August 13- Canada World Baseball Classic

I’ve been to Canada three times in my life. The first time was when I was 19-years-old. My girlfriend at the time and I traveled north to Vancouver, B.C. for a weekend of boozery and gambling. What ended up happening is that I became violently ill after the first night, but still partied through the pain. When we got back to Vancouver, Washington I dropped by the doctors office to see what was wrong with me after my fever of 104 degrees wouldn’t go away and because I was actually pissing orange. At first my doctor thought I had contracted hepatitis, but I lucked out and only had a wicked case of mononucleosis.

The second time I ventured up was in during late August of 2009 when my then-girlfriend took a job teaching German at an immersion school in Anchorage, Alaska. She didn’t have a lot of stuff to move, but we managed to get it all into her Ford Focus and drive all the way from Eugene, Oregon to her new place. It took us four days and close to 3,000 miles to make it through some of the mostly uninhabited, yet strangely beautiful country that I never in my life imagined that I would have ever visited. It took me four-and-a-half hours to fly back to Portland and she promptly broke up with me less than three weeks later. Needless to say, my experiences with Canada were not exactly the most riveting.

My last trip came in late July of 2012 when I flew into Toronto to meet up with my friend, and fellow MLB Fan Cave hopeful Dave Barclay (@DaveBarc). I stayed with him and his wife Krista for about six days and took in four Toronto Blue Jays games, two against my Oakland Athletics and two against my friend, and another Fan Cave hopeful Jay Tuohey’s (@TheRoar_24) Detroit Tigers before I headed east to Montreal to visit my good friend Dave Kaufman (@TheKaufmanShow) for a week. In short, it was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

My time in Toronto felt like it flew by way faster than it did. The first leg of my journey started at the airport when I was almost not allowed into the country. Due to the fact that I was staying for such a long period of time, leaving the country by car with Dave and looking the way I do made a few people in customs a bit suspicious of my trip. It wasn’t until I fibbed a little bit and said that I worked for Major League Baseball that they started to come around and understand what I was doing. Due to the fact that the Expos no longer play in Montreal it caused a bit of red flag. I had to explain to them that I was writing a book on Olympic Stadium and the culture of baseball in Eastern Canada before they finally understood my purpose for being their. After an hour-and-a-half delay I received my stamp and approval and I made my way to baggage claim and then on out to Dave’s car as we had to then haul ass to the Rogers Centre for that night’s game against the Athletics. Thank God we made it too, as that was the game when Josh Reddick pulled off the Spiderman catch to rob Travis Snyder of a home run and the Blue Jays suffered their biggest home loss (0-16) in franchise history. I was left grinning…

Dave had a bit of sad face.

The next game I went to solo, but met up with a fellow Athletics fan from Canada named Brad Baker (@Beleaf33).

We both managed to score tickets right behind the visiting (Athletics) dugout, but our seats were a ways apart. Oddly enough, a few of the Blue Jays fans in the surrounding seats pointed out that there were two empty seats together and invited us to sit together, because Canadians are too damn nice! I met up with Jonny Gomes before the game started and a few of the other players were shocked to not only see me outside of Oakland, but in another country. 

I explained to them that I had it planned out in advance all around catching the last two games of the series which helped their morale quite a bit. As everyone took their place on the field I headed back to my seat where I was stopped by two of the ushers asking me if I was the guy from the Fan Cave. I smiled and said yes and we chatted for a bit about it. To be honest, most of my time in Toronto at Rogers Centre was met with people stopping to take photos with me and to ask about my experience. I don’t say any of this to brag, I honestly am humbled by all of it and was very appreciative of everyone who paid attention to what I had done and all the support they had and still give me. When I got back to my seat it was time for the National Anthems. Because we were in Canada they started with the Star-Spangled Banner, which the singer flew through because, well… it’s Canada. I sang along with it as I usually do and gave a sporting cheer afterward. Then, it was time for Oh Canada. I know this sounds weird coming from someone from the United States, but I actually really enjoy Canada’s anthem. I love it even more because everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, sings along with it. There’s no shame in not singing your anthem, but it’s kind of telling how a culture is based on how many people are involved with something that seems insignificant. And to be honest, I sang along too. I’ve sung for all of my life, believe it or not, and Oh Canada is one of those songs that has a wonderful harmony and movement that is almost irresistible to resist singing to. More important, it’s truly inspiring. Don’t believe me, check out this video from Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in 2011. Chilling.

One point from this game that I’ll never forget is when I was standing in line for a beer and I met up with one of my now friends Seth Ehrenberg (@SethE19) for the first time. Seth is a marketing rep for New Era and one of the biggest reasons why I’ve developed such a close bond with the company, let alone had the chance to visit their headquarters in Buffalo, New York twice. After our chance meeting I ran into another friend, Jeff Sammut (@JeffSammut590), who is one of the regular sports talk guys on 590 Sportsnet in Toronto who has had me on his show numerous times as a baseball correspondent over the last year. Unfortunately, the Athletics were only able to take two out of the three games in that series, and after the loss in the final game I took to the streets of Toronto with a few random fans I met at the game and got absolutely plastered. Luckily I was able to sober up to meet up with Dave and his friend Matt to help make one of his Fan Cave correspondent videos he had been working on before and after his run. Here it is if you want to check it out. It’s pretty funny, except for me.

The rest of my time was filled with swapping stories with Dave and his wife, checking out a modernized Shakespeare in the Park production of “A Midsummer Night’s Tale” along with Jay before we all headed out to the Tigers/Blue Jays game the next day. I had also happened to catch the first game of the series with a few friends I had made while I was in New York, Kenneth Tan (@ktan09) and Eric Hartman (@EricHartman). 

Eric, Kenneth, Me

I also ran into a few others I met through Twitter, Steven P (@stevenact4) and another dude whose name escapes me at the moment. 

A few things I do remember from my time with Kenneth and Eric is that we got thoroughly hammered, saw Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder hit back-to-back home runs for only the second time that season, Eric won a gift card to Boston Pizza during the game and was shown on the Jumbotron

and I lost my only source of spending (my debit card) at said Boston Pizza after the game. Luckily I found it two days later. As for the game with Dave, Jay and Jay’s dad, shenanigans definitely ensued. 

On my final day in the big city before catching the train to Montreal, Dave invited Jay over so that he and I could be guests on his MLB podcast that he does with his friend Paul Frank (@pwgfrank) called Sunday Afternoon Baseball with Paul & Dave (@SABwithPaulDave). 

