed Yomiuri Giants where he became a household name. He was 27-29 with a 2.46 ERA in 421 games with 54 saves. And as always “he competed,” as his former Langley Blaze coach used to say once or twice.

98. Rob Ducey, hitting instructor, Fubon (107)

Ducey (Cambridge, Ont.) was in charge of the hitters with the Fubon Guardians in the Chinese Professional Baseball League. Based in New Taipei, the Guardians finished fourth (with a 54-65 record). His hitters included former big leaguers INF Chin-lung Hu, who played 118 games with the Dodgers and Mets (2007-11) and OF Che-Hsuan Lin, who played nine games with the 2012 Red Sox.

The Guardians were third in home runs in 2020 (hitting .289 as a team) with 138 behind Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions and CTBC Brothers and ahead of Rakuten Monkeys. Ducey is a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, a Tip O’Neill winner in 1986 (starring with the class-A Ventura County Gulls and double-A Knoxville Smokies) and is a member of the Cambridge HOF. He wore a Blue Jays uniform for parts of five seasons, prior to being dealt to the Angels in 1992 after 23 games. He earned a World Series ring and had a two-year stint with the Nippon Ham Fighters, combining for 51 homers in 1995-96.

99. Scott Mitchell, TSN.

The former Calgary Stampeders scribe had a strong year covering the Blue Jays. Mitchell (Oshawa, Ont.) wrote for the website, was on air and on TV. He had his platforms covered too.

Mitchell had a wonderful off-season read on INF Bo Bichette. It was the kind of story that you remember weeks after reading. As the old saying goes “We don’t need no stinking Zoom calls.”

Jim Lutton (Oshawa, Ont.) returned for his eighth decade of umping. QuesTec gave him a perfect score.

100. Jim Lutton, OBA

Lutton (Oshawa, Ont.) worked one game this summer. Sudbury visited the Legionaires in Oshawa for bantam play this fall with Lutton working third base. Around the fifth inning the PA announcer congratulated Lutton, an OBA Hall of Famer and a man who has a field named after him, on working “his first game of his eighth decade.”

The Sudbury third baseman looked puzzled as he approached Lutton. Finally, he said “a decade in 10 years so does that mean ... you are ...” Lutton explained his first game dressed in blue was in 1959. So, he umped in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90, 2000s, the 2010s and with this game 2020. Lutton, 83, told the third baseman “People tell me I never get calls right ... so I am going to keep working games until I get it right.” He is usually right ... except for that one game Howie Birnie (Leaside, Ont.) told me about.

***

We lost a lot of good people in a bad year of 2020 ... Kevin Glew wrote of those who passed:

101. Rest in peace – Derek Aucoin (Lachine, Que.), Christie Blatchford (Rouyn-Noranda, Que.), Henry Boutilier (Glace Bay, N.S.), John Broll (Mississauga, Ont.), Lloyd Brown (Virden, Man.), Mike Buist (Hamilton, Ont.), Heather Connolly (Toronto, Ont.), Ray Daviault (Montreal, Que.), Ryan Davison (Guelph, Ont.), John Elias (Montreal, Que.), Tony Fernandez (San Pedro de Macoris, DR), Al Findlay (Cambridge, Ont.), Bill Gardner (Calgary, Alta.), Bill Green (Coquitlam, B.C.), Bob Haynes (Kingston, Ont.), Martin Healy (Hamilton, Ont.), Andy Herrington (Whitby, Ont.), Dale Hunter (Nesbitt, Man.), Kay Johnston (Kingston, Ont.), Leo Kolber (Montreal, Que.), Hertha (Isaac) Kornhaus (Beamsville, Ont.), Tim Kuziomko (Montreal, Que.), Carl Lake (St. John’s, Nfld.), John Malloy (Don Mills, Ont.), Don McKnight (Newmarket, Ont.), Jacques Menard (Chicoutimi, Que.), Betty (Petryna) Allen Mullins (Liberty, Sask.), Lou Nistico (Orleans, Ont.), Irv Powers (Nesbitt, Man.), Bruce Prentice (Toronto, Ont.), Heather Pullen (Calgary, Alta.), Dave Quennell (Toronto, Ont.), Bob Schnurr (Kitchener, Ont.), Dr. Stuart Smith (Montreal, Que.), Dave Wallace (Parksville, B.C.), Jim Welsh (Windsor, Ont.), Guy (Nick) White (Kingston, Ont.), Dolly Whitt (Warren, Mich.)

Aucoin, the only Quebecer signed and developed by the Montreal Expos to have pitched for them at the big league level, passed away on December 26 at the age of 50. Following a 10-year pro career, Aucoin became a renowned baseball clinic coordinator, a highly regarded broadcaster, a board member with the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and an important ambassador for the return of Major League Baseball to Montreal.

Blatchford, Canada’s first female sports columnist, passed away on Feb. 12 at the age of 68. In recent years, she was a must-read news columnist for the Toronto Sun, but she also continued to write about the Toronto Blue Jays. Christie was a regular in the SkyDome press box during the Blue Jays’ World Series-winning seasons.

Boutilier, who coached Glace Bay, N.S. Little League teams to five Canadian titles, passed away on Dec. 19 at the age of 67. In all, Boutilier was a coach with the Little League Glace Bay Colonels for more than four decades and holds a number of Little League Canada coaching records, including most national titles and most finals appearances. He also spent four years in senior ball with the Cape Breton Dodgers, and helped that team secure two Canadian titles.

Broll, a highly respected youth coach in Mississauga North, passed away in January. From 2010-2018, Broll served as Mike McFadyen’s assistant coach with the Mississauga North Tigers and helped lead the club to a minor midget title in 2012, as well as multiple COBA championships. Former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Dalton Pompey is among the many players Broll coached and influenced.

Brown was with the Brandon Clover Leafs as a player, coach/manager and executive member, including being elected league president in 1984 for three years. Brown starred for the Brandon Cloverleafs and was named to the Manitoba’s Dream Team in the Northern Game. He was 89 when he passed July 22.

Buist was a lifer. Pitching four seasons in the Mets and Cardinals organizations with the Cocoa rookie-class Mets, class-A Cedar Rapids, class-A Rock Hill and class-A Lewiston, he pitched in 80 games (making 69 starts) and going 23-34 with a 4.70 ERA, striking out 253 in 400 innings. Returning home he was a two-way man for the Hamilton Cardinals for four years. He was 13-17 in 39 games (14 starts) with a 4.19 ERA, while hitting .231 with nine doubles, four triples, six homers and 31 RBIs in 88 games, earning Second Team all-star third baseman honors in 1971. Buist was a playing manager in 1971-72. He was also with Orillia Majors in 1968 when they won the senior crown beating the London Pontiacs. He was a statistician for TV Labatts Toronto Blue Jays telecasts, a marketing promoter, founder of Destination St. John’s, assistant deputy minister of tourism and executive director for St. John’s Minor Baseball for 15 years. He spearheaded fundraisers on behalf of the Charlottetown Curling Club eliminating its mortgage. He was behind the highly successful Cabot 500 promotion. He passed in St. John’s.

Connolly, who started in the Toronto Blue Jays ticket office in 1984 and became an invaluable member of the club’s baseball operations department, passed away on April 4 at the age of 58. Among her duties in recent years was looking after visas and contract management. She was widely respected and admired by Blue Jays players and scouts.

Daviault, the first Canadian to play for the New York Mets, passed away on Nov. 6 at the age of 86. The Canuck right-hander signed his first pro contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1953 and spent nine seasons in the minors before receiving his first big league call-up. He would make 36 appearances for the Mets in 1962. After hanging up his playing spikes, he returned to Quebec and served as an instructor in baseball camps and sometimes threw batting practice for the Expos.

Davison, a former catcher for the Laurier Golden Hawks, passed away on Nov. 10 at the age of 41. The Guelph, Ont., native helped lead the charge to have baseball at Laurier recognized as a varsity sport and his hard work paid off when the team was elevated to that status in 2001, his final year as a student-athlete. He became a successful accountant, but returned to the team as an assistant coach in 2007 and 2008. He also suited up for the Milton Red Sox.

Elias, a standout left-hander in his home province of Quebec, passed away on Dec. 10 at the age of 82. After pitching four pro seasons in the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City A’s and Washington Senators organizations, he returned home and was selected to Team Canada’s pitching staff for the 1967 Pan-Am Games in Winnipeg. From 1968 to 1970, he helped Trois-Rivieres to two Quebec Provincial League championships. He also started the Grand Slam Baseball School, which for many years was one of the most highly regarded in Quebec.

Fernandez, who holds the Blue Jays’ franchise record for most hits (1,583), passed away on Feb. 16 at the age of 57. Signed by the Blue Jays in 1979, he played 12 memorable seasons in Toronto and established himself as one of the best all-around shortstops in the majors. While with the Blue Jays, he led the club in batting average twice (1986, 1987) and hits three times (1986, 1988, 1990) and was also a three-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove Award winner. He also secured a World Series ring in 1993, while topping Blue Jays’ batters in RBIs (9) during the Fall Classic.

Findlay, right, with his life long friend Ed Heather (Cambridge, Ont.)

Findlay did a lot of things others didn’t including driving future first-round pick Scott Thorman (Cambridge, Ont.) to his Saturday games with the Ontario Blue Jays before the slugger obtained his driver’s license. Born in North Bay, he grew up in Thornhill, and came to Preston in 1959 when his father, bought the Sulpher Springs Hotel. Findlay played with the Preston Riversides, was involved with Preston Figure Skating Club and started the industrial curling league downtown that ran for a number of years. He ran the Galt Minor Hockey School, started the Cambridge junior Bulldogs, along with Ed Heather, which featured Rob Ducey and was a founding member of the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame. He was 79 when he passed Dec. 11.

Gardner, who was the father of Okotoks Dawgs vice-president William Gardner, passed away on June 3 at the age of 86. He was a fixture at Dawgs’ games for close to 20 years and regularly sat behind the home team’s dugout.

Green, a legendary coach and general manager with the Coquitlam Reds, passed away on March 26 at the age of 75. Green took over the Reds as head coach and general manager in 1985 and continued in that position for 30 years. During that period, he also served as a major league scout, an executive with the B.C. Premier Baseball League and as the head coach of several B.C. Canada Cup teams. He was named Baseball Canada’s coach of the year in 1988.

Haynes, a kind influential cousin to the Canadian Baseball Network’s founder and editor-in-chief, passed away on Jan. 9 at the age of 80. He taught Elliott how to skate in the shadows of Old Fort Henry, although he only taught him to turn one way. Or maybe the student only figured out one way to turn.

Healy, a Canadian baseball historian and co-author of George “Mooney” Gibson, passed away on Sept. 11 at the age of 43. He possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of Canadian baseball history and a museum-worthy collection of jerseys worn by Canucks in major league games. His book on Gibson was published in March.

Herrington was umpire-in-chief for four years from 2016-19. He passed away fairly suddenly in December, 2019. He had previously umpired in the IBL prior to that and was involved with Baseball Canada umpiring, having done some nationals, etc.

