Vancouver Canadians

Vancouver Canadians
Founded in 2000
Vancouver, British Columbia
Team logoCap insignia
Class-level
Current Short-Season A (2000–present)
Minor league affiliations
League Northwest League (2000–present)
Division Northern Division
Major league affiliations
Current Toronto Blue Jays (2011–present)
Previous Oakland Athletics (2000–2010)
Minor league titles
League titles (4)
  • 2011
  • 2012
  • 2013
  • 2017
Division titles (3)
  • 2004
  • 2005
  • 2017
Team data
Nickname C's (2000–present)
Colors Red, dark red, black, silver, white
                        
Mascot Bob Brown Bear [1]
Ballpark Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium (2000–present)
Owner(s)/
Operator(s)
 Vancouver Professional Baseball Partnership
Manager Dallas McPherson
General Manager Allan Bailey
President Andy Dunn
Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium

The Vancouver Canadians are a minor league baseball team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, playing at Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium. The Canadians are the Northwest League affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.

History

Vancouver was an influential entity in the early history of the Northwest League, a charter member in every version of the league that would eventually form the NWL, notably as the sole team that survived the collapse of the Western International League in 1922 when it reformed in 1937, winning four pennants in the WIL (1942, 1947, 1949, 1954) as the Vancouver Capilanos (1939–1954). However, even though they were the final champions of the WIL, Vancouver was not part of its reformation into the Northwest League, due to the NWL's shedding of all of its Canadian teams in order to focus on the American Pacific Northwest. Vancouver was without professional baseball in 1955, but in 1956 the highest calibre of minor league play, in the form of the Open-Classification Pacific Coast League, came to British Columbia when Oakland Oaks transferred there as the Vancouver Mounties. The Mounties played in the PCL from 1956 through 1962, and from 1965 through 1969.

A Triple-A franchise named the Vancouver Canadians played for 22 seasons (1978–99) in the Pacific Coast League at Nat Bailey Stadium. Following the 1999 season, in which they won the Triple-A World Series, the team was purchased by a group led by Art Savage and moved to Sacramento, California for the 2000 season and became the Sacramento River Cats.

The C's have previously affiliated with the Oakland Athletics between 2000–2010. They have been the only Canadian team in the "affiliated" minor leagues — i.e., part of the farm system of a Major League Baseball team — since 2008, the first season after the Ottawa Lynx moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania. The NWL Canadians supplanted a Triple-A franchise of the same name that played for 22 seasons (1978–99) in the Pacific Coast League. The current incarnation of the Canadians was established in 2000 after the AAA Canadians moved to West Sacramento, California and became the Sacramento River Cats (which is now an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants).

As a Northwest League franchise (dating back to 1979 in Medford, Oregon), the Canadians have had players such as José Canseco, Pat Britt, Rod Beck, Rickey Henderson, Scott Brosius, Jason Giambi, Tim Hudson, Nick Swisher, Jeremy Brown, Troy Glaus, Sammy Sosa, Jason Windsor, Joe Blanton, Rich Harden, Travis Buck, local Sean Triplett, Danny Putnam, Dallas Braden, Dan Straily and Miguel Tejada. The team formed after Medford, Oregon's Southern Oregon Timberjacks relocated to Vancouver.

Current team and management

The Canadians announced January 10, 2007 that Rick Magnante would return as Manager for 2007, as well as pitching coach Craig Lefferts, who entered his 4th season as the pitching coach. Former Vancouver Canadian slugger Chris Pritchett was named the team's latest hitting coach in May 2007.

In 2007, local Vancouver businessmen, Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney purchased the Vancouver Canadians and secured a 25-year lease with the City of Vancouver Parks Board. Extensive work began that offseason in a full-scale stadium renovation which improved washrooms, concessions, concourses, and Children's Play Area. Point-of-purchase concessions increased substantially.

The Canadians announced that former Washington Nationals executive Andy Dunn would become the President and General Manager of the Canadians, on January 7, 2008.

In the spring of 2010, the Vancouver Canadians and Scotiabank announced a long-term partnership that would see Nat Bailey Stadium renamed to Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium.

In the fall of 2010, the Canadians became the Short Season A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. This helped see the team's attendance rise to 162,162 for the season, a team record. In September 2011, the Vancouver Canadians won their first Northwest League Championship title, defeating the Tri-City Dust Devils 9-2 to win the final series 2-1. The following year, the Vancouver Canadians became back-to-back champions for the first time in franchise history, defeating the Boise Hawks 12-9 to win the final series 2-1.