 Paul, Me, Dave

Bias aside, it’s one of the best, funniest baseball podcasts available which takes place during every Sunday Blue Jays game and features scores of guests all impersonated perfectly by Paul. I highly recommend it. As soon as we wrapped things up we all said our goodbyes and Jay and I caught the bus to the train station so he could bid me a fond farewell… and also because his hotel was right across the street from the station. Our adventure would continue in a month when I headed to Detroit, but I’ll save those stories for later posts. For now, I was on my way to Montreal.

 The train took about four hours to get there, but I was beyond stoked to finally land in a city that I had been wanting to visit since I was kid. Granted, I wanted to see the Expos play, but with that no longer and option I was equally satisfied with being able to spend time with my friend Dave Kaufman on his home turf. And Dave, being the gracious host that he is, kicked things off by taking me to a local pub called Grumpy’s for a few rounds and some pub trivia hosted by his good friend Amy Luft (@amyluft). Normally I’m really good at bar trivia; however, I felt an immediate bias due to the fact that at least two of the rounds focused heavily on landmarks and history around Montreal. I call those rounds my “Ryan Leaf moment.” Other than that, I held my own as Buck Rodgers judged me from above. 

Dave took me all over the city and introduced me to a culinary staple of Quebec culture known as poutine at one of the more famous spots called La Banquise. If you don’t know, it’s basically french fries with brown gravy and cheese curds. You can also add various meats like bacon to it like we both did, but I could only woof down about half of mine before the richness of it. One thing that I will never forget about La Banquise in the three trips that we made there (twice whilst intoxicated) is that I was absolutely infatuated with one of the waitresses working there. I don’t speak French, so I was pretty much dead in the water from the start, but she easily could have been a model for Suicide Girls. I am much happier in my current relationship, but this story would have less accurate if I left this detail out. As far as other culinary delights are concerned, the best part of the trip came when Dave took me to Schwartz’s for a smoked meat sandwich which can only be perfectly paired with a black cherry soda. Needless to say, I still have wet dreams about this sandwich.

Dave and I had become acquainted back in February of 2012 when he first had me as a guest on his weekly radio show The Kaufman Show on TSN 990 in Montreal. During my time in the Fan Cave I became his weekly correspondent after we finally met in person when he had paid a visit to New York to catch Bruce Springsteen in concert, a detail that will be brought up again in a not-too-distant post. Our mutual love and sadness for the Expos is what brought us together in the first place and it is definitely what motivated me to go up and visit him. 

It took a few days, but we finally made it out to the Big O sometime around midnight on a week night. I wasn’t in any kind of rush, it’s not like it was going anywhere…

Sort of. I found this chunk lying on the ground and definitely held onto it. I had never felt compelled to ever want a piece of a stadium, but I knew this one would carry a lot of significance based on the fact that I never had a chance to see the Expos play inside. Most of our experience that night I wrote about on February 16th for my Gary Carter tribute piece, but what I may have left out is that in that moment, as an Expos fan, I was happiest. I had never grown up or had other friends who were Expos fans, nor could they have ever understood the loss of that team quite like Dave had. Being with someone who had gone through it all could have only been rivaled by the final Expos game played in the Big O on September 29, 2004 which ironically occurred against the Florida Marlins. Just listening to Dave’s stories about the 1994 season, Vladimir Guerrero’s bid for 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases and the moments he shared with his friends and family, good or bad, was all I needed.

One thing that Dave surprised me with (twice) was entrance and media passes to OSHEAGA, a three-day music festival that took place in Montreal. Dave had mentioned it in passing well before I got there, but I didn’t really understand how big of a deal it was until I saw the lineup: Snoop Dogg (his second appearance as Snoop Lion), The Black Keys, the Arkells, Garbage, Fun., Bloc Party, Justice, The Shins and a hell of a lot more. Like I said, three days. 

Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of going to live shows, mostly for he sake of price gouging and so many people “all up in your business;” however, since this was an outdoor event it made things way more tolerable, plus with backstage passes food and drinks are like half the price. I got thoroughly bombed on Day 2. 

One of the other really cool aspects of being up in Canada during this time period was because the Olympics had just kicked off. Having been in the US for every Olympics it was interesting to get a different take on the summer games in a different country. And yes, even in Canada things are vastly different. See, during the winter games the Canadians obviously own the US when it comes to medals, but during the summer it’s the other way around. So when the Canadians win anything (mostly bronze) it’s a huge deal. I found it to be way more fulfilling than all the years of watching in the US and how it’s almost a failure if we don’t win gold in a particular event. Not to mention, having the pleasure of Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole as the lead anchors is hands down better than anything that the States could have put together. You can blame Dick Ebersol on the one.

Toward the end of our time together Dave and I took a leisure day and drove south down to the States to take in something that I had never had a chance to experience: the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum in Cooperstown, New York. 

We combed every inch of the three story building and even met up with one of the museum’s historians to set up a possible second so that we could go through the archives to check out all the Expos stuff that wasn’t on display. That meeting altogether was interesting because it ended with him saying that I should submit photos of my tattoos to get added to the collection. It’s been a year-and-a-half and I still haven’t done it. Not because I don’t want to, but because it’s not finished. After our tour we took to the street to do some shopping. I of course bought a few hats at one of my favorite shops I routinely purchase from online, Mickey’s Place.

All in all, we had a great time. There are very few people in my life who I could have shared that experience with on the same level, and Dave is certainly one of those people. 

The last days I was able to enjoy in Montreal ended on the best note possible. I made my last in studio appearance on The Kaufman Show along with Nick Dika (@NickDika), the bass player for The Arkells and Brad Ferguson (@LeftOffBase), a tour manager and sound engineer who I befriended through Dave and Nick. Brad I wrote about in my Buffalo Bisons post on June 24^th as we happened to be at the same game while I was on my New Era trip. 

Me, Dave, Brad, Nick

 

The reason why the four of us were together that night was because we were heading the US the next day to catch the Texas Rangers play the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, which turned out to be Nick’s and my first Fenway experience. So, like the responsible people that we are, we hit a bar and got thoroughly toasty on my final night in Canada.

As luck would have it my friend Tarn MacArthur, a graduate student at the University of Oregon from Montreal, happened to be visiting home on the same night.

Seriously, I couldn’t have had a better experience.