Hunter was a slugging outfielder for 21 years with the Riverside Canucks in the Manitoba Senior League. He won the Rookie of the Year honours in 1978 and was the batting champion twice, in 1984 (.515) and in 1992 (.455). A first team all star eight times, and a second team all star eight times, his power was on display as he was the home run leader eight times. Hunter also won the MVP trophy in 1990, and was league RBI leader eight times. He was named senior player of the year in 1991. Hunter was on the MSBL championship team six times, and his Canucks won Provincial championships in 1978, 1981, and 1982. He was also a member of Team Manitoba, which won bronze at the Baseball Canada nationals in Kentville, NS in 1985. Hunter was selected to the MSBL 40 year second all star team. Upon retirement Hunter served as an umpire. Hunter died April 20, 2020 at age 59.

Johnston, a former parks supervisor and highly respected teacher in Kingston and Ottawa for 35 years, passed away on Oct. 8 at the age of 74. A selfless volunteer in the community of Arnprior, Ont., she was the wife of former Kingston Ponies RHP Elwood Johnston, who coached the Nepean Raiders that included Steve Yzerman to a provincial championship at the peewee level.

Kolber, a prominent Montreal businessman and former member of the Montreal Expos board of directors, passed away on Jan. 9 at the age of 90. When the Expos were wooing free agent slugger Reggie Jackson in November 1976, Kolber was enlisted to help team owner Charles Bronfman and general manager John McHale in the negotiations.

Kornhaus, a former hospital administrator, devoted Tampa Bay Rays fan and aunt of Canadian Baseball Network managing partner, Ryan Isaac, passed away on April 2 at age 80. Following a storied career as a hospital executive in Canada, the U.S. and Haiti, she settled in Sarasota, Fla., where she got married at age 71 and continued to be a devoted aunt and an unconditional source of support for Ryan.

Kuziomko, a former Toronto Blue Jays infield prospect, passed away on May 4 at the age of 57. Signed as an amateur free agent by the Blue Jays in 1982, he played third base and batted a combined .211 in 76 games in two seasons with the Medicine Hat Blue Jays (Rookie Ball).

Lake, a highly respected umpire in Newfoundland for 53 years, passed away on November 18 at the age of 68. Also a noted sports writer in his home province, Lake counted umpiring a senior national tournament in St. John’s in 1982 as one of his career highlights. “I did the plate with two former major league pitchers pitching,” Lake told Ryan Sweeney for an article published on the Canadian Baseball Network. “Bill ‘Spaceman’ Lee with Quebec and Dave Pagan with Saskatchewan. Both pitchers came to the umpires’ room after a game and asked who the plate umpire was and shook my hand.”

Malloy, a proud World War II veteran, longtime CBC executive and father of Toronto Blue Jays’ visiting clubhouse manager Kevin Malloy, passed away on June 13 at the age of 94. A role model and source of unconditional support for his son and grandchildren, Malloy negotiated the TV deals between the Montreal Expos and CBC starting in the early 1970s.

McKnight, longtime Ontario baseball executive, passed away on Dec. 27, 2019 at the age of 83. A life member of the York Simcoe Association and past president of the Newmarket Minor Baseball Association, McKnight was the Chef de mission of the Ontario youth team that captured gold at the 2012 Canada Cup. In 1998, he was elected vice-president of Baseball Ontario and seven years later he become the organization’s president. He continued in that capacity through 2008.

Menard, a heavyweight financier and former member of the Montreal Expos board of directors, passed away Feb. 4 at the age of 74. The Chicoutimi, Que., native was a respected voice in the Expos’ ownership consortium, headed by Claude Brochu, in the 1990s and was responsible for bringing Jeffrey Loria in as the club’s managing general partner in 1999.

Mullins, who played third base for parts of two seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1948-49, passed away Sept. 4 at the age of 89. With the Fort Wayne Daisies in 1949, the Liberty, Sask., native collected 43 hits and 29 walks in 97 games. She was a defence-first infielder who holds the AAGPBL record for most assists (12) in a single game. In 1998, she was one of 68 Canadian women who played in the AAGPBL to be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Nistico, the former WHA and NHL player turned Orleans Little League coach, passed away on Nov. 27 at the age of 67. After his professional hockey career, the ex-Toronto Toros and Colorado Rockies forward settled in Ottawa and coached in the Orleans Red Sox program. He led his son, Justin, and the Red Sox Major All-Stars to their first provincial championship in 1990 and then took over the 11-and-12 year-old squad in 1991 and his clubs won six consecutive District 6 championships and made three straight appearances in the Ontario finals from 1992 to 1994. His team won the Ontario championship in 1993.

Powers (Nesbitt, Man.) was a speedy outfielder, playing minor ball in Nesbitt, junior in Souris and senior with the Brandon Cloverleafs. A serious work accident in 1957 ended his playing career. Determined to not let that keep him from the diamond, he returned to manage, coaching the Cloverleafs for 23 years, winning several league and provincial championships. He coached in five nationals winning gold in 1971 and silver in 1973. He was one of the first members of the Manitoba Hall of Fame. He was 86 when he passed Nov. 29.

Prentice, who founded the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in November 1982, passed away on Dec. 9 at the age of 87. Raised in Toronto, Prentice was the brother of longtime professional player and former Toronto Blue Jays director of Canadian scouting, Bob Prentice. In 1981, he created Canada’s first collegiate baseball program at Seneca College and in more recent years, he started the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame and revived the World Baseball Hall of Fame.

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Pullen, a former Ottawa Today sports reporter and highly respected health care communications executive, passed away on Sept. 15 at the age of 65. A former competitive swimmer, Pullen was also an accomplished documentary producer for CBC before switching to the health care field. She was married to legendary Toronto Sun baseball writer and 2019 Jack Graney Award winner Ken Fidlin.

Quennell, a longtime player, coach and manager who started the Metro Senior League (MSBL) in the west end of Toronto in the mid-1980s, passed away on March 16. Quennell ran the MSBL for over 20 years and managed six York Diamonds/QBs teams to championships. He also coached for the Etobicoke Rangers.

Schnurr, a former standout C-3B with the Intercounty Baseball League’s Waterloo Tigers, passed away on April 30 at the age of 63. He spent four seasons with the Tigers from 1978 to 1981, with his first season being his best. In that campaign, Schnurr batted .302 and recorded 45 hits in 36 games.

Smith, the former commissioner of the Intercounty Baseball League, passed away on June 10 at the age of 82. An accomplished psychiatrist, politician and CBC TV show host, Smith grew up a Montreal Royals fan. He served as the IBL’s commissioner in 2012-13.

Wallace, the veteran and much admired coach of the Parksville Royals, passed away on Nov. 30 at age 70. He is credited with being one of the architects of the B.C. Premier Baseball League (BCPBL), which is one of the most highly regarded circuits in the country. A successful land surveyor by trade, Wallace devoted countless volunteer hours to the Royals and to Oceanside Minor Baseball as a coach and executive.

Welsh, who honed his skills in the famed Mic Mac organization in Windsor, Ont., and was later a standout in the Intercounty Baseball League and Nickel Belt League, passed away on Feb. 11. As a 17-year-old, he was a star centre fielder for the Frood Tigers of Sudbury’s Nickel Belt circuit and attracted the attention of scouts before eventually settling into a career as a financial advisor.

White, a line-drive hitting machine for the Kingston Lakeview Centennials from 1967 to 1978, passed away on July 21 at the age of 76. A multi-sport standout, White, who was also a respected teacher and principal, batted .361 in 12 seasons with the Centennials and helped lead them to four OBA championships.

Whitt, the mother of legendary Toronto Blue Jays catcher and Baseball Canada manager Ernie Whitt, passed away on April 7 at the age of 88. A Michigan native, she regularly attended her son’s games at Tiger Stadium and was also present at her son’s induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009.

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Since we missed the Jan. 1 deadline, we are adding 12 others as an apology. -- Elliott:

102. Ben Nicholson-Smith, Sportsnet (92).

The baseball editor for sportsnet.ca and co-host of At the Letters podcast with Arden Zwelling, didn’t make it to Buffalo (company rules). That didn’t keep him off his phone. He has the ability to take everyday news and relate it to the home squad with story lines like: Tomoyuki Sugano’s decision and the fallout it will have for the Jays, why signing George Springer could cost the Jays and what the Blake Snell trade means for Blue Jays, trade market, AL East.

His best reads were how players trained during the pandemic, the chaos of summer camp when the Jays outfield consisted of a backup infielder, a bullpen coach and the team interpreter before Randal Grichuk, Cavan Biggio, Billy McKinney, Anthony Alford and Derek Fisher arrived on a flight from Florida. He penned pieces on the final day in Dunedin when the industry was shut down and pointed out how the Jays would not win PR points hiring Shane Farrell as scouting director. Nicholson-Smith is also excellent on TV and radio.

103. Denny Berni, coach, Pro Teach (85).

How does an indoor facility run during a lockdown caused by a pandemic? Well, not very easily. Berni, who runs Etobicoke’s Pro Teach and the Etobicoke Rangers gave every nickel back to teams he owed money to ... for paying up front.

In April 2019, the facility and staff were working 55-to-60 hours a week. A year later they were working zero, having been shut down by COVID-19. Finally, later in the summer they were able to get back into it very slowly and then when allowed on field they had small groups at the facility. Summer camps -- with smaller numbers -- were staged in June.

104. Kevin Glew, scribe, Canadian Baseball Network.

When Paul Beeston, a voracious newspaper reader, tells you he has found a “great Canadian writer,” who has an excellent blog, you listen to the President. And then he said “Kevin Glew.” Glew has written Cooperstowners in Canada since 2010. At the Canadian Baseball Network, he is the chief editor. He writes. He tweets. He posts to social media.

Prior to that he was a volunteer at the Canadian Hall of Fame in St. Marys. In the 20 years from 1988 (when Milt Dunnell of the Toronto Star) until 2009 (Ian MacDonald, of the Montreal Gazette) the Jack Graney award was only presented eight times: Dink Carroll (Montreal Star), in 1990; Hal Kelly and Joe Crysdale (CKEY), 1991, Dave Van Horne (Expos radio/TSN) 1996, Tom Cheek (Toronto Blue Jays radio) 2001, Ernie Harwell (WXYT) 2002, Allan Simpson (Baseball America) 2003, Jacques Doucet (Expos radio) 2004 and Len Bramson (TBS Sports) 2004. So zero winners in 12 years. Glew took over the selection process a few years ago. Former winners vote for the next winner and Glew has not missed a beat.

Wayne McNeill (Glace Bay,NS), broadcaster, Fubon Guardians.

105. Wayne McNeil, broadcaster, Fubon Guardians.

For part of the 2020 season the only baseball in the world was in Taiwan. Japan’s Nippon Pro League shut down -- like the majors in North America. Eleven Sports Network has broadcast rights to home games of two of the Chinese Pro League’s four teams, streamed empty-stadium games in English, drawing 5 million viewers with broadcasters Richard Wang and Wayne McNeil (Glace Bay, NS). Management allowed 1,000 fans in, then 2,000, a moment that almost did not occur for McNeil, who almost left Taiwan to return home before the season began.

“As I looked around and I saw the players,” McNeil told his listeners according to Forbes, “the flag, the fans, the beautiful country while sitting next to my great friend Richard, I could only think of how much I wanted to thank my wife for all of this. A few months back I almost made a very irrational decision to move back to Canada. When Wang introduces lineups, he begins with a greeting of “Good morning, good afternoon and good evening” covering listeners in all time zones. Wang is a Red Sox fan living in Boston, while McNeil, a Blue Jays fan, says “they don’t beat the Red Sox very often.”

