CLEARWATER, Fla. – Fresh off a 5-3 win over the Phillies on Wednesday, Canada’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) team heads to Puerto Rico hoping to advance to the first round for the first time.
“The atmosphere is great,” said coach Ernie Whitt. “We want to win every game, but this is a learning opportunity for us as well.”
A variety of weapons have contributed to the Phillies lineup such as Trea Turner, JT Realmuto, Alec Bohm, Adolis Garcia, and Bryson Stott. Veterans like James Paxton and Phillippe Aumont have had to make adjustments as they are not currently in affiliated baseball, and minor leaguers like Guardians’ left-handed starting pitching prospect Matt Wilkinson have taken their first opportunity to make an impression.
When the team travels to Puerto Rico, Whitt believes the group has a real chance of advancing beyond the first round for the first time in six attempts.
“It’s just a feeling, a gut feeling.” Witt said with a smile from the first base dugout at Phillies camp. A Canadian flag was planted behind him as he spoke. “I think that’s the biggest thing. I don’t feel analytical about it. No, it’s just intuition, and I think we’re putting our courage and our analysis together.”
Canada is scheduled to hold two practices in Puerto Rico before opening the tournament against Colombia on Saturday. In the meantime, let’s take a closer look at what we learned during our brief training camp in Florida.
With less than a week to prepare for the tournament, every day counts, so it helped that Canada faced talented big league pitchers like Kevin Gausman, Aaron Nola and Jhoan Duran in exhibition games.
“great.” Whit said. “We don’t know if we’ll see that type of pitching in many countries, but we’ll try to prepare for it.”
Beyond the results, Canadian coaches were impressed by the mental resilience their team showed in tying the game against the Blue Jays after falling behind 7-0 on Tuesday.
“There is no giving up,” Whitt said. “That’s not something we embrace in Baseball Canada. And I mean, it’s a perfect example. Look at how the Blue Jays last year never gave up and continued to hone their at-bats. That’s what we’re trying to instill in the players here.”
There is plenty of position player talent on Team Canada, from veterans like Josh Naylor and Tyler O’Neill to prospects like Denzel Clarke and Owen Caissie.
“I think it’s really great,” said Naylor, Canada’s first captain. “We have power and speed through a lineup with a lot of intelligence and experience. I really hope the younger players pick the brains of the veteran players here and gain knowledge about their careers. Maybe one thing can stick with them, and that could be valuable.”
Canada’s lineup started Wednesday with Edouard Julien, Abraham Toro, Naylor and O’Neill, but Whitt said “we might tweak it a little bit” when the game really matters. Regardless of how Whitt and GM Greg Hamilton line up, there is plenty of offensive talent. And that was before meeting the coaching staff that included Russell Martin and Justin Morneau.
“You take a lot of pride in taking your country to heart,” Naylor said. “There’s a lot that goes into this. As a player, you sometimes get caught up in playing for a name. It’s obviously a very personal sport and you want to succeed for yourself. At the same time, when you play for your country, you have to represent everyone who came before you, your family, everyone in your area, your friends. It’s really cool to wear your country on your chest and I take a lot of pride in that as a player.”
Only one person in WBC history has managed all six tournaments: Whitt. The 73-year-old veteran of 15 big league seasons has a 5-10 record in the WBC and led Canada to gold medals at the 2011 and 2015 Pan Am Games. Ahead of his sixth WBC, Whitt reflected on what the role means to him.
“I’m honored,” Whitt said. “I mean, it’s such an honor to be able to put my country in my heart. As long as they keep asking me, and they keep asking me, I think I’ll keep going. Of course, we want to have a little more success. We want to move forward. Every time I go out on the field, I want to win. I don’t care who’s against me. Our ultimate goal is to win and we know it’s a sprint, so we just have to work hard.”
Not decided yet.
Michael Soroka and Jameson Taillon are expected to start Canada’s first two games, but it is unclear how they will handle late-game situations as the team moves south. With late-game options like Cade Smith and Matt Brash off the roster, Whitt said the team lacks a clear closer.
“Not yet.” Whit said. “A lot depends on the matchup and what we see and who we feel will be best at that time.”
It was Vancouver-born Wilkinson who pitched the final two innings of Wednesday’s game against the Phillies, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect how Canada will handle WBC play. Of course, there is one way to answer the closer question. The idea is to use a strong attack to build a comfortable lead over countries like Colombia, Panama, Puerto Rico and Cuba.