On January 25, 2013, the Blue Jays announced that the player development contract with the Canadians had been extended to include the 2016 season.[2]

In August 2013, outfielder Kevin Pillar became the first alumnus of the team to play in the major leagues for Toronto.[3]

On September 9, 2013 the Canadians became just the third Northwest League team to win three straight championships, defeating the Boise Hawks 5-0 at Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium to win the final series 2-1 in front of a sold out crowd.[4]

The 2013 season also saw the Vancouver Canadians draw over 195,000 fans to Scotiabank Field, a fifth consecutive team record which included 23 sold out games.

On November 4, 2013, the Vancouver Canadians were named the 2013 recipient of the John H. Johnson President’s Trophy. The prestigious award is given to minor-league baseball’s top organization. It was the first time that a Canadian-based franchise won minor league baseball's most prized award.[5] The Blue Jays extended their player-development contract with the Canadians through the 2018 season in early 2016.[6]

In 2016, the Canadians led the Northwest League with a total attendance of 222,363, averaging 6,177 per game.[7] This earned them the 2016 Esurance "Home Field Advantage Award" given to the organization in each affiliated minor league with the greatest attendance per percentage capacity.[8] In 2017, the Canadians would win yet another championship, defeating Eugene 2-1 to win the series 3-1.[9] On January 26, 2018, Toronto extended their player-development contract with Vancouver through the 2022 season.[10]

Playoffs

  • 2004: Lost to Boise 3-0 in finals.
  • 2005: Lost to Spokane 3-2 in finals.
  • 2010: Lost to Everett 2-0 in semifinals.
  • 2011: Defeated Eugene 2-1 in semifinals; defeated Tri-City 2-1 to win championship.
  • 2012: Defeated Everett 2-0 in semifinals; defeated Boise 2-1 to win championship.
  • 2013: Defeated Everett 2-0 in semifinals; defeated Boise 2-1 to win championship.
  • 2014: Defeated Spokane 2-0 in semifinals; lost to Hillsboro 2-0 in finals.
  • 2017: Defeated Spokane 2-0 in semifinals; defeated Eugene 3-1 to win championship.

Roster

Vancouver Canadians roster
Players Coaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 35 Nick Allgeyer
  • 22 Denis Diaz
  • 14 Jose Espada
  • 24 Cobi Johnson
  • 41 Connor Law
  • 16 Will McAffer
  • 18 Mitch McKown
  • 18 Troy Miller
  • 32 Joey Murray
  • 37 Juan Nunez
  • 21 Orlando Pascual
  • 44 Randy Pondler
  • 15 Joey Pulido
  • 29 Marcus Reyes
  • 43 Elio Silva
  • 45 Fitz Stadler
  • 25 Justin Watts
  • 20 Josh Winckowski
  • 27 Sean Wymer

Catchers

  •  3 Christopher Bec
  • 36 Reilly Johnson
  • 13 Yorman Rodriguez
  • 17 Brett Wright

Infielders

  • 33 Jake Brodt
  •  2 Sterling Guzman
  •  5 Otto Lopez
  •  6 Nick Podkul
  • 10 Jesus Severino

Outfielders

  •  9 Griffin Conine
  • 28 Mc Gregory Contreras
  • 19 Tanner Kirwer
  •  4 Brandon Polizzi
  • 26 Hunter Steinmetz

Manager

Coaches

  • 48 Jim Czajkowski (pitching)
  • 11 Aaron Matthews (hitting)
  • 12 Jose Mayorga (bench)

60-day disabled list

  • -- Travis Hosterman
  • -- Grayson Huffman
  • -- Elieser Medrano
  • -- Tyler Olander

7-day disabled list
* On Toronto Blue Jays 40-man roster
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporary inactive list
Roster updated August 20, 2018
 Transactions
→ More rosters: MiLB • Northwest League
 → Toronto Blue Jays minor league players

Notable former players

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Meet Bob Brown Bear".
  2. ↑ "Blue Jays extend player development contract with Vancouver Canadians | bluejays.com: News". Toronto.bluejays.mlb.com. 2013-01-25. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  3. ↑ "Echoes From 527: Kevin Pillar | Back in Blue Network – Toronto Blue Jays Website and Weekly Video Podcast". Backinblue.kc-media.net. 2013-06-11. Archived from the original on 2014-07-26. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  4. ↑ "Canadians win third consecutive championship". milb.com\date=September 10, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Canadians earn 2013 President's Award". milb.com. November 4, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  6. ↑ Davidi, Shi (February 3, 2016). "Making a good first impression key for Blue Jays prospects". Sportsnet. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Northwest League Attendance | MiLB.com Stats | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
  8. ↑ @vancanadians (11 April 2017). "We have the best fans in @MiLB! Come celebrate winning the 2016 @esurance Home Field Advantage Award with your hometown team today!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ↑ "Canadians win fourth title in seven years". MiLB.com. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  10. ↑ "Vancouver Canadians on Twitter". Twitter. January 26, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.