106. Dom Gentile, producer, Sportsnet.

Jamie Campbell began the Junior Journey feature each Sunday in 2010 on Sportsnet to give exposure to members of the Canadian Junior National Team. Gentile (Toronto, Ont.) took over five years ago and does an outstanding job getting to know the families and the players.

Then, Sportsnet’s Jeff Blair does voice overs for the pre-game Sunday segment. Some of the best Junior Journeys we saw were Dasan Brown (Oakville, Ont.), Owen Diodati (Niagara Falls, Ont.), Cesar Valero (Calgary, Alta.), Eric Cerantola (Oakville, Ont.) and Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.). He’s not related to Mike Gentile, former producer of Prime Time Sports, who hasn’t returned my call in months.

107. Jeremy Reesor, executive, Jays.

Reesor is an assistant director of baseball operations for the Toronto Blue Jays. He is very involved with all aspects of baseball ops, including amateur scouting. A University of Waterloo grad, Reesor (Stouffville, Ont.) is the first to hold the new position. He’s four years away from his 10-year pin.

He used to work for OwnersBox.com, a Kitchener, Ont.-based sports-tech company dealing with Fantasy Sports. At Waterloo, he was a lab volunteer for five months maintaining habitats and sample fish, while performing steroid extractions for a wastewater effluent exposure study on Oncorhynchus mykiss, which fisherman call rainbow trout.

108. Raine Padgham, pitcher

Padgham (Abbotsford, BC) attended a fall workout at Whalley Athletic Park in Surrey, BC and was clocked at 83 MPH, according to reports, at age 15. The Guinness World Record by a female was 69 MPH by Californian Lauren Boden in 2013. At the 2018 Women’s World Cup, USA’s Jade Gortarez hit 78.25. Raine, who sits consistently 78-82, made local, national and international news as she was invited to the 10th annual Girls Development Camp run by the Team Canada women’s national team coach Aaron Myette, earned a spot to compete at the senior invitational, the Girls Breakthrough Series in Florida and made the Fraser Valley Cardinals (boys) bantam team.

The Canadian Women’s Team is ranked second in World Rankings, while No. 1 Japan has won the last six World Cups. Raine was one of the five invited to the Trailblazer series in Compton, Calif. in 2019, along with Devaro Chislett (Corner Brook, NL/Ranken Inlet, Nunavut), Cassidy Gervais (Yellowhead, BC), Krissie Hagen (Dartmouth, NS) and Meg Lipscomb (Toronto, Ont.).

109. Dr. Marc Aubry.

It’s been a couple of decades since he played for coach Art Neilson’s Ottawa Canadians and won a batting title in the Quebec Junior league (43 singles, one double). Aubry was named recipient of the 2020 USA Hockey Excellence in Safety Award, presented to an individual who “has made outstanding contributions to making hockey a safer game for all participants.” Aubry has conducted research, organized educational efforts and lobbied for rule changes to reduce the risk of spinal cord injury and concussion.

He is the team doctor for the Ottawa Senators, chief medical officer of the International Ice Hockey Federation and Hockey Canada, former team doc for the Ottawa Rough Riders and Ottawa 67’s. He’s co-director of the Ottawa Sports Medicine Centre, has a family practice in Hull and is a recipient of the Dr. Tom Pashby Sports Safety Award (sports injury prevention) and the Paul Loicq Award (IIHF international hockey).

110. Spencer Estey, analyst, Jays (108).

If Jays employees were asked the top 10 most influential people at 1 Blue Jays Way, Estey would be in the mix. Estey (Toronto, Ont.) developed the Jays’ database used daily by people in the front office, pro and amateur scouts plus player development. The University of Waterloo math major has had a massive impact on how the Jays operate.

Prior to the Jays he worked at Paragon Systems, Wriber Inc. and Hansa Language Centre. He started with the Jays in 2016. His work literally saves staffers 100s of hours and puts everything they need at employees’ fingertips.

Former Philip Pocock Secondary School Mississauga student Ira DeWitt

111. Ira DeWitt, St. Louis Cardinals.

Married to Bill Dewitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals, Ira attended Philip Pocock Secondary School in Mississauga, at the same time as Mississauga North coach Sean Travers. After working with Jane Higgins, Nelly’s early publicist, at Higgins’ PR company, she accepted a managerial role at Phat Budda Studio, where she helped seal national deals for rappers Stevie Stone and Potzee. After two years at Phat Budda, she realized it wasn’t for her.

Next, she founded Notifi, an urban label, signing Bos, in 2008. DeWitt describes the trio of Oli, Bee and Sleep as a cross between the Fugees and Black Eyed Peas. Next were Ginuwine and then Gill. DeWitt III was named president of the Cardinals in 2008. As president, DeWitt oversees aspects of the business as well as the Memphis Redbirds, Springfield Cardinals, Palm Beach Cardinals and Ballpark Village, a 100,000 square-foot retail/entertainment project adjacent to Busch Stadium he developed. DeWitt is chairman of the Board of Cardinals Care and his father the Bill DeWitt II is the principal owner.

112. Youppi! former Expos mascot.

The virus disrupted most everything cancelling Hall of Fame ceremonies in Cooperstown and St. Marys. However, the National Mascot Hall of Fame in Whiting, Ind. staged a virtual ceremony as Youppi! and three other mascots were given their rings on June 14, 2020

This HOF was created by David Raymond, the Phillie Phanatic, for children of all ages but mostly age 3-to-9. At the Fur Tie event, Boomer of the Indiana Pacers, The Oriole Bird of Baltimore Orioles and Blue of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts were inducted. Six or seven people have worn the costume over the years, but never once has the mascot spoken. Youppi! was the mascot for the Expos from 1979-2004 and after the Expos left was fitted for a snug Montreal Canadiens sweater.

Honourable Mention

Jim Adduci, Burnaby, BC, Chicago Cubs coach as run production coordinator, LHP Andrew Albers, North Battleford, Sask. Orix Blue Wave; Geoff Allen, Niagara Falls, Ont., associate coach, Brock University, Jeff Amos, Oyen, Alta., Badlands Academy; Alex Andreopoulos, Etobicoke, Ont., bullpen catcher, Blue Jays; J.P. Antonacci, Simcoe, Ont., Canadian Baseball Network; Don Archer, White Rock, BC, scout, Angels; Cole Armstrong, Surrey, BC, Kamloops NorthPaws, West Coast League, Adam Arnold, St. Thomas, Ont., area scout Four Corners, Toronto Blue Jays, Laura Armstrong, Toronto, Ont., writer, Toronto Star.

Melissa Armstrong, Saskatoon, Sask., Canadians Women’s Team, author, An Ambulance on Safari, Nick Ashbourne, Toronto, Ont., ball writer Sportsnet, Casey Auerbach, Westmount, Que., coach, McGill University; RHP Jordan Balazovic, Mississauga, Ont., 4th on MLB Pipeline’s Twins prospect list, attended alternate site at St. Paul, Minn.; John Axford, Port Dover, Ont., promising TV analyst; Justin Ayles, Brampton, Ont., OUA, OCAA and Ontario Baseball Guru; John Azzoli, St. Catharines, Ont., vice-president, Fergie Jenkins league convenor and expansion; Ken Babcock, Oshawa, Ont., athletic director, Durham College; Allan Bailey, Vancouver, BC, general manager, class-A Vancouver Canadians, Evan Bailey, program director, head coach 18U, Okanagan As.

Chris Balison, Kamloops, BC, president Baseball BC, Scott Ballantyne, Kincardine, Ont., head coach, Laurier, Bruce Brenner, visiting clubhouse, Rogers Centre; Jordan Banks, Toronto, Ont., president of Rogers Sports Media, Ross Baron, grounds keeper, Nat Bailey Stadium; Brett Barron, Edmonton, Alta., assistant coach, St. Francis Xavier Academy, Thomas Bell, Etobicoke, Ont., Covermaster tarps; Al Bernacchi, Windsor, Ont., coach, Windsor Selects 21U; John Berry, Burnaby, BC, outgoing president Baseball BC, Matt Betts, Brantford, Ont., pitching coach Hamilton Cardinals and Ontario Terriers, Canadian Baseball Network’s Big Man on Campus.

John Biggar, Toronto, Ont., physical therapist, Toronto Blue Jays, Jim Bigras, Sarnia, Ont., manager, Sarnia Braves 18U, Howie Birnie, Leaside, Ont., Keeper of the Shrine (Talbot Park) Baseball Ontario Hall of Famer; Chris Black, Oshawa, Ont., producer, Blue Jays Central, Sportsnet, Rod Black, Toronto, Ont., broadcaster, TSN; Jeff Blair, Hamilton, Ont. and Stephen Brunt, Hamilton, Ont., Writers Bloc, The Fan; Scott Blinn, Toronto, Ont., clubhouse manager, Jays, Jamie Bodaly, head coach, Langley Blaze, amateur scout, Reds, Kurt Bowles, head coach, Parksville Jr. Royals.

Edmonton Prospects coach Jordan Blundell is making news …

Jordan Blundell, head coach, Edmonton Prospects/Evolution Baseball; Mike Boon, Etobicoke, Ont.; Toronto Mike’d Podcast; Ont., Jason Booth, Richmond Hill, Ont., head coach/director Of operations, Ontario Astros 17U/The Dugout, Steve Boston, Nepean, Ont., Ottawa-Nepean Canadians executive, Denis Boucher, Lachine, Que., Yankees scout, Nick Boudreau, Fredericton, NB, executive Director Baseball New Brunswick; Shawn Bowman, Coquitlam, BC, manager, Pirates rookie-class Dominican Summer League, Brody Boyenko, Saskatoon, Sask., instructor, Going Yard facility, Taylor Bratton, Oakville, Ont., coach Abbotsford Cardinals/Padres scout, Bruce Brenner, Toronto, Ont., visiting clubhouse manager, Sahlen Field.

Kevin Briand, Montreal, Que., pro scout, Toronto Blue Jays, Jordan Broatch, White Rock, BC, coach, Douglas College; Charles Bronfman, Montreal, Que./New York, former Expo owner, Montreal, Que.; Gary Brotzel, Cupar, Sask., president, Regina Red Sox; Jason Bryans, Tecumseh, Ont., amateur scout, Cardinals; Rich and Rob Butler, Ajax, Ont., coach/instructors, Butler Prospects/Butler Baseball Academy; Scott Bullett, Welland, Ont., Bullett Proof Prospects/President of the Fergie Jenkins league; T.J. Burton, Ottawa, Ont., Toronto Blue Jays; OF David Calabrese, Maple, Ont., 15th on MLB Pipeline’s Angels prospect list, attended alternate site at Long Beach State.

Raimondo Callari, Côté St-Luc, Que., scout, Giants/ABC advisor, Dick Callahan, Kitchener, Ont. Oakland A’s P.A. announcer; Remo Cardinale, Thornhill, Ont., lifetime scholarship; Jon Carson, Newmarket, Ont., general manager/director Of analytics, Team Ontario/scout Phillies, Ray Carter, Tsawwassen, BC, former Baseball Canada president, owner of the Ray Carter Cup; Pat Cassidy, St. Albert, Alta., owner, Edmonton Prospects; Dean Castelli, Hamilton, Ont., manager, Hamilton Cardinals; Rory Cava, Thunder Bay Ont., part owner, Thunder Bay Border Cats; Scott Cawker, Oshawa, Ont., assistant coach, Durham College.

