The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame will welcome four new members on June 15 when outfielder Jason Bay, pitcher Ryan Dempster, coach Rob Thomson and longtime executive Gord Ash will be enshrined as the Class of 2019 this summer, in recognition of their contributions to Canadian baseball.
"Each of this year’s inductees is a proud Canadian that has had a tremendous impact on baseball in this country," said Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame director of operations Scott Crawford. "Jason Bay and Ryan Dempster were major league all-stars and are two of the most successful Canadian players of all-time, while Rob Thomson and Gord Ash have seven World Series rings between them and are highly respected in the professional baseball community."
Bay earned three all-star selections while hitting 222 home runs during an 11-year big-league career that included the 2004 NL Rookie of the Year and three Tip O’Neill Awards as Canada’s top player.
Dempster made two all-star teams over the course of a 16-year MLB career that included a World Series win with the 2013 Red Sox. The right-hander started 351 total games, and was also the Cubs’ closer for three seasons. All told he posted a 4.35 ERA during a career that lasted from 1998-2013.
Thomson, now the Phillies’ bench coach, has extensive coaching and development experience with the Yankees that began in 1990 and continued through 2017.
Ash, now an executive with the Milwaukee Brewers, was an assistant general manager during the Blue Jays’ World Series wins and later succeeded Pat Gillick to become Toronto’s GM for seven years. During his tenure as GM the Blue Jays drafted stars such as Roy Halladay, Vernon Wells and Alex Rios.
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