We packed up Dave’s car the next morning and drove over to his mother’s place to borrow her SUV for the trip. Dave and Nick were the only two driving back into Canada as Brad was catching a flight out of Boston and I was meeting up with my good friend Neil Beschle at Fenway to which I would be crashing with him in Worchester, Massachusetts for the next week. When we got to Dave’s mom’s place I helped load all of our belongings into the back while Dave talked to his mom and gave her his car keys for the duration. Before we left his mom made mention to one of us forgetting a sleeping bag; however, none of us actually had a sleeping bag so we dismissed it. Little did I know, this moment would come to bite me in the ass hard. But… that story will wait for another post.

Based on my previous two trips to Canada, this particular trip was obviously a million times better. But on a grand scale of life accomplishments, this trip ranks in the top-10. I’ve always done what I could to get out and explore the world and all the people that I met along the way to make it possible are the sole reason why my time up north was so praiseworthy. Canada has produced some fine people, and Dave and Dave are certainly two of the best I have the honor of calling my friends.

On an additional note, as long as I can make it, Dave Kaufman scored me a ticket to the second game of the Blue Jays versus the New York Mets exhibition games at Olympic Stadium. I can finally now make that dream of seeing big league baseball at the Big O a reality. Thank you so much Dave.

And now, the hat…

This cap has been a fixture of the Canadian World Baseball Classic Team since the first tournament in 2006. I had been meaning to pick it up for a number of years, but kept letting it slide until my trip to Buffalo. Derick Chartrand (@lekid26), is one of the #CrewEra13 members who was invited to Buffalo as part of the New Era Fan Appreciation event. Derick is from Montreal and had never left the country, let alone flown on an airplane until that trip. A fellow die-hard Expos fan, we became friends very fast, much like the rest of the group with one another, but with Derick we had a little bit tighter of a bond because of the Expos fanship. 

When the time came for us to go on a shopping spree in the Flagship Store I found myself a little befuddled on what caps to get with so many options to choose from. Naturally, Derick suggested the Canadian WBC cap. I didn’t have a good reason not to get it, so… I locked it up, and have very happy with the decision since. All that was left to do was come up with some numbers.

4- Pete Orr was born in Richmond Hill, Ontario, attended high school Newmarket and has the distinction of being the only player to appear on the roster for all three times Canada has played in the WBC. Orr attended Galveston Community College in Galveston, Texas and was a 39th round draft pick of the Rangers in 1998 (1187th overall), spending one year there before signing with the Atlanta Braves on July 3, 1999.

Orr spent his first professional season with Short-Season Jamestown Jammers of the New York-Penn League in 2000, hitting .242 with two homers, 15 RBIs and 40 runs scored in 69 games. He hit .233 with four homers, 23 RBIs and 38 runs scored in 92 games with the Advanced-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Carolina League in 2001. In 2002 he spent most of the season with the Double-A Greenville Braves of the Southern League, hitting .249 with two homers, 36 RBIs and 36 runs scored in 89 games. He also hit .392 with eight RBIs in 17 games with Myrtle Beach. Orr spent the 2003 season with AA Greenville, batting .226 with two homers and 31 RBIs in 98 games. He was named a Southern League Baseball America AA All-Star. He established career highs in average, .320, hits, 147, doubles, 16, triples, 10, stolen bases, 24 and runs scored 69. His .320 batting average and 24 stolen bases led the AAA Richmond Braves in 2004. He was selected to play in the International League All-Star game. He was named International League April Player of the Month, posting a .381 batting average with four doubles, one triple and five RBIs. He ranked fifth in the IL and fourth among Braves Minor Leaguers in average, tied second in the IL and led Braves Minor Leaguers in triples, tied for sixth in the IL and led Braves Minor Leaguers in hits and tied for seventh among Braves Minor Leaguers in stolen bases. Orr won the Bill Lucas Award as the player who best represents the Braves organization on and off the field by the 400 Club. He was also part of Team Canada who finished in fourth place at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Orr made his Major League debut for the Braves on April 5, 2005. He proved to be a versatile player, playing second base, third base, and various outfield positions during the 2005 season. Orr was optioned to AAA Richmond on July 5, 2007, when the Braves called up Jo-Jo Reyes from Triple-A Richmond to make his Major League debut. He was brought up again on August 27. He was designated for assignment by the Braves on November 20, 2007, and was released on November 28, 2007.

In December 2007, Orr signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals and on June 21, 2008, his contract was selected by the Nationals along with right-handed pitcher Steven Shell. On October 30, 2008, Orr rejected his assignment to AAA and became a free agent. However, he returned to the team two weeks later, signing a minor league deal, playing with the Syracuse Chiefs in the International League, with a chance to earn a spot on the team in the spring.

On November 11, 2010, Orr signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. During spring training play, he led the major leagues in triples, with 5, subsequently becoming a member of the team's Opening Day roster. After spending the 2011 season with both the Phillies and the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, their AAA affiliate, he became a free agent on October 18. On November 3, Orr re-signed a minor league contract with the Phillies, receiving an invite to spring training. He was again included on the team's Opening Day roster at the onset of the 2012 season.

11- Arguably one of the greatest names in baseball history, Stubby Clapp is a hitting coach with the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays and is a former player who was a member of the 2006 and 2009 WBC teams and the 2004 Olympic team. He played for 11 years, most notably within the St. Louis Cardinals organization, including a brief stint in the Majors with the Cardinals. In his native Canada, he is best remembered for his performance at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, where he slapped a bases-loaded single in the 11th inning to beat a more experienced U.S. team and put Canada in the semifinals. Canada eventually won bronze medal. Clapp graduated from Texas Tech University, where he played for the Red Raiders baseball team. He still holds (or shares) the Red Raiders' records for triples in a season (eight), runs in game (five, three times), strikeouts in a game (four) and walks in a season (66), both set during the 1996 season. He was drafted by the Cardinals in the 36th round (1,058th overall) of 1996 amateur entry draft. In 1998, when playing for the AA Arkansas Travelers he led the league with 86 walks and 139 games played. He remains popular among Travelers fans to this day.

In 2000, he led the AAA Memphis Redbirds with 138 hits, 89 runs, 80 walks, eight triples, and six sacrifice hits. He became a popular figure in the City of Memphis during his four-year stint (1999-2002). He was often referred to as the "Mayor of Memphis." During the 2002 season, the 5-foot-8 Clapp was featured on a growth chart for kids, sponsored by a Memphis-area medical group. In 2009, he was named one of the Memphis "Athletes of the Decade." In 2010, the club had "Ode to Clapping Night," which included giving away Clapp bobbleheads. In 911 minor league games, Clapp had a .270 batting average, 48 home runs, 50 triples, 196 doubles, 365 RBI, and 83 steals. Clapp also pitched in three games. In 2.1 innings, Clapp has given up two hits and no earned runs.