Roop Chanderdat, London, Ont., manager, London Majors; Rob Cherepuschak, Regina, Sask., instructor, Martin Academy, Mike Chewpoy, coach/general manager, Victoria Mariners; Voon Chong, Vancouver BC, assistant trainer, Blue Jays; Sharon Clarke, Regina, Sask., executive director, Regina Red Sox; Dan Cimoroni, Toronto, Ont. agent, Cimoroni & Company, Jacob Clark, Toronto, Ont., producer, Blue Jays Central, Sportsnet, Gary Cohen, Monteal, Que., The Baseball Cube; Jeremy Cohen, New York, vice-president, corporate sales, marketing, MLB, Andrew Collier, Portage la Prairie, Man., general manager, Winnipeg Goldeyes.

Dr. Ryan Comeau, Red Deer, Alta., CEO, co-founder, Kinetisense, Inc. Medicine Hat, Alta., Murray Cook, Sackville, NS, scout, former Tigers scout; Dave Cooper, Lakeshore, Ont., manager, St. Clair Green Giants/St. Clair College Saints/player consultant, Tecumseh Thunder 16-18U, Wayne Corness, Surrey, BC, pitching coach, UBC; Joanna Cornish, Toronto, Ont., Hum and Chuck; Mike Cormack, Toronto, Ont., The Athletic; Rob Corte, St. Catharines, Ont., vice president of production, Jays games, Sportsnet; Scott Costello, Barrie, Ont., umpire in chief Intercounty League; Melissa Couto, Toronto, Ont., ball writer, Canadian Press; Jon Cram, Toronto, Ont., Alomar Sports.

Veteran coach Greg Cranker (Mississauga, Ont.), left greets former Erindale Cardinal Andy Lawrence at an alumni game.

Greg Cranker, Mississauga, Ont., manager, Erindale Cardinals; INF Trei Cruz, Toronto-born, Houston-bred, 27th on MLB Pipeline’s Tigers prospect list, attended alternate site in Toledo, Ohio, Phil Curtis, Sherwood Park, Alta., program director/head coach, Absolute Academy/Calgary Bucks 18u Black; Eddie Dagg, Langley, BC, manager, Whalley Chiefs 18U; Tom Dakers, Calgary, Alta., Bluebird Banter; Jonathan Dale, head coach, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians 18U, Lars Davis, Grand Prairie, Alta., volunteer assistant coach, University of Florida; Shane Dawson, Fort McMurray, Alta., head coach/technical director, Parkland Twins Baseball Academy, Marshall Dean, Saskatoon, Sask., instructor, Going Yard facility, Lee Delfino, Brantford, Ont., coach, FieldHouse Pirates 17U; Claude Delorme, Sturgeon Falls, Ont., executive VP operations and events, Marlins.

Fabio Del Rio, Ottawa, Ont., pitching coach, Ontario Royals/Brock University, Charles Demers, Quebec City, Que., general manager, Les Capitales de Quebec, Colin Dempster, Whitby, Ont., assistant coach, Durham College, Yannick Desjardins, Laval, Que., coach, Academie Baseball Canada, Jayson DesLauriers, Oshawa, Ont., head coach, Oshawa Legionaires 18U, Mark Ditmars, Toronto, Ont., vice-president, corporate partnerships, Toronto Blue Jays; Dean Dicenzo, Binbrook/Acton, Ont., Hamilton Cardinals, Ontario Terriers, Rosie DiManno, columnist, Toronto Star; Jack Dominico, Toronto, owner, Toronto Maple Leafs; Mike Doucette, Moncton, N.B. president, Baseball New Brunswick.

Andrew Downs, Cape Breton N.S., president Baseball Nova Scotia, Jordan Draeger, Saskatoon, Sask., instructor, Going Yard facility, Jeff Duda, Surrey, BC, Okotoks Dawgs Academy Dawgs, head coach, pitching coach, Washington Nationals associate scout, Erin Durant, Ottawa, Ont., BIG-time lawyer, BLG; RHP Brock Dykxhoorn, Goderich, Ont., Uni President 7-Eleven Lions, Chinese Professional League (Taiwan), Cory Eckstein, Ancaster, Ont., director of player personnel, Ontario Blue Jays/scout Royals, Bernie Eiswirth, Regina, Sask., general manager/instructor, Regina Red Sox/Martin Academy; Dave Empey, North Vancouver, BC, North Shore Hall of Fame inductee/Dave talks Baseball blog; Brian Essery, Vancouver, BC, manager, Welland Jackfish; Dwain Ervin, Mississauga, Ont., coach, Mississauga North Tigers/Michael Kim tourney convenor; Ray Fagnant, East Granby, Conn., scout, Red Sox.

Frank Fanning, London, Ont. general manager, class-A Jamestown Tarp Skunks; Rob Fai, Vancouver, BC, broadcaster, TSN, Brad Fairholm, player and coach development, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians, Drew Fairservice, Orangeville, Ont., Birds All Day podcast; Mike Farrell, Toronto, Ont., ESPN, co-director “Imperfect,” Jackson Farough, London, Ont., Rogers Cable/Ryerson University; Ken Fidlin, Ancaster, Ont., 2019 winner of the Jack Graney award; Robbie Fatal Boucherville, Que., head coach/owner, TNXL Canada Academy, Frank Fascia, Brampton, Ont., commissioner of Elite League of Ontario; Dr. Irv Feferman, Toronto, Ont., Blue Jays physician.

Pablo Forno, Okotoks, Alta., Grand Slam Sports, Derek Florko, Langley, BC, coach class-A Inland Empire (Angels), Stacy Fournier, Surrey, BC, Women’s National Team/BC Girl’s Baseball/Baseball BC High Performance and Grassroots Committees, Stacey May Fowles, Toronto, Ont., scribe, The Athletic; Geoff Freeborn, Calgary, Alta., Sidearm Nation, coach University of Calgary, scout Baltimore Orioles, Mike Frostad, Edmonton, Alta., assistant trainer, Atlanta Braves, Martine Gaillard, Toronto, Ont., broadcaster, Sportsnet; Danny Gallagher, Toronto, Ont., author of Always Remembered: New Revelations and old tales about those fabulous Expos/Canadian Baseball Network; Karl Gélinas, Laval, Que., pitching coach, Academie Baseball Canada, Holly Gentemann, Kingston, Ont., director of Events, Alomar Sports Inc.

Perry Giannias (Laval, Que.) runs Exposfest and is a first-rate collector … a few of his uniforms.

Perry (Perry G) Giannias, Laval, Que., chief of Exposfest, which has raised monies to fund research for brain cancer; Ted Giannoulas, London, Ont., The Famous Chicken; Dan Giesbrecht, Winkler, Man., chairman, Manitoba Hall of Fame, George Godfrey, Kingston, Ont., Jays Aggregator; Mitchell Godkin, Walton Ont., Leadbury Bat Company; Nick Gorneautl, Springfield, Mass., scout Anaheim Angels; Julie Gosselin, women’s baseball, Quebec, Bryan Graham, Thunder Bay, Ont., vice president/owner Thunder Bay Border Cats Northwoods Summer League; Patrick Gray, Oakville, Ont., senior director of development, University of Michigan athletics; Taylor Green, Comox, BC, supervisor, pro scouting, Brewers.

Jean-Paul Grice, director, OES Inc. scoreboards, London; Mike Griffin, Nanaimo, BC, Pro5 Academy, Holly Springs, NC; Johnny Giunta, Mississauga, Ont., host, Officially Unofficial podcast, John Haar, director of baseball operations, North Shore Twins; Jayson Hajdu, Regina, Sask., media relations director, University of North Dakota; George Halim, Grimsby, Ont., director of player development, coach, Fieldhouse Pirates 14U; INF Adam Hall, London, Ont., 16th on MLB Pipeline’s Orioles prospect list, attended alternate site in Bowie, MD, Tim Hallgren, Victoria, BC, national crosschecker, Tigers, Mike Hansford, Burlington, Ont., Corbett’s Source for Sports; Paul Hargreaves, Surrey, BC, general manager Whalley Chiefs.

Dr. Bryan Har, Calgary, BC, heart surgeon, Foothills Hospital, Tim Harkness, Jr., Bowmanville, Ont., assistant coach, Durham College. Mustafa (Moose) Hassan, Toronto, Ont., home clubhouse manager, equipment, Toronto Blue Jays, Ernie Hawkins, North Delta, BC, head coach North Delta Blue Jays; Blake Hawksworth, North Vancouver BC, assistant pitching coach, Grand Canyon University; Ed Heather, Cambridge, Ont., Ontario Terriers, Chris Henderson, Jays Journal; Jim Henderson, Calgary, Alta., pitching coach, triple-A Nashville (Brewers), Andrew Hendricks, Toronto, Ont., writer, Canadian Baseball Network; Matt Higginson, Grimsby, Ont., scout, A’s, Shawn Hill, Georgetown, Ont., Yankees pro scout, Scott Hillman, Windsor, Ont., coach, Canadian Toronto Girls league.

Maxime Hockhoussen, Laval, Que. head co-ordinator, head coach 16U, Academie Baseball Canada, Mitch Hodge, Vancouver, BC, coach BC Thunder; Jonathan Hodgson, Victoria, BC, Amateur Sports TV, The Hockey Writers, Canadian Baseball Network; Chad Hofmann, Muenster, Sask., coach Sask Baseball; Tyler Hollick, Calgary, Alta., Okotoks Dawgs Academy GM, Dawgs Black assistant coach/Milwaukee Brewers associate scout, Paul Hollingsworth, Dartmouth, N.S., broadcaster, TSN; Ted Hotzak, president, Vancouver, BC, BC Premier League; Bob Hooper, Burlington, Ont., president and business director, FieldHouse Pirates, Paul Howarth, Burlington, Ont., coach Abbotsford Cardinals, Todd Hubka, Claresholm, Alta., head coach, Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs; David Huctwith, Mississauga, Ont, past president and treasurer, Baseball Ontario.

Marc Hulet, London, Ont., longest serving scribe at Fangraphs; Frank Humber, Corner Brook Association, Corner Brook, Nfld.; Ian Hunter, Kitchener, Ont., scribe, @BlueJayHunter/Daily Hive. Todd Ireland, Burlington, Ont., associate head coach, Tusculum College; Dutche Iannetti, owner, Fort McMurray Giants; Dan Iassogna, major league ump, whose grandfather, Don Washburn was from McAdam, NB, moved to US as kid but the family maintained a cottage there for years on Palfrey Lake; Vincent Ircandia, Calgary, Alta., President and CEO, StellarAlgo (concentrating on sports business analytics, clients include the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and MiLB teams, Portland Trailblazers, other NBA, US Open Tennis, NHL teams), Aaron Izaryk, Markham, Ont., head coach and director of athletics, Bridgton Academy, North Bridgton, Maine; Rob Jack, Toronto, Ont., vice-president Alomar Sports; Tam Rosnau, Edmonton, Alta., executive director, Baseball Alberta.

