TORONTO – After a surprising 2015, it was about time for a more predictable result at Tournament 12.
Last year’s showcase of Canada’s top prospects included a championship for a Prairies team full of relative unknowns, with headliner Andrew Yerzy hitting a disappointing .125. This season, the pendulum swung the other way with powerhouse Ontario Black winning its first T12 title led by an impressive performance from the highest-profile prospect in attendance.
Shortstop Adam Hall went 8-for-18 over six games with eight steals and six RBI to lead Ontario to its first win at the event held over five days at Rogers Centre. In the championship matchup with British Columbia on Monday night, the host province ousted the noted baseball factory 6-3.
After a title game where he went 1-for-4 with two steals and scored the winning run after nimbly avoiding a tag in a rundown, Hall brought home the hardware, winning tournament MVP. It was a fitting end to a T12 career that has spanned four seasons for the Bermuda-born prospect who calls London, Ontario home.
“It’s nice to win, this is the first time I’ve even been in the finals,” he said. “To actually win it, that’s extra special.”
Reflecting on his performance, Hall felt he had a strong showing, but there were areas where he could have better demonstrated his abilities for the many scouts present.
“I think I showed fairly well, but the scouts day didn’t go I well as I would have liked,” he said. “I felt that I hit decently, not quite as much power as I might have liked, but I got on base got quite a few stolen bases and played really well defensively.”
Hall currently ranks 22nd on Perfect Game’s list of high school players and looks like a solid bet to be chosen in the early rounds of the 2017 draft.
Here are some stray observations from Canada’s top prospect showcase:
Delgado makes his T12 debut: In its fourth year, Tournament 12 has some mainstays when it comes to Toronto Blue Jays alumni. Duane Ward can be found in the same seat down the third base line at all times, the commissioner, Roberto Alomar, has his spot just to the left of home plate and Lloyd Moseby’s contagious energy flows from the first-base dugout steps.
This year, the established group welcomed a new member: Blue Jays all-time home run leader Carlos Delgado. Delgado made his presence felt on scouts day, helping with drills and engaging in his fair share of good-natured ribbing.
Perhaps his best printable chirp was a simple-but-effective conversation-ender at the expense of fellow alumni instructor, and former teammate, Tanyon Sturtze. “Man, did you get anyone out when you played?” Delgado hollered. “I mean anyone?”
Sturtze, the proud owner of a 5.19 career ERA in the majors, disappeared into the dugout laughing.
Prairies outfielder provides best Kevin Pillar impression: The web gem of the tournament belonged to Prairies centre fielder Brody Frerichs on Saturday. On a sinking liner to left centre, Frerichs sprinted in and made a seemingly foolhardy lunge for a ball that appeared destined to drop, refusing to concede the single. The Muenster, SK, native made the catch inches above the turf and lay on his back with his glove pointed to the sky in triumph.
“Originally I thought I was going to take it off a hop,” he said. “I was running and it was breaking away from me, but a couple of steps away I thought ‘I’ve got a chance to get this’ and I dove. Somehow it stayed in my glove.”
Moseby’s commentary on the play? “No…no…no…no…no…YES!”
Grounds crew earns their paycheques: The Blue Jays are known for having the world’s fastest grounds crew, but during Tournament 12, they might have had the hardest-working group. During a normal weekend series, the team has to prepare the field for three contests. During T12 they had to do it 19 times.
Not only was there more work to do, there was less time to do it.
“Typically on a gameday for the major-league team we start at 11 am to get it ready for 2 pm,” head groundskeeper Tom Farrell explained. “But for this event, we have a half hour between each game. It’s a little bit of meatball surgery, get out there, get it done quickly and get off.”
Despite the time constraints, Farrell takes pride in the work of his team during the demanding weekend.
“Even though these guys aren’t major league ballplayers we treat the field with respect,” he said. “We want to make sure it’s safe for them.”
Home runs come in bunches: Long balls tend to be rare at T12, but it’s generally fair to expect a ball or two to make its way over the wall each day. This year, 12 games of round-robin play came and went without the ball leaving the park.
Alberta’s Greg Student broke the drought in Game 13 with a three-run shot to left in the bottom of the fifth.
“I knew I got it pretty good, but I didn’t know if it was gone,” the centre fielder said with a mile-wide smile. “I was rounding first then I heard a big cheer from the crowd and I thought ‘oh man this is real.'”
In the next half-inning, Brett Platts of the Atlantic squad hit a virtually identical home run in the same spot down the line.
“I got a change-up in and just drove her over the fence,” he said, decidedly less surprised with his feat than Student. “You could tell the way it sounded off the bat that it was a good one.”
In 133 innings of ball, the matching left-field drives were the only wall-clearing hits.