From left to right - Diamond (Toronto Blue Jays Mascot), Rick Amos (Major League Baseball Canada), Randy Echlin, (Chairman of the Board, Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) Ryan Dempster (Pitcher, Florida Marlins), Tom Valcke (President/CEO, Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum), Dave Dombrowski (General Manager, Executive Vice-President, Florida Marlins, Ace (Toronto Blue Jays Mascot)
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum presented Dempster with the 2000 James “Tip” O’Neill Award in a pre-game ceremony just before the Blue Jays - Marlins game on Saturday, June 9 at SkyDome.
This honour is presented annually to the Canadian baseball player judged to have excelled in individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to the highest ideals of the game of baseball.
Dempster, born in Sechelt, British Columbia, and a graduate of Elphinstone Secondary School in Gibsons, B.C., had 14 wins with the Marlins last year while posting a 3.66 era, pitching 226 innings and striking out 209 hitters, 4th best in the National League. He was the youngest player selected to the 2000 National League All-Star team in his first full season in the Majors, and he was the first Canadian pitcher to be named to the National League All-Star team since Fergie Jenkins in 1972.
Tom Valcke, recently named President/CEO of the Hall of Fame, who presented this award, scouted Dempster as a high school prospect. “It was not difficult to write-up Ryan as a premium prospect,” recalled Valcke, who was the Canadian Supervisor with the MLB Scouting Bureau at the time. “When God built Ryan he put a big stamp on his chest that said ‘Ballplayer’. He had a strong, durable arm, tremendous dedication to the game, which was obvious since he had to take a ferry ride to and from every amateur game he played, and he was brought up in a quality family. To see Ryan come full circle and now find himself among the elite pitchers in the game is extremely rewarding. His best years are still ahead of him, and I am confident that, down the road, we’ll be honouring Ryan again in an even greater capacity.”
Past winners of the Tip O’Neill Award include Terry Puhl, Dave Shipanoff, Rob Ducey, Larry Walker, Kevin Reimer, Paul Wilson, and Jeff Zimmerman.
O’Neill, born in Woodstock, Ontario, was Canada’s first baseball hero. In 1883 he became the first Canadian to pitch in the major leagues, but it was his bat that made him a Hall-of-Famer. O’Neill compiled a remarkable .492 average during the 1887 campaign, the highest in the history of the game. Even subtracting the bases on balls (which for that one season were counted as hits), his average still worked out to .435, second only to the .438 hit by Hugh Duffy of the Boston Nationals in 1894. He was inducted into the CBHFM in 1983.
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame - June 20, 2001
Ryan Dempster - SkyDome June 2001
Baseball Card depicting Ryan Dempster Pitching
Ryan Dempster speaking with Toronto Blue Jays announcer Jerry Howarth
Ryan Dempster stretching before a game at the SkyDome.
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Dempster, born in Sechelt, British Columbia, and a graduate of Elphinstone Secondary School in Gibsons, B.C., had 14 wins with the Marlins last year while posting a 3.66 era, pitching 226 innings and striking out 209 hitters, 4th best in the National League. He was the youngest player selected to the 2000 National League All-Star team in his first full season in the Majors, and he was the first Canadian pitcher to be named to the National League All-Star team since Fergie Jenkins in 1972.
Tom Valcke, recently named President/CEO of the Hall of Fame, who presented this award, scouted Dempster as a high school prospect. “It was not difficult to write-up Ryan as a premium prospect,” recalled Valcke, who was the Canadian Supervisor with the MLB Scouting Bureau at the time. “When God built Ryan he put a big stamp on his chest that said ‘Ballplayer’. He had a strong, durable arm, tremendous dedication to the game, which was obvious since he had to take a ferry ride to and from every amateur game he played, and he was brought up in a quality family. To see Ryan come full circle and now find himself among the elite pitchers in the game is extremely rewarding. His best years are still ahead of him, and I am confident that, down the road, we’ll be honouring Ryan again in an even greater capacity.”
Past winners of the Tip O’Neill Award include Terry Puhl, Dave Shipanoff, Rob Ducey, Larry Walker, Kevin Reimer, Paul Wilson, and Jeff Zimmerman.
O’Neill, born in Woodstock, Ontario, was Canada’s first baseball hero. In 1883 he became the first Canadian to pitch in the major leagues, but it was his bat that made him a Hall-of-Famer. O’Neill compiled a remarkable .492 average during the 1887 campaign, the highest in the history of the game. Even subtracting the bases on balls (which for that one season were counted as hits), his average still worked out to .435, second only to the .438 hit by Hugh Duffy of the Boston Nationals in 1894. He was inducted into the CBHFM in 1983.
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame - June 20, 2001
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Ryan Dempster - SkyDome June 2001 |
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Baseball Card depicting Ryan Dempster Pitching |
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