Chris James, Spruce Grove, Alta., program director, Parkland Twins Baseball Academy, Jeremy Jayaweera, president and owner, Ontario Nationals, amateur scout Angels, Brit Johnson, Windsor, Ont., head coach, Tecumseh Thunder juniors, Mike Johnson, Sherwood Park, Alta., owner, 5 Tool Fieldhouse; Mayor Doug Jones, Oyen, Alta., Sylvan Lake Gulls, formerly with Lethbridge, Red Deer, Medicine Hat and Brooks, Western Canada League, Frank Kaluzniak, Brandon, Man., head coach, Parksville Royals 18U; Andrew Karkoulas, Guelph, Ont., owner PPA hithouse; Tom Katelnikoff, president, West Kelowna, BC, Okanogan Athletics; Bert Kauf, Weyburn, Sask. president, Baseball Sask, Mike Keating, Miramichi, NB, president, Baseball New Brunswick.

Tecumseh Thunder seniors manager Jamie Kell (Windsor, Ont.)

Jamie Kell, Windsor, Ont., head coach, Tecumseh Thunder seniors, Mike Kelly, North Delta, BC, BC Minor; Kevin Kennedy, Toronto, Ont., Pitch Talks; Brynn Kibble, Windsor, Ont., manager, Windsor Selects 18U, Mike Koreen, Toronto, Ont., sports editor, The Canadian Press and many other daily bugles; Mike Kozak, Kirkland, Que., assistant trainer, Marlins, Matt Kormans, Calgary, Alberta, head coach, Calgary Bucks, 18u, Corey Koskie, Anola, Man./ Plymouth, Minn., Linklete.com, Matthew Kosteniuk, Saskatoon, Sask., instructor, Going Yard facility,Brendon Kuhn, Abbotsford, BC, The Jays Nation, had the George Springer scoop, Kevin Kvame, Lethbridge, Alta., president WMBL, GM Lethbridge Bulls.

André Lachance, Baseball Canada; Jessica Lack, Calgary, Alta., digital media coordination, community relations, class-A Tampa Yankees; Jonathan Lacroix, Montreal, Que., assistant hitting coach, Academie Baseball Canada, David Laing, Langley, BC, executive director, Baseball BC; Kevin Lakes, Windsor, NS, pitching coach, King’s-Edgehill School, Jon Lalonde, Midland, Ont., player personnel coordinator, Toronto Blue Jays, Maxime Lamarche, Montreal, Que., executive director, Baseball Québec, Jacques Lanciault, Laval, Que., writer, all you need to know about Quebec players (jacqueslanciault.com); Scott Langdon, Etobicoke, Ont., Canadian Baseball Network, Eric Langill, bullpen catcher, Kirkland, Que., Mets.

Michel Laplante, Val D’Or, Que., president, Les Capitales de Quebec, Jay Lapp, London, Ont., scout, Jays; Jean-Gilles Larocque, Azilda, Ont. head coach Sudbury Voyageurs 14U, 18U/The Baseball Academy; France Lauzière, Montreal, Que., president, TVA, Brent Lavallee (North Delta, BC) manager, rookie-class Blue Jays player development, Dr. David Lawrence: primary care physician, Toronto Blue Jays; Randy LeBleau, Winnipeg, Man., assistant coach, Campbellsville College; Kevin Legge, Paradise, Nfld, president, Baseball Newfoundland and Labrador; Marty Lehn, White Rock, BC, Brewers scout/White Rock Tritons coach/Big League Experience, Marc LePage, Welland, Ont., head coach Brock University; Chris Leroux, Mississauga, Ont., The Fan.

Jesse Levine, Thornhill, Ont., coordinator of scouting and analytics, Great Lake Canadians, Linda Lewis, Port Lambton, Ont., Premier League of Ontario; INF Otto Lopez, Montreal, Que., 13th on MLB Pipeline’s Blue Jays prospect list, attended alternate site in Rochester, NY, Jeff Lounsberry, St. Catharines, Ont., general manager, Hamilton Cardinals; Mike Lumley, London, Ont., coach, London Badgers 18U, Western Ontario Mustangs and any other Badger team playing when his team is not busy; Marika Lyszczyk, Tsawwassen BC, Rivier University, Scott MacArthur, Toronto, Ont., the morning show, The Fan; Drew MacDonald, Bradford, Ont., trainer, double-A New Hampshire; Mitch MacDonald, Regina, Sask. assistant coach, Regina Red Sox; Ryan MacDonald, Kennetcook N.S, Prairie Baseball Academy/Lethbridge Bulls.

Arash Madani, Toronto, Ont., reporter, Sportsnet; Jay-Dell Mah, Nakusp, BC, author, Western Canada Baseball, Scoresheet Baseball; Kevin Malloy, visiting clubhouse manager, Toronto Blue Jays; Jon Marcheterre, St. Catharines, Ont., assistant coach, Brock University, Dave Margetts, Burlington, Ont., umpire, (best amateur ump in country?); Derek Marques, Whitby, Ont., agent, Lakeridge Sports Management, C Russell Martin, Montreal, free agent, Keegan Matheson, Toronto, Ont. scribe, MLB.com, John Matthew IV, Ormond, Ont., producer extraordinare, bluejays.com; Joe McFarland, Airdrie, Alta., Alberta Dugout Stories.

Todd McFarlane, Edmonton, Alta., collector; Matt McGovern, Ottawa, Ont., manager, Brantford Red Sox; Kaitlyn McGrath, Toronto, Ont., scribe, The Athletic; Steve McNamee, Courtenay, BC, head coach Parksville Royals, Brooks McNiven, North Vancouver, BC, head coach, North Shore Twins 18U; Chris Mears, Victoria, BC, pitching cross checker, Red Sox; Mitch Melnick, Montreal, Que., broadcaster, TSN 690; Cory Melvin, Tampa, Fla., pro scout, Yankees; Jason Miller, Winnipeg, Man., executive director, Baseball Manitoba; Larry Millson, Toronto, Ont., Field Level Media.

Coach John Milton (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.) of the Ontario Terriers.

John Milton, Niagara-on-the-Lake/Sarasota, Fla., college advisor, Ontario Terriers, program coordinator St. Petersburg baseball commission, assistant coach, Erie County Community College, Kevin Mitchell, Cambridge, Ont., hitting coach, Ontario Blue Jays, Ryan Mittleman, director, pro scouting, Toronto Blue Jays, Dustin Molleken, Regina, Sask., pitching coach, Prairie Baseball Academy, Herb Morell, Mississauga, Ont., Intercounty League statistian, official scorer at Rogers Centre; Peter Morris, East Lansing, Mich., historian/author; Greg Morrison, owner, Medicine Hat, Alta., Medicine Hat Mavericks; Adam Morissette, Ottawa, Ont., public relations and best-dressed man this side of Don Cherry, Baseball Canada; Neil Munro, North Bay, Ont., Canada’s stat guru, Canadian Baseball Network; Leo Mui, Toronto, Ont. scribe, Bluebird Banter, Brett Muth, Edmonton, Alta., co-founder and COO, Levi Muth, Edmonton, Alta., co-Founder and CFO, Bush League Baseball.

Aaron Myette, New Westminster, BC, women’s team manager, C Noah Naylor, Mississauga, Ont., fourth on MLB Pipeline’s Cleveland prospect list, attended alternate site in Eastlake, Ohio, Bill Neale, Collingwood, Ont., head coach Kansas Wesleyan University; Shawn Neale, Collingwood, Ont., assistant coach, West Texas A&M University; Scott Neiles, Winnipeg, Man., Home Run Sports. Nancy Newman, New York, Yankees Magazine, host, does the same job legendary Mel Allen did, YES Network; Mike Nickeas, Vancouver, BC, agent, CAA, OF Jordon Nwogu, Ottawa, Ont., on MLB Pipeline’s Cubs prospect list, attended alternate site in South Bend, Ind. Trevor Nyp, Kitchener, Ont., minor league defensive coach, Angels, co-owner Playball Academy, player development, Ontatio Nationals, Andrew North, St. Marys, Ont., organizer of the annual Canadian Baseball History Conference, founding director of the Centre for Canadian Research at the Hall of Fame in St. Marys.

Jon Oko, Edmonton, Alta., president, Baseball Alberta; Cory Olafson, Moose Jaw Sask., GM, Moose Jaw Miller Express; Santa Ono, Vancouver, BC, president, University of British Columbia, Justin Orton, Essex, Ont., development coach, Dominican Summer League, Pirates, Mark Orr, Kamloops, BC, Kamloops RiverDogs, Peter Orr, Newmarket, Ont., pro scout, Brewers; Stephen Osterer, Ottawa, Ont., pitching resource coordinator, Indians; James Parker, Toronto, Ont., area scout, Padres; Steve Paine, Toronto, Ont., producer, Blue Jays Central, Sportsnet, Mike Parlow, Qualicum Beach, BC, GM Parksville Royals,

Rob Pegg, Flesherton, Ont., coach, Vanguard University; Claude Pelletier, Ste-Lezare, Que., scout, Mets, Curtis Pelletier, Victoria, BC, director of player development/Assistant coach, Victoria Harbourcats, Marlins scout; John Picco, Windsor, Ont., general manager, Windsor Selects; Marc Philippon, Hamilton, Ont., Steadman Philippon Research Clinic, Vail, Col.; Marc Picard, Windsor, Ont., coach, Windsor Selects; RHP Nick Pivetta, Victoria, BC, Phillies/Red Sox, Jamie Pogue, Guelph, Ont., bullpen catcher, Cardinals; Mark Polishuk, London, Ont., MLB Trade Rumors, Rye Pothakos, Saskatoon Sask., assistant director of recruiting, Regina Red Sox.

Adam Prendergast, Montreal, Que., associate director of athletics/communications and creative content, Troy University Trojans; Rick Prior, Windsor, Ont., manager, Tecumseh Thunder 18u, Kate Psota, Burlington, Ont., coach, Women’s National Team, Terry Puhl, Melville, Sask. coach, University of Houston-Victoria; Keith Pyne, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., medical consultant, Dodgers; Shawn Pynn, Brampton, Ont., head recruiting coach NCSA (Next College Student Athlete); Paul Quantrill, Port Hope, Ont., former Toronto Blue Jays roving instructor, Ed Quinlan, Stoney Creek, Ont., president Baseball Ontario, Dr. Satish Raj, Calgary, Alta., heart surgeron, Foothills Hospital, Mark Randall, Edmonton, Alta., coach, Team Alberta.

If you read a Blue Jays tweet and it brings you a smile … chances are Alykhan Ravjiani (Toronto, Ont.,) did the typing.

Alykhan Ravjiani, Toronto, Ont., social community manager, Toronto Blue Jays, Claude Raymond, Ste-Jean, Que., former Expo; Al Ready, London, Ont., coach, University of Indianapolis; Jackie Redmond, MLBNetwork; Darryl Reid, Oshawa, Ont., head coach/assistant coach, Durham College/Toronto Mets 18U, Shiraz Rehman, Montreal, Que., assistant GM, Rangers, Morgan Reiter, Regina, Sask., Inside Pitch Baseball Academy; Jim Richardson, Milton, Ont., director of baseball operations, coach FieldHouse Pirates 18U; Fred Rioux, Montreal, Que., technological data processing consultant, Academie Baseball Canada, Mattingly Romanin, Burlington, Ont., head coach, Ontario Royals 18U.