His Major League career only lasted 23 games for the Cardinals in 2001 in which he hit right at the Mendoza line (.200) with five hits total, two of which were doubles and he only batted in one run. On April 21, 2007, Clapp's jersey #10 was the first number ever retired by the Redbirds. This is commemorated by a painted "10" on the wall above the Redbirds' bullpen at AutoZone Park. He is second all-time for the Memphis Redbirds for games played (425) and hits (418).

Clapp began his coaching career as a hitting coach for the Lexington Legends, the Houston Astros Class-A team in the South Atlantic League. He came out of retirement to represent Canada at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In November 2010, Clapp became the hitting coach for the Corpus Christi Hooks, Houston's AA affiliate and then managed the Tri-City ValleyCats, another Class-A affiliate of the Astros, during the 2011 and 2012 seasons before taking his current position in Dunedin in January of 2013.

12- If I had to make an assertion on who the greatest Canadian baseball player of all-time is, you better believe that 10 times out of 10 I’m rolling with Matt Stairs.

Growing up in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Stairs showed athletic ability at an early age, playing Beaver League baseball a year before his age eligibility and excelling in hockey. After playing Bantam & Midget baseball, at age 16 and 17, he played for the local Marysville Royals of the New Brunswick Senior Baseball League and was voted "Rookie of The Year" in 1984 and the league's Most Valuable Player in 1985. He was also named Nova Scotia Senior Baseball League MVP in 1987 and '88 while playing for the Fredericton Schooners. He attended the National Baseball Institute (NBI) in Vancouver, British Columbia for one year and played for Canada at the 1987 World Amateur Championships in Italy where he was named to the "World All-Star" team. In 1988, he joined the Canadian Junior National team after graduating from Fredericton High School. From there he went on to play for the Canadian Olympic Team at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. On January 17, 1989, Stairs was signed as an international free agent by the Expos.

Stairs, in all fairness, was a bit of a journeyman. In fact, he holds the record for most teams played for as a position player at 12, but technically 13 as he played for the Expos and the Nationals at different stages of his career. Octavio Dotel holds the record for pitchers at 13 as well. For 19 seasons Stairs “turned many cloaks” with the Expos (1992-1993), Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese League (1994), Red Sox (1995), Athletics (1996-2000), Chicago Cubs (2001), Milwaukee Brewers (2002), Pittsburgh Pirates (2003), Kansas City Royals (2004-2006), Rangers (2006), Tigers (2006), Blue Jays (2007-2008), Phillies (2008-2009), San Diego Padres (2010) and the Nationals (2011). 

I’ll be honest, I don’t remember too much from his time with the Expos as I was nine and 10-years-old, but I’ll never forget him crushing dingers with the Athletics. His longest stint with any team happened to come in Oakland when he played in 632 games in five seasons. He hit .268 with 122 home runs and 385 RBI. Tow of those seasons (1998 and 1999) featured him hitting 26 home runs and 106 RBI and 38 home runs with 102 RBI respectively. Both the top home runs and RBI totals are career highs. Stairs finished 17^th overall for the American League MVP in 1999. In his July 5, 1996 debut with Oakland, Stairs tied a major league record with six runs batted in during one inning. That first inning performance included a grand slam and a two-run single. This was subsequently broken by Fernando Tatis on April 23, 1999. The only reason why Stairs never stayed with the Athletics is due to cost-cutting. I know, nothing about that is surprising. What is fortunate for Stairs is that he eventually bounced around to a team at the most ideal time, the Phillies in 2008 when they won the World Series. It would be the only time that Stairs would get a ring let alone be on a team in the World Series.

When he retired in 2011 he had a .263 average, 265 home runs and 897 RBI and a World Series and the record for most pinch hit home runs (23) to his name. He was also a member of the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classic team, one of only a small handful of guys to be on multiple teams on top of having played in the Olympics in 1988. Noted baseball analysts Bill James and Joe Posnanski have theorized that Stairs is probably a far more talented hitter than his career stats suggest. Stairs didn't have 500 plate appearances until age 29, at which point he recorded 100 RBI seasons and an adjusted OPS of over 130 two years in a row- and never saw 500 at-bats again. James contends, "You put him in the right park, right position early in his career ... he's going to hit a LOT of bombs." Possibly, Posnanski contends, enough to be have been worthy of Hall of Fame consideration.

July 4- USA Olympic/World Baseball Classic

Happy Independence Day everyone!!! Time to drop some knowledge!

When I originally thought about doing this post I was going to focus primarily upon the United States of America’s baseball team; however, upon doing a thorough amount of research I found that “one cannot simply talk about USA Baseball” in a few paragraphs. The main reason for this is because the USA Baseball team has evolved for nearly a century. That’s right, for roughly 101 years there has been some form of a US national team in place. So I’ll do my best to keep all of this succinct and with a point, rather than just constant babbling.

If I didn’t all ready blow your mind with the 101 years part, things are going to get a bit crazy for the next page or so for you then. According to the USA Baseball Web site and Wikipedia (for the sake of argument) the US National team was formed in 1978 and has been the National Governing Body (NGB) for amateur baseball. It represents the sport in the United States as a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and internationally as a member federation of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). This is not entirely true. A lot of it is dependent upon wordage used and when other top-tier organizations complied to recognize baseball on an international level. This includes (as stated above): the IBAF, USOC, NGB, International Olympic Committee (previously), the Pan-American Games, etc. Like I said, there is a lot to cover but I’ll leave most of you to your own research as to not bore you with bureaucracy. Anyway, my whole point of the “not entirely true” dates back to 1912, the first time baseball was displayed as a demonstration sport at the Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden.

For those of you who don’t know, the definition of a “demonstration sport” is a game or event which is displayed for promotional purposes as an attempt to encourage interest in other countries. Baseball made its first appearance in the Olympics in 1912 in Sweden as an exhibition sport. A game was played between the US, the nation where the game was developed, and the host nation. The game was held on Monday, 15 July 1912 and started at 10 a.m. on the Ostermalm Athletic Grounds in Stockholm.

