This article is about baseball team competing since 2000. For the earlier team of the Pacific Coast League, see
Vancouver Canadians (PCL)
.
Minor league baseball team
The
Vancouver Canadians
are a
Minor League Baseball
(MiLB) team located in
Vancouver
,
British Columbia
. They are members of the
Northwest League
and are affiliated with the
Toronto Blue Jays
. The Canadians play their home games at
Nat Bailey Stadium
. They are currently the only MiLB team based in Canada.
History
[
edit
]
Prior to the 1999 season, the
Vancouver Canadians
Pacific Coast League franchise was purchased by a group led by Art Savage with the intention of relocating to
Sacramento, California
.
[3]
Despite winning the Pacific Coast League title and the
Triple-A World Series
the Canadians moved to California's capital city. Vancouver would not be without baseball as the
Southern Oregon Timberjacks
of the
Northwest League
announced relocation to fill the void in Vancouver.
[4]
The Canadians name resumed as members of the
Class A-Short Season
Northwest League in 2000.
Like the predecessor Pacific Coast League franchise, the new Canadians signed a player development contract with the
Oakland Athletics
.
The Canadians had players such as
Nick Swisher
,
Jeremy Brown
,
Jason Windsor
,
Joe Blanton
,
Rich Harden
,
Travis Buck
,
Dallas Braden
, and
Dan Straily
on teams during this period.
In 2007, local Vancouver businessmen Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney purchased the Vancouver Canadians and secured a 25-year lease with the City of Vancouver Parks Board. Extensive work began that offseason in a full-scale stadium renovation which improved washrooms, concessions, concourses, and children's play area. Point-of-purchase concessions increased substantially.
In January 2008, former
Washington Nationals
executive Andy Dunn become the President and General Manager of the Canadians.
In the spring of 2010, the Vancouver Canadians and Scotiabank announced a long-term partnership that would see Nat Bailey Stadium renamed to Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium.
The Canadians became the Short Season A affiliate of the
Toronto Blue Jays
following the 2010 season. This helped see the team's attendance rise to 162,162 for the season, a team record. In September 2011, the Vancouver Canadians won their first
Northwest League championship title
, defeating the
Tri-City Dust Devils
, 9?2, to win the final series, 2?1. The following year, the Vancouver Canadians became back-to-back champions for the first time in franchise history, defeating the
Boise Hawks
, 12?9, to win the final series, 2?1.
In August 2013, outfielder
Kevin Pillar
became the first alumnus of the team to play in the major leagues for Toronto.
[5]
On September 9, 2013 the Canadians became just the third Northwest League team to win three straight championships, defeating the Boise Hawks, 5?0, at Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium to win the final series, 2?1, in front of a sellout crowd.
[6]
The 2013 season also saw the Vancouver Canadians draw over 195,000 fans to Scotiabank Field, a fifth consecutive team record which included 23 sold-out games.
On November 4, 2013, the Vancouver Canadians were named the 2013 recipient of the
John H. Johnson President's Award
. The prestigious award is given to Minor League Baseball's top organization. It was the first time that a Canadian-based franchise won MiLB's top award.
[7]
In 2016, the Canadians led the Northwest League with a total attendance of 222,363, averaging 6,177 per game.
[8]
This earned them the 2016 Esurance "Home Field Advantage Award" given to the organization in each affiliated minor league with the greatest attendance per percentage capacity.
[9]
In 2017, the Canadians won another championship, defeating
Eugene
, 2?1, to win the series, 3?1.
[10]
They beat their previous record in attendance with 239,527 people in total attendance for the 2017 season, averaging to 6,303 per game. On January 26, 2018, Toronto extended their player-development contract with Vancouver through the 2022 season.
[11]
While the Canadians were unable to make the playoffs in 2018, coming in a close second in both the first and second half of the season, they still lead the league in attendance with an impressive 239,086 in total attendance.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minor League Baseball season was cancelled. In the winter of 2020 as part the reorganization of minor league baseball, Vancouver received an invitation to continue as the Blue Jays'
High-A
affiliate.
[12]
In a further change, they were organized into the
High-A West
along with five other teams previously of the Northwest League.
[13]
The team began the 2021 season playing its home games at
Ron Tonkin Field
(the home field of the
Hillsboro Hops
) in
Hillsboro, Oregon
due to COVID-19 border restrictions.
[14]
The Canadians finished 5th in 2021, missing out on playoffs.
Prior to the 2022 season, the High-A West became known as the Northwest League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.
[15]
Vancouver finished 2nd in the 2022 season, qualifying for the first time to the new Northwest League playoffs system. Under the new playoffs system, a single best-of-5 series is played to determine the championship winner. Vancouver lost 3?0 to Eugene to finish runner-up.