Aqil Samuel, president, Consort, Alta., Sylvan Lake Gulls, Patrick Scalabrini, Waterford, Que., manager, Les Capitales de Quebec, Jen and Graham Schetzsle, Veteran, Alta., Sylvan Lake Gulls, Ernie Schroeder, president Ottawa-Nepean Canadians, Tony Siemens, Rosenort, Man., president Baseball Manitoba; John Silverman, Montreal, equipment manager, Marlins; Marie-Pierre Simard, La Beauce, Que., co-owner Les Capitales de Québec; Jeff Simpson, Nashville, Tenn., Brewers scout, David Singh, Toronto, Ont., Sportsnet scribe, Jeff Skelhorne-Gross, Kingston, Ont., Queen’s University Golden Gaels.

Matt Skirving, London, Ont., Pittsburgh, baseball Operations, Pirates; Annakin Slayd, hip-hop, rap, passionate Expos fan, Dr. Jason Smith, Toronto, Ont., Jays consulting orthopedic surgeon, Jays; Mary-Ann Smith, Cambridge, Ont. director of operations, Baseball Ontario; Ryan Snair, Margaret’s Bay, N.S., head coach, Sullivan County Community College, Tyler Soucie, Cambridge, Ont., pitching coordinator, Ontario Nationals, Bernie Soulliere, Windsor, Ont., chef de mission Team Canada/president Windsor Selects; Matt Spatafora, Scarborough, Ont., assistant coach/recruiting coordinator, Niagara University; Tanner Spencer, Craik, Sask,, coach, University of Mary; Chad Stang, Surrey, BC, head coach, player development, White Rock Tritons 18U.

Howard Starkman, Mississauga, Ont., scorekeeper, Toronto Blue Jays; Sammie Starr, Toronto, Ont., assistant coach, University of British Columbia/Kamloops NorthPaws, Mike Steed, Beamsville, Ont., pitching coach Ontario Blue Jays/manager Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks, Brandon Steele, London, Ont., head coach, Tusculum College; Ashley Stephenson, Mississauga, Ont. coach, Women’s National Team, Adam Stern, London, Ont., director of player development, Great Lake Canadians 18U manager, Dale Stevens, Dundas, Ont., longest-serving member, MLB.com; John Stewart, Brighton, Ont., manager, Nat Bailey stadium operations, clubhouse attendant, Vancouver Canadians; Julie Stewart-Binks, Toronto, Ont., “Call It A Night with Julie-Stewart-Binks” and “Drinks With Binks,” Andrew Stoeten, Toronto, Ont., The Bat Flip blog, Charlie Strandlund, Victoria, BC, player development, Victoria Eagles.

Jim Swanson, Prince George, BC, managing partner/GM, Victoria HarbourCats/Nanaimo NightOwls; Ryan Sweeney, Paradise, NL, president Premier Sports Academy, RHP Jameson Taillon, The Woodlands, Tex., Yankees; Dr. Ron Taylor, Leaside, Ont. physician emeritus Blue Jays; Devon Teeple, North Bay, Ont., GM’s Perspective, Baseball Business Consultant of 2020 by Corp Today Magazine, founded ignite CHANGE, non-profit organization combining performance coaching and mentorship with mental health awareness; Nichole and Mike Tevlin, Toronto, Ont., co-owners The Baseball Zone, Ontario Terriers; Dr. John Theodoropoulos, Toronto, Ont., head orthopedic surgeon, Jays; Jason Thomasen, Brooks, Alta., president, Brooks Bombers, Jordan Tiegs, Woodstock, Ont,, pitching coach, class-A Kinston, Rangers.

Dale Tilleman, Tabor, Alta., High Performance Coordinator Alberta Baseball, scout Tigers; Joe Tilley’s podcast, Ben Tinklin, Kitchener, Ont., manager/catching coordinator, Ontario Nationals 18u, Tom Tippett, Lexington, Mass., independent statistical consultant for three teams, Tippett Analytics; Danny Thompson, Niagara-On-the-Lake, Ont., director of baseball operations, Ontario Terriers, Scott Thorman, Cambridge, Ont., manager double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Royals), Damon Topolie, North Bay, Ont., manager, Toronto Maple Leafs; 3B Abraham Toro, Longueuil, Que.; Rene Tosoni, coach, Coquitlam Reds/scout Toronto Blue Jays; Jeremy Trach, Coquitlam, BC, assistant strength and conditioning coach, Toronto Blue Jays, Shawn Travers, Toronto, Ont., coach, Mississauga North Tigers. Dave Tredgett, Toronto, Ont., Sportsnet executive producer of Blue Jays baseball; Jean Tremblay, Quebec City, Que. co-owner Les Capitales de Québec,

Pierre Tremblay, Quebec City, Que., co-owner Les Capitales de Québec, Marc-Élie Toussaint, Montreal, Que., sprint specialist, Academie Baseball Canada, Randy Town, Calgary, Alta., associate athletic director for athletic operations and director of physical education director, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges; Jeremy Uylenbroek, Barrie, Ont., head coach, Ontario Titans 18U, Marc Vadboncoeur, Laval, Que., president of Baseball Quebec; David Valente, Thunder Bay, Ont., president Border Cats; Scott VandeValk, Georgetown, Ont., senior advisor, Ontario Terriers; Jimmy Van Ostrand, Richmond, BC, mental performance coach, Toronto Blue Jays.

Gary Van Tol, Pincher Creek, Alta., coach, Boise State; Melissa Verge, Titusville, NB, Canadian Baseball Network, Allison Vickers, Mississauga, Ont., beach ball specialist, One Heart Care; Carson Vitale, Victoria, BC, major-league field coordinator, Mariners; Chris Walsh, Caledon Ont., trainer, class-A Palm Beach (Cardinals), Doug Walton, Toronto, Ont., producer, Sportsnet; Trevor Wamback, Windsor, NS, head coach, King’s-Edgehill School/Newbridge Academy, Tanner Watson, Arnprior, Ont., (second best player to live in the berth behind HOFer Tim Raines), founder/manager Watson Elite 16u, Rob Watt, Chemainus, BC, head coach, Mount Olive College; RP Rowan Wick, North Vancouver, BC, Chicago Cubs.

Scott Weberg, Kelowna BC, head strength and conditioning coach, Toronto Blue Jays, RP Rowan Wick, North Vancouver, BC, Cubs, Tim Wharnsby, Waterloo, Ont., The Canadian Press; Stephanie and Joe Wilkinson, Oakville, Ont., co-owners, Ontario Blue Jays; Justin Willard, Brampton, Ont., pitching coordinator (Twins); Ian Wilson, Calgary, Alta., Alberta Dugout Stories, Kassandra and Mark Wilson, Delta, BC, Nettex netting; Ian Wilson, Calgary, Alta., Alberta Dugout Stories, Stan Wilson, Brampton, Ont., coach, Brampton Royals.

Charlie Wilson, director, minor league operations, Blue Jays; Nigel Wilson, Ajax, Ont., Ontario Yankees 18U/Competitive Edge, David Wiseman, Etobicoke, Ont., problem solver, Joe Wiwchar, Morden, Man., administrative manager Manitoba Hall of Fame, located near Joe Wiwchar Field; Greg Wolfe, Edmonton, Alta., New Zealand Baseball Federation development manager; Brad Wolansky, St. Albert, Alta., director and coach, St. Francis Xavier Academy, Brad Woods, Swift Current, Sask., president, Swift Current 57s; Fred Wray, Calgary, Alta. Independent Sports & Entertainment agent; Andrew Wright, Woodstock, N.B. Yankees as director of Dominican Republic operations, Bart Yabsley, Toronto, Ont., president of Sportsnet.

Bill Yuill (Medicine Hat, Alta.) has received the Alberta order of Excellence.

Bill Yuill, Medicine Hat, owner, Medford Rogues, West Coast summer league; Arden Zwelling, Sportsnet.

***

It was suggested by some that adults and children kept the game alive in 2020 should be our No. 1 for 2020, but we don’t elect a former player to Cooperstown every year.

Some have told us it was tougher to keep baseball going in 2020 than during World War II.

We can’t list all the moms and fathers who went to parks for “a game of catch,” with their daughters and sons to ease the boredom. Or threw batting practice from 60 1/2 feet or 45 feet or whatever -- but farther than six feet -- away.

So here we go a thank you to all who helped in 2020 …

Jordy Alexander, Calgary, Alta. pitching coach, Calgary Bucks 15U; Rob Alksne, Comox, BC, Okanagan A’s 15U, Kyle Angelow, Mississauga, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Royals 16U, Peter Angelow, Toronto, Ont., head coach, Toronto Mets 14U, Aidan Armitage, Waterloo, Ont., pitching coach, Ontario Nationals 14U, Tom Arnold, Chateauguay, Que., coach, Great Lake Canadians, 15U, Justin Aubin, Thornbury, Ont., assistant coach, Lake Simcoe Nationals 17U, Denis Bailey, East York, Ont., associate head coach, Ontario Titans 17U, Jamie Baker, Oshawa, Ont., assistant coach, Oshawa Legionaires 18U, Larry Balkwill, Chatham, Ont., hitting instructor, Great Lake Canadians.

Ian Bala, Mississauga, Ont., pitching coach, Ontario Terriers 17U, Ryan Balan, Etobicoke, Ont., head coach, Ontario Royals 15U, Mike Bannon, Toronto, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Terriers 17U, Kirk Barclay, Wyoming, Ont., assistant coach, Great Lake Canadians 18U/Royals scout, Jesse Barker, Newmarket, Ont., head coach, Ontario Titans 16U, Paul Barker, Toronto, Ont., assistant coach Ontario Titans 16U, Ryan Barton, Sudbury Ont., assistant coach, Sudbury Voyageurs 16U, Frank Bauer, Amherstburg, Ont., coach, Windsor Selects 15U, Tristan Beadle, Ajax, Ont., coach, Ontario Yankees 16U, Brian Beeler, Ottawa, Ont., head coach, Ottawa Knights 14U.

Sam Bent, Ottawa, Ont., assistant coach, Ottawa Knights 18U. John Bethune, Keswick, Ont., head coach, Ontario Titans 15U, Cobourn Bickle, Ottawa, Ont., assistant coach, Ottawa Knights 18U, Bruce Biro, Deep Bay, BC, assistant coach, Parksville Royals 18U, Chris Black, Mississauga, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Terriers 15U, Damian Blen, Havana, Cuba, president, program director, Ontario Rockies 17, Derek Bloomfield, Strathroy, Ont., manager, Great Lake Canadians, 15U Black/scout Royals, Chris Boatto, Vaughan, Ont., pitching coach, Ontario Terriers 16U, Jason Borghese, Guelph, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Nationals 14U, Tristan Bouchat, Windsor, Ont., assistant coach, Tecumseh Thunder 16U.

Matt Bowden, Lambeth, Ont., manager, Great Lake Canadians, 14U Black, Omari Briscoe, Mississauga, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Terriers 15U, Steve Brown, head coach, Clarington Renegades 14U, Ronan Bryne, Abbotsford, BC, mental skills coordinator, Ontario Blue Jays, Kevin Burgoyne, Kingston, Ont., coach, Kingston Colts 14U, Paul Burley, Bowmanville, Ont., assistant coach, Clarington Renegades 14U, Matthieu Butler, Sudbury, Ont., assistant coach, Sudbury, Ont., Voyageurs 14U, Brayden Byers, Newmarket, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Titans 15U, Michael Caleb, Vancouver, BC, assistant coach, North Delta Blue Jays; Vince Cambruzzi, Oakville, Ont., head coach, FieldHouse Pirates, 15U.