The Americans were represented by various members of the American Olympic track & field athletics delegation, while the Swedish team was the Vesterås Baseball Club, which had been formed in 1910 as the first baseball club in Sweden. Four of the Americans played for Sweden, as the Swedish pitchers and catchers were inexperienced. One Swede eventually relieved Adams and Nelson, the American pitchers. Six innings were played, with the Americans not batting in the sixth and allowing the Swedes to have six outs in their half of the inning. The game was umpired by George Wright, a retired American National League baseball player who also happened to be the brother of Harry Wright, the guy who pretty much invented professional sports in the US. One could argue that his Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1871 were the first professional athletes in the world, but that would be an untrue statement. Some dude named Gaius Appuleius Diocles in Rome in 146 A.D. can disprove that.

In 1936 baseball was once again displayed as a demonstration sport, but only two teams actually took the field; the US Olympic team and the World Champion team. Both teams were comprised of all members from the US. But even at that, the US kicked ass in front of Adolf Hitler. The person who pushed for baseball in Olympics was a pro ballplayer named Leslie Mann; no, not the actress whose married to Judd Apatow. Rather, the guy who played for the Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Whales (Federal league), Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants for 16 seasons. Originally Mann had organized a 20-game exhibition in Japan the year before the Olympics. In fact, a team from Japan was supposed to play in the Olympics in Germany, but backed out last minute. Mann later went on to found the International Baseball Federation which played its first international championship in 1938 in England. The English team, composed mainly of Canadian college players, won 4 out of 5 games against an amateur American team. He also organized subsequent championships in Cuba in 1939 and Puerto Rico in 1941. World War II brought Mann's efforts to an end.

Baseball was played at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, but not the kind you’re thinking of.

Traditional baseball wouldn’t rear its head in Olympic competition again until 1956 when the games were held in Melbourne, Australia. What’s interesting about these games is that baseball was considered THE “foreign” demonstration sport of the games; however, baseball had been played throughout the country since 1889 and the Australian team was the first to actually field a legitimate team against the US… with the exception that their top cricket players were not allowed to play due to the fact that they were professionals. At the time, according to IOC rules professionals were not allowed to participate in said competitions. Due to the field being set up between the running tracks, right field was only 225 feet so special ground rules were put in place, stating that a ball hit over the running track on the full will be declared a home run, where one that bounces or rolls on or over the track, shall be declared a ground rule double. This rule was put in place to stop baseball cleats damaging the track for the events after the baseball. The game was played on December 1^st (remember, Australian seasons are the opposite of ours) from 12:30pm. As the visiting team, the Americans batted first, scoring 2 runs off 3 hits. Australia did not strike back until the bottom of the 2nd inning, when Chalky White of South Australia hit a solo home run off Vane Sutton. Sutton made up for his error in the top half on the 3rd, with a grand slam to send the score out to a commanding 6-1. The Americans again put the pressure on Australia in the fifth inning as two errors led to another 2 runs to the US, putting them in a comfortable position. The game was eventually called at 2:40pm, after six completed innings and a final score 11-5, with the US batting first. Very few fans were present at the start of the game, but according to record 114,000 had arrived by the sixth inning. This was due to the finals for the 1500 meters, 4x400 meters relay and finish of the men's marathon.

The Olympics were held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964 and once again only one game would be played between the Japanese and the US national team led by former USC head coach Rod Dedeaux, the greatest college baseball coach in history. Members of the team included pitchers Alan Closter, Dick Joyce, and Chuck Dobson; catchers Jim Hibbs and Ken Suarez; outfielder Shaun Fitzmaurice; first baseman Mike Epstein; and second baseman Gary Sutherland. Fitzmaurice hit a home run on the first pitch of the game and the US won 6-2 in front of 50,000 fans.

Baseball at the 1984 Summer Olympics was a demonstration sport, and the first Olympics in which the USA Baseball Team played as an internationally recognized program since the US boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union. Although single exhibition games had been played in conjunction with five previous Olympics, it was the first time that the sport was officially included in the program, and also the first time that the sport was played in Olympics held in the United States. Eight teams competed in Los Angeles, California in the tournament. Games were held at Dodger Stadium. Cuba, after winning the gold medal at the 1983 Pan American Games, was to participate, but did not as a result of the Soviet-led boycott (Payback). The US made it all the way to the final game where they lost to the Japanese team by the score of 6-3. Notable names from the ’84 team include Mark McGwire, Will Clark, Cory Snyder, Barry Larkin, Bobby Whitt, B.J. Surhoff and Bill Swift. The Dominican Republicteam that year featured a relatively unknown fastballer named Ramon Martinez. Due to the fact that baseball was a demonstration sport, no actual medal was awarded to the winners.

In 1988 in Seoul, South Korea, the final year as a demonstration sport, the US took home the gold (literally) as the beat Japan in the final game rematch. What’s most unusual about this final game is that actual medals were given out; however, they were not recognized by the IOC. It’s all dumb. Notable players on that year’s team include Andy Benes, Jim Abbott, Charles Nagy, Mike Fiore, Tino Martinez, Robin Ventura, Ed Sprague and Mickey Morandini.

Finally, in 1992 baseball made its debut as an official sport at the Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, which is oddly enough one of the only Olympic cities to actually turn a profit off of the games. The US finished a respectable fourth, having bean beaten by Japan and Cuba in the round robin stage and once again by Cuba in the semi-finals. If it makes you feel any better Cuba won the whole thing. But from 1992-2008 baseball served as an official Olympic event in which the US took home one bronze (1996 in Atlanta, Georgia), one silver (2008 in Beijing, China) and one gold (Sydney, Australia).

I don’t know a terrible amount about the Pan-Am Games, but what I can tell you is that the US have won five bronze medals, seven silver medals and one gold medal. I didn’t go into too much research in the Baseball World Cup either as most people don’t know much about it. However, there is the IBAF-recognized World Baseball Classic which wrapped up its third year in 2013… with the US team failing to medal in all three years.  Not to be one to end things on a downer, I saved the best for last, but first… the hat.

This particular cap was first introduced during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Prior to those games all headwear consisted of “USA” being stitched across the front panels like this.

Jason Giambi

Kris Benson

So whomever designed the current “US” with a red-outlined silver star logo back in 2000 certainly did a fantastic job as it has been used prevalently ever since in all international baseball games. While the cap has appeared in other bill and panel color schemes, the classic all-nave blue has lasted all 14 years of competition, with the addition of the flag of the USA added to the side in 2006 during the first World Baseball Classic tournament.