In the 2023 season, the Canadians had the best overall record in the Northwest League at 77?54 and qualified for the playoffs by winning the first-half title with a 38?27 record. Vancouver defeated Everett 3?1 to win their first High-A Northwest League Championship.
Early professional baseball in Vancouver
[
edit
]
Vancouver
was an influential entity in the early history of the
Northwest League
. They were charter members of every version of the league that would eventually form the NWL, most notably as the sole team that survived the collapse of the
Western International League
(WIL) in 1922 when it reformed in 1937, winning four pennants in the WIL (1942, 1947, 1949, and 1954) as the Vancouver Capilanos (1939?1954). However, even though they were the final champions of the WIL, Vancouver was not part of its reformation into the Northwest League, due to the NWL's shedding of all of its Canadian teams in order to focus on the American
Pacific Northwest
. Vancouver was without professional baseball in 1955, but in 1956 the highest calibre of minor league play, in the form of the Open classification
Pacific Coast League
, came to
British Columbia
when
Oakland Oaks
transferred there as the
Vancouver Mounties
. The Mounties played in the PCL from 1956 through 1962, and from 1965 through 1969.
Ballpark
[
edit
]
The Canadians play their home games at
Nat Bailey Stadium
which had hosted previous minor league teams.
Season-by-season records
[
edit
]
Season
|
PDC
|
Division
|
Finish
|
Wins
|
Losses
|
Win%
|
Post-season
|
Manager
|
Attendance
|
Vancouver Canadians
|
2000
|
OAK
|
West
|
2nd
|
39
|
37
|
.513
|
|
Dave Joppie
|
109,576
|
2001
|
OAK
|
West
|
2nd
|
37
|
39
|
.487
|
|
Webster Garrison
|
118,357
|
2002
|
OAK
|
West
|
4th
|
37
|
39
|
.487
|
|
Orv Franchuk
|
127,099
|
2003
|
OAK
|
West
|
3rd
|
35
|
41
|
.461
|
|
Dennis Rogers
|
137,026
|
2004
|
OAK
|
West
|
1st
|
42
|
34
|
.553
|
Lost to
Boise
in championship series 0?3
|
Dennis Rogers
|
140,037
|
Vancouver Canadians
|
2005
|
OAK
|
West
|
1st
|
46
|
30
|
.605
|
Lost to
Spokane
in championship series 2?3
|
Juan Navarrette
|
124,708
|
2006
|
OAK
|
West
|
3rd
|
39
|
37
|
.513
|
|
Dennis Rogers
|
123,878
|
2007
|
OAK
|
West
|
2nd
|
37
|
38
|
.493
|
|
Rick Magnante
|
126,491
|
Vancouver Canadians
|
2008
|
OAK
|
West
|
3rd
|
34
|
42
|
.447
|
|
Rick Magnante
|
129,073
|
2009
|
OAK
|
West
|
2nd
|
36
|
40
|
.474
|
|
Rick Magnante
|
149,297
|
2010
|
OAK
|
West
|
2nd
|
42
|
34
|
.553
|
Lost to
Everett
in division series 0?2
|
Rick Magnante
|
154,529
|
2011
|
TOR
|
West
|
2nd
|
39
|
37
|
.513
|
Defeated
Eugene
in division series 2?1
Defeated
Tri-City
in championship series 2?1
|
John Schneider
|
162,162
|
2012
|
TOR
|
West
|
2nd
|
46
|
30
|
.605
|
Defeated
Everett
in division series 2?0
Defeated
Boise
in championship series 2?1
|
John Schneider
|
164,461
|
2013
|
TOR
|
North
|
2nd
|
39
|
37
|
.513
|
Defeated
Everett
in division series 2?0
Defeated
Boise
in championship series 2?1
|
Clayton McCullough
|
184,042
|
Vancouver Canadians
|
2014
|
TOR
|
North
|
1st
|
46
|
30
|
.605
|
Defeated
Spokane
in division series 2?0
Lost to
Hillsboro
in championship series 0?2
|
Clayton McCullough
|
180,187
|
2015
|
TOR
|
North
|
4th
|
34
|
42
|
.447
|
|
John Schneider
|
215,535
|
2016
|
TOR
|
North
|
4th
|
29
|
45
|
.392
|
|
John Tamargo
|
222,363
|
2017
|
TOR
|
North
|
1st
|
43
|
33
|
.566
|
Defeated
Spokane