Sean Camilleri, Coquitlam, BC, head coach, Tri-City Thunder, Josh Campbell, assistant coach, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians 15U, Mark Campbell, Kingsville, Ont., manager, Windsor 16U, Zach Campagne, White Rock, BC, pitching coach, White Rock Tritons 16U, Jesse Centrulla, Windsor, Ont., assistant coach, Tecumseh Thunder 18u, Joe Chambers, London, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Nationals 15U, Ryan Chase, LaSalle, Ont., coach, Windsor Selects 15U, Justin Chartrand, Ottawa, Ont., assistant coach, Ottawa Knights 16U, Ryan Chenard, Port Alberni, BC, coach, Parksville Royals, Zarley Cina, Kitchener, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Nationals 18u.

Coach Damian Clarke (Waterdown, Ont.) of the Ontario Royals.

Damian Clarke, Waterdown, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Royals 15U, Jacob Clement, Ottawa, Ont., assistant coach, Ottawa Knights 14U, Rich Clemons Mississauga, Ont., coach, Ontario Blue Jays, Hyung Cho, Scarbrough, Ont., coach, Ontario Blue Jays, Rhys Cornell, Hamilton, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Nationals 17U, Rich Corrente, Chatham, Ont., pitching coach, Ontario Giants 16U, Daylon Courchene, Ottawa, Ont., head coach, Ottawa Knights 16U, Alex Crocco, Vaughan, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Titans 18u, Mike Cross, Windsor, Ont., coach, Windsor Selects 15U, Brad Crone, Orangeville, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Royals 16U.

Kevin Cruickshank, Oshawa, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Astros 14U, Palmer Cruickshank, Oshawa, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Astros 15U, Francis Cubos, Toronto, Ont., infield coach, Ontario Blue Jays 15U; Colin Cummins, Mississauga, Ont., head coach, Ontario Giants 16U, Shane Davis, Belmont, Ont., pitching coordinator, Great Lake Canadians, Tim Deacon, Toronto, Ont., head coach, Halton Badgers 14U, Guido Dell’unto, Mississauga, Ont., pitching coach, Ontario Blue Jays, Dakoda Denby, Pickering, Ont., pitching coach, Ontario Yankees 16U, Kyle Dhanani, White Rock, BC, coach, White Rock Tritons; Ian Dick, London, Ont., assistant coach, London Badgers 15U.

James DiFlorio, assistant coach, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians 15U, Ryan Dillon, assistant coach, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians 18U, Nick Dimpfel, Richmond Hill, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Titans 15U, Justin Dineen, Ottawa, Ont., assistant coach, Sudbury Voyageurs 14U, Scott Doucet, White Rock, BC, head coach, White Rock Tritons 16U, Evan Douglas, Surrey, BC, assistant coach, White Rock Tritons 16U, Derrick Drover, Spaniards Bay, Nfld., assistant coach, Clarington Renegades 16U, Sean Duquette, Windsor, Ont., assistant coach, Tecumseh Thunder 18u, Shawn Earle, Oshawa, Ont., head coach, Oshawa Legionaires 15U.

Marcus Eaton, Kanata, Ont., manager, Watson Elite 15U, Jake English, London, Ont., pitching coach, Ontario Nationals 16U, Aaron Ethier, Calgary, Alta., assistant coach Okotoks Dawgs 15U, Jay Evans, Windsor, Ont., coach, Windsor Selects 18U, Ryan Faubert, Azilda, Ont., assistant coach Sudbury Voyageurs 14U, Lavaughn Ferguson, Nassau, Bahamas, assistant coach, Ontario Giants 14U, Rhett Feser, Unity, Sask., junior varsity pitching coach, Prairie Baseball Academy, Kyle Fillier, Toronto, Ont., assistant coach, Toronto Mets 16U, Ian Finlay, Surrey, BC White Rock Tritons 15U.

Former minor league pro Jon Fitzsimmons (London, Ont.) has joined the Great Lake Canadians staff

Jon Fitzsimmons, London, Ont., pitching coordinator, Great Lake Canadians, Dylan Flasch, Lloydminister, Alta., assistant coach, Badlands Academy, Will Flodin, Surrey, BC, assistant coach, North Delta Blue Jays; Kevin Floyd, Calgary, Alta., assistant coach, Calgary Bucks, 15U White, Tyler Foslett, London, Ont., hitting coach, Ontario Nationals 14U, Brent Foreman, Coquitlam BC, assistant coach, Coquitlam Reds 18U, Cody Foster, assistant coach, Clarington Renegades 16U, Tim Gasparotto, Mississauga, Ont., Erindale Cardinals/Terriers coach 18U; Cam Gillis, Newmarket, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Astros 14U, Dan Gillis, Sutton, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Astros 16U.

Pat Gilmour, Kingston, Ont., coach, Kingston Colts 14U, Dustin Godden, Brampton, Ont., assistant coach, London Badgers 18U, Sean Gonsalves, Markham, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Astros 16U, Bretton Gouthro, Calgary, Alta., Okotoks Dawgs, head coach Red 18U, Andrew Graham, Toronto, Ont., assistant coach, Toronto Mets 16U, Paul Grasby, coach, Stratford, Ont., Ontario Nationals 15U; Chris Gravelle, assistant coach, Bulletproof Prospects 15U, Jordan Harcourt, Ottawa, Ont., head coach, Ottawa Knights 15U, Jalen Harris, Mississauga, Ont., assistant coach, Toronto Mets 16U, Jason Hart, Thunder Bay, Ont., coach, Thunder Bay Lakers 15U/Port Arthur Nationals; Ian Harvey, Oakville, Ont., pitching coach, FieldHouse Pirates; Larry Hazel, London, Ont., head coach, London Badgers 14U.

Brody Hawkins, North Delta, BC, assistant coach, North Delta Blue Jays; Joe Hawkins, Oshawa, Ont., hitting coach, class-A Peoria (Cardinals), Jeff Heinbuch, Mississaua, Ont., assistant coach, Mississauga Majors, Jake Hesselink, Regina, Sask., assistant coach, Calgary Bucks, 18u White, Riley Hoover, Newmarket, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Astros 14U, Aaron Howell, Tecumseh, Ont., assistant coach, Windsor Selects 17U, Tony Hrynkiw, Brampton, Ont., coach, Ontario Blue Jays, Mitch Hudvanger, Cottam, Ont., coach Windsor Selects 16U, Mike Hughes, Ladner, BC assistant coach, White Rock Tritons 18U, Mike Hughson, assistant coach, Clarington Renegades 14U, Jeff Helps, Wyoming, Ont., manager, Great Lake Canadians 16U.

Kevin Hussey, Burlington, Ont., head coach, Ontario Terriers 17U; JJ Hyde, Coquitlam, BC, coach, Tri-City Indians; Alex Iliffe, Sharon, Ont., head coach, Ontario Astros 14U, Chris Iltshishin, Kitchener, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Nationals 18u, Mike Irving, Mississauga, Ont., coach Mississauga Majors, Batter Up School; John Izumi, Toronto, Ont., pitching coach, Ontario Astros 16U, Glenn Jackson, head coach, Toronto Mets 16U, Nick Jaeggin, Oakville, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Royals 15U, Xavier Jamieson, Forest, Ont., assistant coach, London Badgers 14U, Curtis Johnson, Sudbury, Ont., assistant coach, Sudbury Voyageurs 18U.

Greg Johnson, Sudbury Ont., assistant coach, Sudbury Voyageurs 18U, Mark Johnston, Kitchener, Ont., manager, Ontario Nationals 14U, Connor Jones, assistant coach, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians 16U, Peter Joseph, Thornhill, Ont., pitching coach, Toronto Mets 18U, Jeff Justice, assistant coach, Ontario Astros 15U, Glenn Jackson, Toronto, Ont., head coach, Toronto Mets 16U Travis Kayler, Eden Mills, Ont., coach, FieldHouse Pirates 16U; Troy Kehoe, North Bay, Ont., assistant coach, Belleville Dawgs 16U, Pat Kelley, Calgary, Alta., pitching coach, Calgary Bucks, 18u Yellow, Jared Kennedy, Calgary, Alta., pitching coordinator, Ontario Blue Jays.

Patrick Kibble, Windsor, Ont., assistant coach, Windsor Selects 17U, Leo Kinahan, Newmarket, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Astros 14U, Mark Kinal, Mississauga, Ont., coach, Ontario Blue Jays, Dean Kirkey, head coach, Ontario Tusks 16U, Brock Kjeldgaard, London, Ont., manager, Great Lake Canadians, 17U manager, Jonathan Kovack, Niagara on the Lake, Ont., head coach, Bulletproof Prospects 15U, Mitch Knights, assistant coach, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians 18U, Alex LaJeunesse, head coach, assistant coach, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians 15U, Jeffrey Lamont, Oakville, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Royals 16U, (Every Day) Eddie Largy, Mississauga, Ont., coach, Ontario Blue Jays 17U.

Former Ottawa-Nepean Canadians INF Chris Latimer is an assistant with the Ottawa-based Watson Elite.

Chris Latimer, Ottawa, Ont., assistant coach, Watson Elite, Reed Lavallee, Richmond, BC, associate coach, White Rock Tritons, Chris Lazar, Mississauga, Ont., pitching coach, Ontario Terriers 15U, Andy Leader, Kitchener, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Nationals 17U, Ryan Leonard, Windsor, Ont., assistant coach, Tecumseh Thunder 16U, Tim Leonard, coach, Kingston Colts 16U, Honsing Leung, Toronto, Ont., assistant coach, Toronto Mets 18U, Chris Lewis, Lakeshore, Ont., head coach, Tecumseh Thunder 16U, Matt Linder, Thunder Bay, Ont., pitching coach, Watson Elite 15U, Rick Lindquist, Tecumseh, Ont., pitching consultant, Tecumseh Thunder 16-18U.

Nelson Lipszyc, Calgary, Alta., head coach, Calgary Bucks, 15U Yellow, Bob Lofgren, London, Ont., head coach, London Badgers 15U, Marshal Luiz, Surrey, BC, White Rock Tritons 15U, Mitch Lumley, London, Ont., assistant coach, London Badgers 14U, Shawn Lynn, North York, Ont., assistant coach, FieldHouse Pirates; Bryce MacDonald-Wilson, Eastern Passage, N.S., assistant coach, Ottawa Knights 15U, Kyle Mackinnon, Caledon, Ont., infield coordinator, Ontario Blue Jays, Shaun Mcguire, East York, Ont., head coach, Ontario Astros 18U, Jackson Martin, Listowel, Ont., head coach, Ontario Nationals 14U, Justin Marra, Toronto, Ont., coach, Ontario Blue Jays.

Jordan Markle, Whitby, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Tusks 16U, Aaron Marshall, Oshawa, Ont., head Coach, Oshawa Legionaires 17U, Jackson Martin, Listowel, Ont., head coach, Ontario Nationals 14U, Ben Matheson, Calgary, Alta., head coach, Calgary Bucks, 15U White, Eugenio Matos, Nepean, Ont., head coach, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians 15U, Neal Mattes, Whity, Ont., assistant coach, Toronto Mets 14U, Chad Matton, LaSalle, Ont., assistant coach, Windsor Selects 17U, Frank Maury, Brampton, Ont., head coach, Toronto Mets 16U, C.J. May, Toronto, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Yankees, Jamie May, Oshawa, Ont., assistant coach, Toronto Mets 15U.