Now, despite 101 years to focus on I was able to whittle my marks down to two numbers for one year.

#28- Drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round (10th overall) of the 1999 draft, Ben Sheets made his professional debut with the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League. In August, against the Idaho Falls Chukars, Sheets struck out eight batters while allowing just one hit through five innings. Later in the month, he was promoted to advanced-A Stockton of the California League. In his seven minor league starts that year, Sheets averaged a strikeout ratio of 10.09 batters per nine innings.

In 2000, Sheets was on the US national team for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. One of the most important things to note from this year’s Olympics is that it was the first time professionals were allowed to be on the team. Granted, none of the talent had made it to the Major League level, but they were still paid players in the minor leagues and no longer technically amateurs. Sheets pitched 22 innings, struck out 11 batters, walked one, and gave up 11 hits during the tournament, and faced off against Cuban ace Pedro Luis Lazo in the gold medal game, giving up three singles and advancing just one runner to second base for the entire game. Sheets gave up no walks and struck out five in a 4–0 complete game shutout. It is still considered one of the finest pitching performances in US international competition.

After helping the US win their first and only gold medal in Olympic competition, Sheets headed back to the minors in 2001 but quickly worked through the ranks of the Brewer farm system until making his Major League debut on April 5^th. In eight seasons with the Brewers, the last few which were hampered by injury, Sheets went 86-83 with a respectable 3.72 ERA and 1325 strikeouts. All four of his All-Star Game appearances were made with the Brewers in 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2008. His best statistical season came in 2004 when he went 12-14 with a 2.70 ERA and 264 strikeouts, which were good enough for an eighth place finish for the National League Cy Young award that season. At the end of the 2008 season Sheets and the Brewers went their separate ways.

Sheets wouldn’t pitch again in the Majors until 2010 when the Oakland Athletics agreed to a one year, $10 million with an additional $2 million in incentives, contract with the Oakland Athletics. Sheets got the Opening Day start, going five innings allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits while striking out 3 and walking 4, receiving a 'no-decision'. The Athletics lost the game in the bottom of the 9th. On July 29, 2010, the Athletics announced Sheets would miss the remainder of the season due to a torn flexor in his right elbow. His season ended with Sheets going 4-9 in 20 starts.

On July 1, 2012, the Atlanta Braves announced that Sheets had signed a minor league contract with the organization in order to attempt a comeback to the major leagues. He made his first minor league start with the Mississippi Braves on July 4, 2012. On July 12, the Braves announced that they had called Sheets up from the minors. Sheets made his first start in nearly two years on July 15th against the New York Mets. He pitched six scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out five to earn the win. After his second start also resulted in no runs given up by Sheets, who pitched six innings of five-hit, six-strikeout ball, he stated, "If you asked me if I'm surprised I haven't given up a run, yeah I am. But I'm not surprised I'm getting people out. I wouldn't have come back if I didn't think I could get people out." Sheets made the final start of his career Wednesday, October 3, 2012 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

#16- Doug Mientkiewicz attended Westminster Christian School in Palmetto Bay, Florida, where he was a teammate of Alex Rodriguez. Upon graduation, he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the twelfth round of the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft, but chose instead to play at Florida State University. In his third season with the Seminoles, Mientkiewicz led the team with a .371 batting average, 19 home runs and 80 RBI. Florida State earned their first ACC Championship, and Mientkiewicz was named ACC Atlantic I Regional MVP. After the season, Mientkiewicz was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the fifth round of the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft.

In 1998, he batted .323, with a .432 OBP and .508 slugging percentage in 509 at-bats for the New Britain Rock Cats to earn Eastern League (AA) All-Star honors, and a September call-up to the Twins. He batted .200 with two RBIs in 25 at-bats for the Twins. Mientkiewicz earned a roster spot with the Twins the following spring without having previously played in Triple-A, and batted .229 with two home runs and 32 RBIs sharing playing time with Ron Coomer at first base in 1999. After a full season in the majors, Mientkiewicz spent the 2000 season with the Twins' AAA affiliate, the Salt Lake Buzz. He was the Triple-A All-Star first baseman, and Pacific Coast League All-Star designated hitter. He batted .334, with a .446 OBP and .524 slugging percentage, in 485 at-bats for Salt Lake, while both scoring and driving in 96 runs.

After the season wrapped up Mientkiewicz was named to the US team and served as the starting first baseman. Mientkiewicz was counted upon for his leadership as the oldest member of the team. He is best known for his walkoff home run against the South Korean team in the semifinals which helped carry the momentum into the gold medal game against Cuba.

In 2001 Mientkiewicz became the Twins’ full-time first baseman, posting the best numbers of his career on both sides of the ball. He won his first and only Gold Glove of his career that season and finished in 14^th place for the American League MVP award after going .306/15/74 under then-manager Tom Kelly. Mientkiewicz had another solid year with the Twins in 2003, but was traded to the Boston Red Sox near the trading deadline in 2004 where he joined a former Twins teammate David Ortiz as they shattered the “Curse of the Bambino” that season after the Red Sox won their first World Series title since 1918. Not wanting to make the same defensive gaff as in the case of Bill Buckner in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, Mientkiewicz was put in a first base and recorded the final out of the Series.

Since then, Mientkiewicz became a bit of a journeyman, playing a season each with the New York Mets (2005), Kansas City Royals (2006), New York Yankees (2007), Pittsburgh Pirates (2008) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2009). He currently serves as the manager for the Fort Myers Miracle, an advanced-A affiliate of the Twins in the Florida League.

April 30- Dominican Republic World Baseball Classic

I need to apologize for the speed I’ve been getting these latest New Era Cap posts out; these long Oakland Athletics games and me being on the East Coast have done a number on my sleep schedule. But the bigger issue at work is the fact that I decided to stay an extra week to be with my girlfriend Angie Kinderman (@sconnineangie). With that, I made an egregious error and forgot to bring enough caps. Even after I ordered a few more I’m still a little short of my goal, but at least my parents are doing me a solid and mailing a few out this way so I can stay on top of if. Hooray!!!

So, with needing a new cap to write about, I ventured out to the local Lids about a mile away from Angie’s place hoping to find something I needed. When I walked in I didn’t spot anything I was in any kind of a rush to purchase, especially after the two employees on duty asked me if there was anything I had in mind. Originally I wanted to find either the Sunday-style for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago White Sox, but I struck out on both accounts. I also thought it was going to be a quick in-and-out operation; however, we were just getting started.

