The Canada national baseball team represents Canada in international

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

. They are overseen by

Baseball Canada Baseball Canada is the national governing body for baseball in Canada. They are members of the Canadian Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Incorporated in 1964 as the Canadian Federation of Amateur Baseball, it is ...

, the governing body of baseball in Canada. Canada was an inaugural member of the World Baseball Classic, making its debut in the

first edition The bibliographical definition of an edition is all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants. First edition According to the definition of ''edition'' above, a book pr ...

. They have yet to make it past the first round.

History

Cross-border baseball games had been played between Canadian and American team as early as 1856, though these were played by clubs and thus not necessarily true internationals. The first true national selection to represent Canada in international competition appeared at the

Inter-Allied Games The Inter-Allied Games was a one-off multi-sport event held from 22 June to 6 July 1919 at the newly constructed Pershing Stadium just outside Paris, France following the end of World War I. The host stadium had been built near the Bois de Vi ...

, a replacement for the Summer Olympics held in 1919 following the conclusion of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The players were all members of the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF; French: ''Corps expéditionnaire canadien'') was the expeditionary warfare, expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed on August 15, 1914, following United Kingdom declarat ...

, many of them from the army league's champion team. They played a selection of American servicemen in a four game series, losing three and taking one. For the next few decades, Canada was only occasionally represented at international baseball events, including by several

semi-pro ''Semi-Pro'' is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André 3000 (credited as And ...

clubs at the

Global World Series The Global World Series was an international semi-pro baseball tournament organized by the United States National Baseball Congress (NBC) in the mid-1950s. It was the successor to various international series between the U.S. teams and other co ...

contests of 1955 to 1957.

identifies the first Canadian national team as the squad assembled for the

1967 Pan American Games The 1967 Pan American Games, officially known as the V Pan American Games () and commonly known as Winnipeg 1967, were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from July 23 to August 6, 1967. Winnipeg was chosen as host of the Pan American Games on ...

, held on home soil in Winnipeg. The team was managed on the field by Gerry Mackay, who became a longtime skipper of the national team. However, four Canadian players (including future

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum () is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museum commemorates the great players, teams, and events from Canadian baseball history. History The museum was founded in November 1982 in ...

pitcher

Ron Stead Ronald Duncan Stead (September 24, 1936 – December 5, 2011) was a Canadian baseball pitcher. He played briefly in Minor League Baseball, then went on to play for over a decade in the Intercounty Baseball League of Ontario, setting multiple leag ...

) were controversially disqualified due to previously having played

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

(since professionalism was banned at the time by the International Olympic Committee). Canada ultimately went 1-5 in the tournament. Canada made its debut in the

Amateur World Series The Baseball World Cup (BWC) was an international baseball tournament for national teams around the world, sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). First held in 1938 as the Amateur World Series (AWS), it was, for most of its ...

(later known as the

Baseball World Cup The Baseball World Cup (BWC) was an international baseball tournament for national teams around the world, sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). First held in 1938 as the Amateur World Series (AWS), it was, for most of its ...

) in the 1970 tournament. On the 1970 team was Dave McKay, a future Toronto Blue Jay.

Olympic appearances

Canada was invited to participate at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

. They finished with a 1–2 record in pool play, and did not advance to the knockout round. They finished tied for third in their pool, the equivalent of a tie for fifth overall. Canada qualified for the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

by finishing in fourth place at the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas ...

and defeating 1987 European Baseball Championship silver medalist Italy in a playoff. They finished with a 1–2 record in pool play, and did not advance to the knockout round. They finished in seventh place overall. Canada qualified for the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

by finishing second at the Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Panama. They finished with a 5–2 record in pool play, then fell to Cuba in the semifinals. Canada would ultimately lose the Bronze Medal game 11–2 to Japan. Canada qualified for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

by finishing first in the

Final Qualifying Tournament Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. They finished with 2–5 record in pool play, and did not advance to the knockout round.

World Baseball Classic era

Proud Canadian fans - Canada vs Italy - 2009 World Baseball Classic in Toronto

In June 2005, Major League Baseball announced the formation of the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic, is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the sport's global governing body, and organized in World Baseball Clas ...