Brad McElroy, London, Ont., manager, Great Lake Canadians, 14U Red, Sean McGuire, Surrey, BC, pitching coach, White Rock Tritons 18U, Aidan Mcguire-Banks, Tecumseh, Ont., assistant coach, Aaron McKay, Stratford, Ont., manager, Ontario Nationals 16U; Kyle Mckay, King City, Ont., head coach, Ontario Astros 16U, Paul McKeegan, Toronto, Ont., assistant coach, Toronto Mets 14U, Landon McLaren, Dundas, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Royals 16U, Doug McPhail, Okotoks, Alta., coach, Okotoks Dawgs 15U, Dennis Melanson, Sudbury Ont., assistant coach, Sudbury Voyageurs 18U, Sean Mcveigh, Mississauga, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Astros 14U.

Dave Mignault, Kingston, Ont., coach, Kingston Colts 16U, John Miklosi, Windsor, Ont., assistant coach, Tecumseh Thunder 18u, Dave Miller, assistant coach, Bulletproof Prospects 14U, Matt Mills, Hamilton, Ont., head coach, Ontario Royals 16U; Tyler Milton, Okotoks, Alta., coach, Okotoks Dawgs 13U; Donald (Buzz) Morris, Woodslee, Ont., manager, Windsor Selects 17U, Colin Moro, Calgary, Alta., assistant coach, Calgary Bucks, 18u Black, Conner Morro, Caledon, Ont., strength and conditioning coordinator, Ontario Blue Jays, Andrew Morneau, Windsor, Ont., assistant coach, Tecumseh Thunder 18u, Matt Morrison, Oshawa, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Tusks 16U.

Rob Murphy, assistant coach, Tecumseh Thunder 18u, Dom Murray, Ottawa, Ont., head coach, Ottawa Knights 18U, Greg Miner, Pickering, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Yankees 18U, Joseph Moher, Hanmer, Ont., assistant coach, Sudbury Voyageurs 16U, Mike Mueller, Mississauga, Ont., pitching coach, Ontario Nationals 16U, Willie Mulligan, Red Deer, Alta., assistant coach, Calgary Bucks, 18u Yellow, Brenden Nevills, Oshawa, Ont., assistant coach, Clarington Renegades 16U, Andy Nopper, assistant coach, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians 15U, Carson Nylund, Surrey, BC, pitching coach, North Delta Blue Jays; Brad O’Hara, Surrey, BC, assistant coach, White Rock Tritons 18U, Rob O’Neill, Hamilton, Ont., head coach, FieldHouse Pirates, 14U.

Jeremy Orton (Ruthven, Ont.) is coaching the Windsor Selects 16U.

Jeremy Orton, Ruthven, Ont., coach Windsor Selects 16U, J Osborne, Newcastle, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Astros 18U, Yusuke Oshima, Markham, Ont., pitching coach, Toronto Mets 15U, Mike Ozga, Red Deer, Alta., assistant coach, Calgary Bucks, 15U Yellow, Matt Paculan, Mississauga, Ont., head Coach, White Rock Tritons 15U, Shail Paliwal, assistant coach, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians 18U, Kevin Paradis, LaSalle, Ont., coach, Windsor Selects 16U, Nick Prasad, Oshawa, Ont., assistant coach, Toronto Mets 14U, Shawn Paquette, Lively Ont., head coach, Sudbury Voyageurs 16U, Jeff Peach, Calgary, Alta., head coach, Calgary Bucks, 15U Black.

Krista Perron, Hanmer, Ont., manager, Sudbury Voyageurs 14U, Braden Persian, Calgary, Alta., assistant coach, Calgary Bucks, 15U White, Ryan Pollard, Milton, Ont., coach, Ontario Terriers 15U; Nick Prasad, Oshawa, Ont., assistant coach, Toronto Mets 14U, Joe Presutti, Maple, Ont., head coach, Ontario Astros 15U, Adam Prior, Windsor, Ont., assistant coach, Tecumseh Thunder 18u, Tony Quick, Oshawa, Ont., assistant coach, Oshawa Legionnaires 17U, David Quattrociocchi, Toronto, Ont., Vaughan Vikings; Jake Rajsigl, Windsor, Ont., assistant coach, Windsor Selects 18U.

Mark Rajsigl, Windsor, Ont., manager, Windsor Selects 15U, Dave Ramsdale, London, Ont., assistant coach, London Badgers 15U, Tyler Rathwell, head coach, assistant coach, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians 16U, Sean Refflinghaus, London, Ont., catching/hitting instructor, Great Lake Canadians, Steve Renaud, Ottawa, Ont., assistant coach, Ottawa Knights 16U, B J Richardson, Windsor, Ont. coach Windsor 16U, Clayton Richer, Clarington, Ont., head coach, Clarington Renegades 16U, Daryl Ringwald, Oakville, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Astros 16U, Colin Robinson, Windsor, Ont., coach, Windsor Selects 15U, Dave Ruhr, Calgary, Alta., coach, Calgary Bucks/Absolute Baseball Academy.

Connor Russell, Victoria, BC, assistant coach, Parksville Royals 18U, Steve Sararas, Belleville, Ont., head coach, Belleville Dawgs 16U, Brendan Saville, Ottawa, Ont., coach, Great Lake Canadians, 15U, Shawn Schaefer, Waterdown, Ont., outfield coordinator, Ontario Blue Jays, Colby Schroeder, assistant coach, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians 18U, Rob Scicluna, Mississauga, Ont., assistant coach, Mississauga Majors, Sean Seguin, Toronto, Ont., head coach, Oakville A’s 16U, Mike Siena, Hamilton, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Blue Jays, Tony Simone, Amherstburg, Ont., assistant coach, Windsor Selects 17U, Vito Signorile, Val Therese, Ont., manager, Sudbury Voyageurs 16U.

Jeff Sharpe, Oshawa, Ont., assistant coach, nutritionist, Ontario Terriers 15U, Meyer Shemtov, Richmond Hill, Ont. scout, Rockies/pitching coach, Lake Simcoe Nationals 17U; Matt Soanes, Lakeshore, Ont., assistant coach, Windsor Selects 17U, Chris Soulliere, Windsor, Ont., coach, Windsor Selects 18U, Jerry Soulliere, Tecumseh, Ont., coach, Windsor Selects 18U, Mike Smith, Oshawa, Ont., assistant coach, Oshawa Legionaires 15U, Scott Smith, Calgary, Alta., Okotoks Dawgs 15U Black assistant coach, Tim Smith, Toronto, Ont., hitting coordinator, Ontario Blue Jays, Brodie Stairs, Calgary, Alta., pitching coach, Calgary Bucks.

Tyler Soucie (Cambridge, Ont.) is handling pitching for the Ontario Nationals

Tyler Soucie, Cambridge, Ont., pitching coordinator, Ontario Nationals, Craig Spencer, Calgary, Alta., head coach, Okotoks Dawgs 16U; Paul Spoljaric, Lisle, Ont., pitching coach, Toronto Mets 17U, Danny Stearns, Kelowna, BC, coach Okanagan A’s 18U and Okanagan College Coyotes, Alex Stewart, Aurora, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Titans 18U, Matt Stocco, Guelph, assistant coach, Ontario Terriers 18u, Chad Stone, Oshawa, Ont., assistant coach, Toronto Mets 15U, Todd Stronks, Brantford, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Nationals 14U, Jeremias Sucre, San Felix, Ven., assistant coach, Bulletproof Toronto Cubs 16U, Kirby Smith, Barrie, Ont., coach, Central Ontario Reds, Austen Swift, Etobicoke, Ont., assistant coach, Bulletproof Toronto Cubs 16U.

John-Michael Tashos, Vaughan, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Titans 17U, Peter Tassopoulos, Stouffville, Ont., head coach, Ontario Astros 14U, Kurtis Taylor, Yellowknife, NWT, Okotoks Dawgs 18U pitching coach, Wes Taylor, Port Coquitlam BC, Coquitlam Reds; Luke Tevlin, Toronto, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Terriers 16U, Kevin Thomson, Thorold, Ont., head coach, Bulletproof Prospects 14U, Nenad Tomic, Milton, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Giants 16U, Matt Trimble, Coquitlam BC, pitching coach, Coquitlam Reds 18U, Mark Trimble, Coquitlam BC, assistant coach, Coquitlam Reds 18U, Josh Trybuch, Calgary, Alta., head coach, Calgary Bucks, 18u Yellow.

Jackson VanBakel, Dorchester, Ont., assistant coach, London Badgers 14U, Berry Van Donselaar, assistant coach, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians 18U, Matt Van Geene, Barrie, Ont., head coach, Lake Simcoe Nationals 17U, Ben Van Iderstine, Regina, Sask., hitting instructor, Inside Pitch Academy; Lawrence Vera, Barrie, Ont., head coach, Titans 17U, Riley Vernon, LaSalle, Ont., assistant coach, Tecumseh Thunder 16U, Chance Wheatley, Bawlf, Alta., junior varsity coach, Prairie Baseball Academy, Pat Visca, Toronto, Ont., hitting coach, Ontario Blue Jays, Flavio Volpe, Toronto, Ont., head coach, Bulletproof Toronto Cubs 16U, Matt Walker, Lakeshore, Ont., assistant coach, Tecumseh Thunder 18U.

Hugh Walters, Bowmanville, Ont., head coach, Toronto Mets 16U, Chris Walters, Whitby, Ont., pitching coach, Ontario Blue Jays, Duncan Watt, Pickering, Ont., coach, Toronto Mets 17U; Jamie Whitehead, Calgary, Alta., pitching coach, Calgary Bucks, 15U, Bryce Wilkie, Kelowna BC, coach Okanagan A’s 18U and 15U, Cam Williams, Coquitlam, BC, coach, Calgary Bucks, J.D. Williams, Toronto, Ont., infield coach, Ontario Blue Jays, Corey Wood, Campbell River, BC, coach Okanagan A’s 15U, Jimmy Walerowich, Clarington, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Astros 17U, Chris Wright, assistant coach, Bulletproof Prospects 14U.

Coach Chance Wheatley (Bawlf, Alta.) a Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs coach

Chance Wheatley, Bawlf, Alta., Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs; Geoff Whent, Whitby, Ont., assistant coach, Toronto Mets 17u, Pete Wiebe, Bayham, Ont., assistant coach, London Badgers 18U, Mitch Wilbur, Oshawa, Ont., assistant coach, Toronto Mets 16U, Chris Willins, Brampton, Ont., catching coach, Ontario Terriers 16U, Kurtis Windrow, North Bay, Ont., assistant coach, Sudbury Voyageurs 16U, Doug Wong, Surrey, BC, head coach, Coquitlam Reds Jrs., Keenan Wong, Surrey, BC, assistant coach, Coquitlam Reds Jrs., Brenden Yip, Surrey, BC, assistant coach, Coquitlam Reds Jrs., BJ York, Waterloo, Ont., assistant coach, Ontario Nationals 14U.

Dave Young, Bowmanville, Ont., assistant coach, Toronto Mets 15U, Ryan Zimmer, London, Ont., roving instructor, Great Lake Canadians, Jack Zimmerman, Tecumseh, Ont., coach Windsor 16U.

Elliott 2020's most influential: Walker, Anthopoulos, Rogers, Freeman, Flett, Shulman