Having worked in retail for well over a decade I’ve always enjoyed getting into a bit of sport-related banter with the customers, just as I also appreciate chatting it up with the employees on duty wherever I go to pick up hats or other gear. B.J., the manager on duty, and I tackled a wide variety of topics for a solid two hours. I had a lot of time to kill as Angie was in her lecture until 4:30 PM and I really didn’t have much going on throughout the day. As it turned out B.J. is an avid collector of Nike shoes. Even bigger than that, he’s a close friend to former St. Louis Rams receiver, and future Hall of Famer Isaac Bruce. I decided to keep my San Francisco 49ers allegiance to myself. As much as I love and know about Major League Baseball, believe it or not, I actually know way more about the NBA between the 1970s and early 2000s. Our discussion brought up a lot of old names and rosters of teams who have long been forgotten by this current generation. The other employee, Aurelio (@IGettFreshh), is B.J.’s nephew; quite the accomplished photographer and Nike fan as well. Needless to say, I’ll definitely be going back there for more hats and chatter in the future.

I haven’t done a very good job of picking up all the World Baseball Classic hats, and since they didn’t have any Minor or Major League hats that I needed, I figured, “why not?” Of all the New Era Caps I’ve seen shuffling through the crowds of Miami and Fort Lauderdale, this Dominican Republic cap has been the one I’ve seen more frequently. Being in southern Florida it really didn’t come as much of a surprise, especially considering how close they are to one another. The same can easily be said about the number of Puerto Rico caps I saw as well for the same reason. The DR cap is one of the few to make an appearance in all three WBCs, and is hands down one of the best looking ones in the bunch.

This last WBC is not only the first time the DR has won the event, but more importantly they became only the second team to win it as the Japanese team took the first two in 2006 and 2009. In the eight games the DR played in the WBC they didn’t lose a single one, including the championship game against Puerto Rico. Robinson Cano was named the WBC MVP after going .469/2/6 with 25 total bases. That’s pretty damn impressive considering the fact that this is the best in the world at play. When coming up with numbers for this hat I did a bit of research through all three rosters from 2006-2013, but only found two names that popped up on all three. With that, I give you my marks…

#4- It’s kind of funny to look at Miguel Tejada’s bio sheet when considering the fact that he was busted for being two years older than he actually was back when he was playing for the Houston Astros. Tejada was once a premier player for a solid ten years from 2000-2009 when he played for the A’s, Astros and Baltimore Orioles. That’s not really to say he’s not good anymore, but you can’t doubt that 10-year stretch when he finished in the Top-25 for the American League and National League MVP vote eight out of 10 times. His best year came with the A’s in 2002 when he went .308/34/131 on the season and took home his one, and only AL MVP award. Other accolades he received in his 16-year career include six All-Star Game appearances and two Silver Slugger awards. What’s most surprising to me is how he didn’t win the AL MVP award in 2004 with the Orioles. That season he hit .311 with 34 home runs and a career/league-high 150 RBI; all of which met or beat his numbers from 2002; however, he only finished in fifth place. Weird.

#7- Jose Reyes saw the bench for most of the 2006 WBC, mostly because the other shortstop they had was hitting better. That guy, Miguel Tejada. Reyes has all the makings of being a Hall of Fame shortstop; mostly from a hitting perspective. Unfortunately for him, his body feels the exact opposite as we found out a few weeks ago when sliding into second base for the Toronto Blue Jays. In the 11 years he’s been in the Majors only nine of them have been truly praiseworthy. No offense to his time in 2012 with the Miami Marlins, but he was clearly the only sign of grace in an otherwise dismal lineup. From 2003 to 2011 Reyes was the man in New York with Mets. Despite only playing in 69 games his first year he still managed to crack the Top-10 for Rookie of the Year for hitting .307 with five home runs and 32 RBI. From 2005-2008 he cracked the Top-30 in the NL MVP vote, his best year coming in seventh place going .300 with 19 home runs, 81 RBI and a league-high 64 stolen bases. From 2005-2007 Reyes would lead the NL in stolen bases and in 2011 he would win his only batting title thus far in his career. He hit .337 in 126 games. Which in my opinion is a little shady based on the amount of games, but even worse because of the fact that he took himself out of the lineup in his last game in order to preserve it. Had Ted Williams still been alive he would have taken issue with it. In 2009 and 2013 Reyes was the starting shortstop for the DR WBC team. He hit .314 with one home run and three RBI for this last WBC as he and his teammates held the trophy after their 3-0 victory of Puerto Rico.

April 9- Milwaukee Brewers

Ooooooohhhhh… Milwaukee… It’s amazing how much things changed after the 1993 season for the Milwaukee Brewers. Paul Molitor had won an elusive World Series ring with the Toronto Blue Jays and Robin Yount decided to hang up his cleats. Both players ended up making the Hall of Fame years down the road, but their loss became an immediate and questionable impact on the franchise as the 1994 season was set to kick off. As a kid I loved watching Molitor and Yount on the field, and I especially loved collecting their baseball cards as they donned the infamous “MB” glove logo on their jerseys and caps. Little did anyone know, the Brewers had been preparing for a change in the guard for some time, and what better time to unveil it than during the most controversial season in Major League Baseball history?

I’m of course taking about this…

From 1994-1996 the Brewers sported this cap for all of their home games, as well as some rather ridiculous jerseys, in an effort to celebrate 25 years of Brewers baseball in Milwaukee. I was very careful not to say “in the franchise’s history” on account of the one year they played in Seattle as the Pilots. Now, there are a few things that probably need to be pointed out to better explain my beef with this era of caps and uniforms. First off, I actually do love the colors schemes. Navy blue and gold compliment each other very well, and like the Seattle Mariners, the bluish-green trim that was introduced really made everything pop. The logo itself; however, is a different story all together. The longstanding history of MLB cap logos there have been very few that come out in an unorthodox size. By that I mean most logos tend to be somewhat equilateral in both height and width. This one, to a degree still falls within those parameters; however, the height and length go beyond what have been fairly conventional for the last hundred years or so. Just looking at how wide the “M” and how long the “B” are have never really enticed me to wear it. The same can be said about the road cap during this era which I will touch on some time down the road. should also point out that this is the Brewers cap that Bryan Mapes (@IAmMapes) bought f or me in New York City, a story I touched on in my Montreal Expos post from April 6.