in division series 2?0
Defeated
Eugene
in championship series 3?1
|
Rich Miller
|
239,527
|
2018
|
TOR
|
North
|
1st
|
40
|
36
|
.526
|
|
Dallas McPherson
|
239,068
|
2019
|
TOR
|
North
|
4th
|
30
|
46
|
.396
|
|
Casey Candaele
|
235,980
|
2020
|
Season Cancelled due to
COVID-19 Pandemic
|
2021
|
TOR
|
-
|
5th
|
55
|
64
|
.462
|
|
Donnie Murphy
|
15,882
[Note 1]
|
2022
|
TOR
|
-
|
2nd
|
67
|
62
|
.519
|
Lost to
Eugene
in championship series 0?3
|
Brent Lavallee
|
313,256
|
2023
|
TOR
|
-
|
1st
|
77
|
54
|
.588
|
Defeated
Everett
in championship series 3?1
|
Brent Lavallee
|
297,437
|
Division winner
|
League champions
|
Canadians attendance
[
edit
]
Year
|
Total
Attendance
|
Average
|
Percent Change
|
Ref
|
2000
|
109,576
|
2,884
|
N/A
|
[16]
|
2001
|
118,357
|
3,115
|
+8.0%
|
[17]
|
2002
|
127,099
|
3,345
|
+7.4%
|
[18]
|
2003
|
137,026
|
3,606
|
+7.8%
|
[19]
|
2004
|
140,037
|
3,685
|
+2.2%
|
[20]
|
2005
|
124,708
|
3,370
|
?8.5%
|
[21]
|
2006
|
123,878
|
3,260
|
?3.3%
|
[22]
|
2007
|
126,491
|
3,419
|
+4.9%
|
[23]
|
2008
|
129,073
|
3,585
|
+4.9%
|
[24]
|
2009
|
149,297
|
3,929
|
+9.6%
|
[25]
|
2010
|
154,592
|
4,068
|
+3.5%
|
[26]
|
2011
|
162,162
|
4,267
|
+4.9%
|
[27]
|
2012
|
164,461
|
4,445
|
+4.2%
|
[28]
|
2013
|
184,042
|
4,843
|
+9.0%
|
[29]
|
2014
|
180,187
|
4,870
|
+0.6%
|
[30]
|
2015
|
215,535
|
5,825
|
+19.6%
|
[31]
|
2016
|
222,363
|
6,177
|
+6.0%
|
[32]
|
2017
|
239,527
|
6,303
|
+2.0%
|
[33]
|
2018
|
239,086
|
6,292
|
?0.2%
|
[34]
|
2019
|
235,980
|
6,210
|
?1.3%
|
[35]
|
2020
[Note 2]
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
[36]
|
2021
[Note 1]
|
15,822
|
286
|
-
|
[37]
|
2022
[Note 3]
|
313,256
|
4,746
|
+1879.88%
|
[37]
|
2023
|
297,437
|
2,306
|
?5.05%
|
[37]
|
Roster
[
edit
]
Players
|
Coaches/Other
|
Pitchers
- 30
Alex Amalfi
- 35
Lazaro Estrada
- 11
Pat Gallagher
- 3
Ryan Jennings
- 9
Justin Kelly
- 25
Conor Larkin
- 28
Jonathan Lavallee
- 26
Chris McElvain
- 17
Kevin Miranda
- 40
Josh Mollerus
- 32
Rafael Ohashi
- 4
Naswell Paulino
- 16
Kendry Rojas
- 23
Rafael Sanchez
- 34
Graysion Thurman
- 10
Anders Tolhurst
- 36
Geison Urbaez
- 20
Chay Yeager
|
|
Catchers
- 91
Jose Ferrer ~
- 19
Jommer Hernandez
- 31
Jackson Hornung
- 98
Kekai Rios
Infielders
- 21
Jean Arnaez
- 1
Nick Goodwin
- 14
Estiven Machado
- 22
Ryan McCarty
- 15
Brennan Orf
- 7
Jeffrey Wehler
Outfielders
- 8
Jace Bohrofen
- 6
Dasan Brown
- 27
Dylan Rock
- 24
Jaden Rudd
- --
Roque Salinas
- 5
Glenn Santiago
|
|
Manager
Coaches
60-day injured list
- 90
Adrian Pinto
- --
Dahian Santos
- 91
Peyton Williams
7-day injured list
* On
Toronto Blue Jays
40-man roster
~ Development list
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporarily inactive list
Roster
updated May 9, 2024
Transactions
→ More rosters:
MiLB
?
Northwest League
→
Toronto Blue Jays minor league players
|
Media
[
edit
]
In the 2019 season, radio rights moved from
CKST
to
CISL
Sportsnet 650
. As part of the deal,
Sportsnet Pacific
also gained rights to air a package of Canadians games on television.
[38]
Notable former players in the major leagues
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Meet Bob Brown Bear"
.
- ^
Ewen, Steve.
"Vancouver Canadians sold to American company, promise business as usual"
.
theprovince.com
. Retrieved
2 September
2023
.
- ^
Johnson, Kelly.
"Who's on first? Baseball war heats up after team purchased"
.
www.bizjournals.com
. Retrieved
2020-09-20
.
