TORONTO — Since first managing a spirited, underdog group to inspiring upset wins over the United States and Cuba and a bronze medal at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Ernie Whitt has guided the Canadian national team to an impressive slate of accomplishments.
There was qualifying for the 2004 Olympics and then a fourth-place finish at the Athens Games. An epic win over a superstar-laden United States team at the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006. Bronze medals in 2009 and 2011 at the International Baseball Federation World Cup, as the event was then known. A few weeks later at the Pan American Games, victory over the Americans for gold — a senior squad first, a feat repeated in 2015 when Toronto hosted the event.
The main gap on the résumé?
Advancing beyond the first round at the World Baseball Classic, a box he’s intent on checking next spring when the tournament returns for the first time since 2017.
“It's a big goal,” Whitt said during a gathering of national team leadership groups at the recent winter meetings in San Diego. “That's something that we haven’t done and we’d love to have that opportunity. The (2006) win against the United States was great, but it didn’t guarantee moving on, so the other games are important also.
“That’s why we’re hoping that we get the players necessary, and we go on and have a great tournament.”
The Canadians are making good inroads on that front, although as one longtime executive noted, nothing is final until the player actually shows up at camp. Still, top players like Freddie Freeman, Tyler O’Neill and Cal Quantrill have all said publicly that they intend to play, which bodes well after a rough 0-3 showing for Canada in 2017.
If all continues to go well, the Canadians could have Freeman (Dodgers) at first, Abraham Toro (Mariners) at second base, Otto Lopez (Blue Jays) at shortstop, and Charles Leblanc (Marlins) at third base, with Bo Naylor (Guardians) and Kellin Deglan (Blue Jays) behind the plate.
Josh Naylor (Guardians), Jared Young (Cubs), Jacob Robson (Tigers), and touted prospect Edouard Julien (Twins) are candidates to join O’Neill in the outfield, or DH.
Quantrill, Nick Pivetta (Red Sox) and Jameson Taillon, who is interested in playing but just agreed to a $68-million, four-year deal with the Chicago Cubs that could complicate his availability, are a starting point for the rotation. Matt Brash (Mariners), Rowan Wick (Cubs) and Rob Zastryzny (Mets) are likely options to front the bullpen.
Joey Votto (Reds) and Mike Soroka (Atlanta), both recovering from injuries, may not be available.
A new tournament format that includes an expansion to 20 teams puts Canada into a familiar pool that includes arch-rivals the United States and Mexico along with Colombia and Great Britain. The top two teams advance to the quarter-finals, when the competition moves a single-game elimination format.
“I like the fact that you’re not carrying records over, you're just moving on to quarter-finals and semifinals, it's this straight progression,” says Greg Hamilton, Baseball Canada’s director of national teams. “You don't have to look as much at creativity in getting out of your pool as you are looking at just trying to win certain games to get there. And then you when you start playing again, you have to beat somebody to get to the next round.”
Whitt will be relying on the national team culture that started with that 1999 Pan Ams team and has since been maintained to help drive whoever ends up on the Canadian roster.
The former Blue Jays catcher believes the program’s identity begins developing with the junior national team and builds as players proceed with their careers.
“That's what leads to good culture, there's an expectation we have with them of what we look for in a player,” says Whitt. “I want 100 per cent participation from the players if they're there. I want them to buy into it completely. The fact that we try to maintain guys that have been on the team and experienced some of the wins that we've had filters down to the younger players so when they're gone the younger players can become the veteran group.”
While national team players often talk about a Canadian mentality on the field, that’s more reflective of the group’s personality and traits than a specific style of game. Rather than being married to one type of game, Whitt’s approach is to adapt to the talents at hand.
“I try to look at what our players’ abilities are and try to get the best out of their ability, not ask them to do more than they're capable of doing,” he says. “We've had teams where we had bashers and it was like, OK, we're not going to run into outs, we need to let them put the ball over the wall. We've had teams where we've had to move runners, do hit and runs, bunt — all the stuff the analytics say you shouldn't do any more. To me it's looking at your personnel and putting them in position to be successful.”
He'll do the exact same thing again in March, where four games are guaranteed and a shot at being among the final eight beckons.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.