Due to the fact that I wasn’t in Milwaukee when the change was made, I’ve always been rather curious to know what the perspective of the fans was when the team made the announcement and first unveiled the logo. I can assure you that 11-year-old Benjamin had a look similar to Dennis Reynolds (played by Glenn Howerton) from the episode of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” called “Paddy’s Pub: Home of the Original Kitten Mittens.”

All jokes aside, the ’94-’96 years were rather rough times for the Brewers under then manager Phil Garner. During their three-year stretch the Brewers failed to post a season record above .500, going 198-223 during their stretch. The poor records translated to the team finishing in the cellar in attendance, still averaging over one million fans per season, but at the cost of 12^th and 13^th place out of 14 in the American League. All around the team played fair; only three of their pitchers finished with records above .500: Ricky (awesome name) Bones in ’94 going 10-9, Ben McDonald in ’96 going 12-10 and lefty Scott Karl going 13-9 in ’96 as well. Offensively the team had speckles of greatness, but only a handful of times did any of the batters finish with an average of .300 or better and 20 or more home runs. Like the uniforms, the Brewers faced some dark times.

Like in any season that finishes less-than-desired expectations, there are always diamonds in the rough which pave the way for greater things to come. When marking up this cap I came across two names which I’ll never forget for both personal and grand scale reasons. Whether you’re a Brewers fan or not, I think you’ll agree.

Sorry for the subtle Coca-Cola Zero product push.

#11/14- Very few people remember this guy outside of Milwaukee, but from 1992-1999 Dave Nilsson was a stud. He was signed as an amateur free agent in 1987 out of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and was the third Australian-born player to play in Major League Baseball; the first being Joe Quinn back in 1884 for the St. Louis Maroons. From 1992-1995 Nilsson wore #20 and switched it up from 1996-1997 to #14, but then changed it to #7 in 1998 and then back to #14 in 1999.

From 1994-1995 Nilsson had some mediocre years, much like the rest of the team, going .276/24/122 in that frame; which really isn’t that bad for a catcher. His most successful year at the plate came in 1996 however. Nilsson had a career-high .331 batting average in only 123 games with 17 home runs and 84 RBI, another career high. Nilsson never really racked up any wards throughout his career with the exception of his one and only All-Star Game appearance in 1999, the final year of his tenure in MLB.

Nilsson could have easily played for at least five more seasons, especially considering the fact that he was only 29-years-old at the end of the ’99 season; however, he declined an signing any contracts for the chance to play; opting to play for Australia in the 2000 Olympics. Such a move was unprecedented at the time, especially considering that only amateurs generally made up the rosters for all countries with the exception of Cuba, South Korea and Japan. In the 2000 Sydney Olympics had his best-ever international tournament averaging .565 and slugging .957 as a DH/1B. He led the Olympics in average that year, 151 points ahead of runner-up Doug Mientkiewicz as well as also leading in both slugging and OBP. Despite his excellent performance, Australia finished just 2–5, ahead of only South Africa.

After a two-year break from baseball, Nilsson signed a contract with the Red Sox on 21 January 2003 and was expected to play in the 2003 MLB season with a $400,000 contract. However, on 14 February it was announced that Nilsson had decided against playing after losing the will to play. Nilsson managed the Queensland Rams in the 2003 Claxton Shield, assisting them to a surprise title. He returned to playing baseball that year for Telemarket Rimini in Serie A1 in Italy, where, although only hitting .280, he ended up slugging at a league-high of .920 and had an OBP of .561.

Nilsson was back with the Australian national baseball team for the 2004 Athens Olympics. He again had a decent tournament performance batting .296/.441/.444 in 8 games. He had a perfect fielding percentage at catcher and threw out 5-of-8 attempted base-stealers. He an his teammates took home a historic silver medal in the final competition, but sadly failed to qualify for the 2008 Olympics, the final games in which baseball would be played.

Nilsson played in the Australian season for the first time in five years when he appeared in the 2004 Claxton Shield. He went 5 for 11 with 4 home runs and 12 RBI and even pitched well in one stint on the mound. He led the 2004 Shield in home runs and RBI and was named to the All-Star team at DH. Nilsson then again attempted a comeback in the major leagues. He signed with the Atlanta Braves and hit .236 in 16 games for the Richmond Braves, five years after he had last played in the Major Leagues.

Nilsson's career ended when he went 0-for-5 with a strikeout for Australia in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. In 2008 Nilsson was named to the Sports Australia Hall of Fame. He entered the Hall of Fame with swimmer Ian Thorpe, Winter Olympics gold medalist Alisa Camplin, rugby league champion Allan Langer, tennis player Mark Woodforde, Australian football and media identity Lou Richards, and swimming coach John Carew.

#26- I actually ran into this particular player on the streets of his native Portland back in 2003. He was a little bit bigger than during his playing days, and had a bit more grey in his hair and goatee, but I could still recognize a former member of the Oakland Athletics anywhere. John Jaha attended Douglas High School in the Rose City and is the most notable of seven players to make it to the Majors. The Brewers selected him in the 14^th round of the 1984 amateur draft and he made his debut on July 9, 1992 at the age of 26; he went 0-3 with a strikeout.

Jaha played for the Brewers until the end of the 1998 season, the years in which they became the first team in MLB history to switch leagues. Jaha had some up-and-down years with the Brew Crew, mostly due to injuries. Jaha only played in more than 88 regular season games three times in his career: 1993 and 1996 with the Brewers and 1999 with the Athletics. ’96 was bar far the greatest year Jaha ever had with the Brewers. That season he hit an even .300 average with a then-career high 34 home runs and a career high 118 RBI. Despite these numbers Jaha did not crack the Top-30 in MVP voting. Jaha’s lifetime numbers with the Brewers are .268/105/366. After seven years of service and a career plagued with injury, the Brewers declined to re-sign him… thus allowing the Athletics to swoop in to sign him to a minor league contract before the 1999 season.

Billy Beane, starting his second full season as general manager of the Athletics still saw a bit of life in Jaha and rolled the dice. In return, Jaha hit .276 with 35 home runs and 111 RBI, earning him the American League Comeback Player of the Year award, his only trip to the All-Star Game and a spot on the AL MVP vote at #18. Injuries once again crept into the picture in 2000 and 2001 in which Jaha subsequently retired. Jaha’s 35 home runs as a designated hitter tied for the most at that position which Dave Kingman, another Oregon born and raised player, set back in 1984, which also won him the AL Comeback Player of the Year award. Crazy!