(WBC), an international competition to be held in March 2006 for the first time. Canada was one of the sixteen teams invited to play in the inaugural classic. Because the event will be held in March, before the North American baseball season traditionally starts, players active in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

or any minor league affiliates are eligible to play in the WBC, making the team markedly different from the teams which represented Canada in the 2005 World Cup or the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

2006 WBC: Inaugural classic

Several high-profile Canadian players declined the opportunity to participate, including

Ryan Dempster Ryan Scott Dempster (born May 3, 1977) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, and Boston Red Sox. Dempster batted and t ...

Shawn Hill Shawn Richard Hill (born April 28, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays. He was part of Team Ca ...

, Danny Klassen,

Éric Gagné Éric Serge Gagné (; born January 7, 1976) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher who played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Los Angeles Dodgers. After signing with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1995 ...

and

Rich Harden James Richard Harden (born November 30, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, and Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball. Early years Harden attended Claremont Secondary S ...

, who were injured.

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

' prospect Russell Martin was named to the team, but pulled out in favor of reporting to Spring training. In addition,

Larry Walker Larry Kenneth Robert Walker (born December 1, 1966) is a Canadian former professional baseball right fielder. During his 17-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played with the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals. I ...

, who retired after the 2005 season, opted not to participate, choosing instead to serve in a coaching capacity. Canada played in Pool B of the tournament with

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Team Canada was heavily favoured to win their first game against

, a team made up almost entirely by amateurs. However, South Africa put up a tough challenge to the Canadian team. South African starter, Carl Michaels pitched outstandingly; Canada could not get a run until the 5th inning, when they scored 3. However, the South Africans shockingly scored 4 runs of their own in the bottom of the 5th against

Paul Quantrill Paul John Quantrill (born November 3, 1968) is a Canadian former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 14 seasons, from 1992 to 2005; his longest tenure was six seasons with the Toronto B ...

. It was back and forth from then on. It looked like South Africa might pull off a monumental upset as they went into the 9th with an 8–7 lead. However, in the top of the 9th, the Canadians scored 4 times to win the game 11–8.

After almost being upset by a surprising South African team, Canada pulled off an upset of its own with an 8-6 victory over the star-studded United States team. Scoring in each of the first five innings, the Canadians built an 8–0 lead using a combination of timely, patient hitting, steady pitching and clutch fielding. In the bottom of the fifth, the United States threatened a comeback, exploding for 6 runs, capped off by a Jason Varitek grand slam. The Canadian team held off the US the rest of the way, as neither team crossed the plate again in the game. Adam Stern had a strong outing, going 3 for 4, a double shy of the cycle, with an inside-the-park home run, as well as making several spectacular plays in center field to keep his team ahead. After Canada's victory over the United States, they got shocked by the Mexican team in a 9–1 resounding defeat. Unfortunately for the Canadian side, this victory would eventually cost them the trip to the 2nd round of the tournament after the United States beat South Africa 17–0 and clinched the second place in Pool B. Canada, USA, and Mexico each finished with a 2–1 record in the pool, but Canada lost the tie-breaker based on runs allowed.

2009 WBC: First classic held on home soil

Canada was placed in 2009 World Baseball Classic – Pool C hosting the

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Rogers Centre Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a retractable roof stadium in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to t ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. In their opener, Canada lost a close game against the United States by a score of 6–5. On March 9, Canada was eliminated from the tournament after losing 6–2 to underdog Italy. Canada exited the WBC with an 0–2 record and 6.35 runs allowed per 9 innings, to secure thirteenth place overall.

2013 WBC: Brawl vs Mexico

Canada qualified by winning a qualifying tournament in

Armin-Wolf-Arena Armin-Wolf-Arena is a baseball stadium located in Regensburg, Germany. It was built in 1996 and has a capacity of 3,100 spectators. It hosts the home games of Guggenberger Legionäre Regensburg of the Bundesliga Baseball and has hosted the 200 ...

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, in September 2012, that also featured the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. Canada moved on to the 1st Round. The Canadian team was placed in 2013 World Baseball Classic – Pool D against

and the

. In their opener, Canada lost to the Italian baseball team 14–4 after the game ended in the 8th inning due to the

mercy rule A mercy rule, slaughter rule, knockout rule, or skunk rule ends a two-competitor sports competition earlier than the scheduled endpoint if one competitor has a very large and presumably insurmountable scoring lead over the other. It is called t ...

in place after Italy scored five additional runs during the bottom of the 8th inning. On March 9, Canada faced off against Mexico. With Canada already leading the game,

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

Luis Cruz motioned the pitcher Arnold Leon to

bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

the next batter, Rene Tosoni, which resulted in a bench clearing brawl. Seven players from both teams ejected from the game. Despite this, they clinched a 10–3 win over Mexico. They lost the final game against the United States 9–4, thus eliminating Canada from the tournament. The Canadian team missed out on advancing to the next round for the third time, but still managed to claim their automatic qualification for the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts wer ...