- ^
"Timberjacks will make move to Vancouver, B.C."
Eugene Register-Guard
. Oregon. Associated Press. October 27, 1999. p. 6F.
- ^
"Echoes From 527: Kevin Pillar | Back in Blue Network ? Toronto Blue Jays Website and Weekly Video Podcast"
. Backinblue.kc-media.net. 2013-06-11. Archived from
the original
on 2014-07-26
. Retrieved
2013-09-05
.
- ^
"Canadians win third consecutive championship"
.
milb.com\date=September 10, 2013
. Retrieved
March 15,
2014
.
- ^
"Canadians earn 2013 President's Award"
.
milb.com
. November 4, 2013
. Retrieved
November 5,
2013
.
- ^
"Northwest League Attendance | MiLB.com Stats | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball"
.
MiLB.com
. Retrieved
2017-06-19
.
- ^
@vancanadians (April 11, 2017).
"We have the best fans in @MiLB! Come celebrate winning the 2016 @esurance Home Field Advantage Award with your hometown team today!"
(
Tweet
) – via
Twitter
.
- ^
"Canadians win fourth title in seven years"
.
MiLB.com
. Retrieved
2018-02-17
.
- ^
"Vancouver Canadians on Twitter"
.
Twitter
. January 26, 2018
. Retrieved
January 26,
2018
.
- ^
"Blue Jays retain Vancouver Canadians as minor league affiliate"
.
Sportsnet.ca
. Retrieved
2020-12-14
.
- ^
Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021).
"MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues"
.
Major League Baseball
. Retrieved
February 12,
2021
.
- ^
"Vancouver Canadians to call Oregon home at start of baseball season due to COVID-19"
.
CBC.ca
.
The Canadian Press
. March 29, 2021
. Retrieved
April 17,
2021
.
- ^
"Historical League Names to Return in 2022"
.
Minor League Baseball
. March 16, 2022
. Retrieved
March 16,
2022
.
- ^
"Canadians Attendance (2000)"
.
thebaseballcube.com
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Canadians Attendance (2001)"
.
thebaseballcube.com
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Canadians Attendance (2002)"
.
thebaseballcube.com
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Canadians Attendance (2003)"
.
thebaseballcube.com
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Canadians Attendance (2004)"
.
thebaseballcube.com
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Canadians Attendance (2005)"
.
MiLB.com
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Canadians Attendance (2006)"
.
MiLB.com
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Canadians Attendance (2007)"
.
MiLB.com
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Canadians Attendance (2008)"
.
MiLB.com
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Canadians Attendance (2009)"
.
MiLB.com
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Canadians Attendance (2010)"
.
MiLB.com
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Canadians Attendance (2011)"
.
MiLB.com
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Canadians Attendance (2012)"
.
MiLB.com
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Canadians Attendance (2013)"
.
MiLB.com
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Canadians Attendance (2014)"
.
MiLB.com
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Canadians Attendance (2015)"
.
MiLB.com
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Canadians Attendance (2016)"
.
MiLB.com
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Canadians Attendance (2017)"
.
MiLB.com
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Canadians Attendance (2018)"
.
MiLB.com
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Northwest League Attendance | Northwest League Stats"
.
Northwest League
. Retrieved
2019-10-08
.
- ^
"2020 Minor League Baseball season shelved"
.
MiLB.com
. Retrieved
2023-08-20
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Vancouver Canadians"
.
TheBaseballCube.com
. Retrieved
2023-08-20
.
- ^
"Vancouver Canadians jump to Sportsnet 650, get TV games in the deal"
.
The Province
. 2018-10-23
. Retrieved
2019-06-29
.
External links
[
edit
]
Preceded by
|
Northwest League franchise
2000?present
|
Succeeded by
|
|
---|
|
Franchise
| |
---|
Ballparks
| |
---|
Culture
| |
---|
Lore
| |
---|
Rivalries
| |
---|
Retired numbers
| |
---|
Key personnel
| |
---|
World Series championships (2)
| |
---|
American League pennants (2)
| |
---|
Division titles (6)
| |
---|
Wild Card berths (4)
| |
---|
Minor league affiliates
|
- Triple-A
- Double-A
- High-A
- Single-A
- Rookie
|
---|
|
---|
1970s
|
- 1970 · 1971 · 1972 · 1973 · 1974 · 1975 · 1976 ·
1977
- 1978
- 1979
|
---|
1980s
| |
---|
1990s
| |
---|
2000s
| |
---|
2010s
| |
---|
2020s
| |
---|
|
|
---|
|
Overview
| |
---|
Governing bodies
| |
---|
National teams
| |
---|
Professional teams
| |
---|
National competitions
| |
---|
International events
| |
---|
Awards and honors
| |
---|