2017 WBC: Worst finish

Canada was placed in

2017 World Baseball Classic – Pool C Pool C of the First Round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic was held at Marlins Park, Miami, Florida, United States, from March 9 to 12, 2017, between Canada, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and the United States. Pool C was a round-robin tournam ...

against the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, and the

. Their performances were abysmal, even losing to surprising debutants Colombia. After losing all three of its matches, they finished last in their group, and were forced to go through qualifiers for the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball tournament and the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It began on March 8, 2023, and ran until March 21. It was originally scheduled to take place in ...

2023 WBC

Canada automatically qualified for the 2023 tournament by playing in the

. The Canadian team was placed in 2023 World Baseball Classic – Pool C against

, Columbia and

. They began pool play against Great Britain. The Canadians had to overcome an early deficit, however, Tyler O’Neill and Jacob Robson had four hits each to lead Canada to an 18–8 mercy rule win In Game 2, propelled by a nine-run first inning, they lost 1–12 against the United States. In Game 3 against Columbia, Canada led 1–0 going into the eighth inning, but Otto Lopez, a Toronto Blue Jays prospect, led off the inning with a triple and was driven in by Owen Caissie's two-out RBI single to push the lead to 2–0. Lopez's three-run shot in the ninth gave Canada an even bigger cushion, which ultimately lead them to winning 5–0. Their 2–1 record set up a win-or-go-home game vs Mexico. After a good start to the game, Mexico blew the game open with a four-run sixth, keyed by

Randy Arozarena Randy Lia Arozarena González (born February 28, 1995) is a Cuban-born Mexican professional baseball outfielder for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay R ...

’s three-run double. They would go on to win the game 10–3, ultimately eliminating Canada from the tournament. By finishing top four in their group, Canada still managed to claim their automatic qualification spot for the

2026 World Baseball Classic The 2026 World Baseball Classic is an upcoming international professional baseball tournament, planned to be the sixth iteration of the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The pool play rounds will be played in Miami, Florida; Houston, Texas; San Juan ...

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

match results currently active in the latest version of the

WBSC World Rankings The WBSC World Rankings is a ranking system for national teams in baseball, softball, and baseball5. The teams of the member nations of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the world governing body for both sports, are ranked based o ...

, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. ;Legend

2019

2023

Team

Current roster

The roster for the

Recent call-ups

Competitive record

World Baseball Classic

Olympic Games

Canada has qualified for two Olympic Games, in 2004 and 2008. Canadian teams also competed twice when baseball was a demonstration sport, in 1984 and 1988.

WBSC Premier12

2015 WBSC Premier12: Inaugural event

Canada was placed in Pool A against

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, and host

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

. They completed a perfect 5–0 pool play to advance to the playoff stage. They ultimately lost to Mexico 4–3 in the quarter-finals, finishing in fifth place overall.

2019 WBSC Premier12: Stiffer competition

Two quota spots were allocated from the Tournament, of the spots for six baseball teams at the 2020 Olympic Games. Canada was placed in Pool C against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and host

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. They compiled a 1–2 pool play record, and did not advance to the Super Round. They finished in seventh place overall

Amateur World Series and Baseball World Cup

Canada has competed at 9 World Cups and 8 more times in its predecessor the Amateur World series. Their best finish was a bronze at the 2009 World Cup and at the 2011 World Cup.

Pan American Games

Canada's first appearance at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

came in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

. Their first medal came in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, when the team won the bronze medal for their third-place finish. In

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, Canada won the gold medal game over the United States, 2–1, to win Canada's first-ever baseball gold medal. Canada won their second consecutive gold medal in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, defeating the United States, 7–6 (10 innings), in the final. In

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, Canada won the silver medal, losing to Puerto Rico in the final match.

Haarlem Baseball Week

World Port Tournament

Uniforms

References

External links

National Teams at Baseball Canada
* * * {{National sports teams of Canada * National baseball teams in North America 1919 establishments in Canada National sports teams established in 1919