The Vancouver Canadians will be going retro to mark the return of full-season baseball at Nat Bailey Stadium.
The club announced it will wear its 1978 uniforms for every Thursday home game to highlight its Throwback Thursdays promotion. That was the year the Canadians came into existence as a Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics.
The last time the C’s wore the Molson Canadian-themed jerseys was back on June 26, 2018 when they defeated the Tri-City Dust Devils. The C’s will probably go with the home white jersey from that night but hopefully they will don this cap instead of the current red cap. A June 21, 2019 article in The Georgia Straight shows a team picture from 1978 in which the team wore two different ball caps that year, one with the maple leaf and another with a ‘V’. It would be neat to see the 1978 blue uniform make its return at some point.
Vancouver Canadians pitcher Denis Diaz (left) translates for McGregory Contreras during the post-game interview after Contreras hit a grand-slam and added a double. 
Jake Brodt got the C’s on the board with an RBI single as Vancouver dumped Tri-City 7-1. 
The 2017 Vancouver Canadians Northwest League Championship logo was featured on the 1978 jersey.
Fans will get their first look at the throwback jerseys on Thursday, April 21 against the Eugene Emeralds.
The Canadians also announced that single-game tickets for the 132-game schedule will go on sale Saturday, February 26 at 10:00 a.m. Fans who bought Nat Packs will be able to choose which games they want to attend beforehand from February 22-25.
The home opener is set for Tuesday, April 19 at 7:05 p.m. against the defending High-A West champion Eugene Emeralds. Dog lovers should circle Thursday, June 16 on the calendar as the Dog Day of Summer makes its long-awaited return to The Nat.
2022 Offseason Recap
January 4 – 2017 C’s shortstop Kevin Vicuña signs a minor league contract with Philadelphia. The 24 year-old Venezuelan batted .245 between Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Buffalo in 2021.
January 5 – MiLB.com names 2021 Canadians shortstop Orelvis Martinez and outfielders Zac Cook and Sebastian Espino as the Toronto Blue Jays top performers from the past season. 2021 righthander Adrian Hernandez turned in the best effort by a relief pitcher in the Jays system.
2018 C’s infielder Otto Lopez was named the top performer at second, 2017 second baseman Samad Taylor claimed the other outfield spot and 2017 hurler Zach Logue won best lefty honours.
January 11 – BattersBox.ca rolls out its Top 30 list of Toronto Blue Jays prospects for 2021, half of them with Vancouver Canadians ties. Full disclosure, I contributed to the rankings.
- 2. Orelvis Martinez, SS/3B (2021)
- 6. Otto Lopez, INF (2018)
- 8. Samad Taylor, 2B (2017)
- 9. Adam Kloffenstein, RHP (2019, 2021)
- 12. C.J. Van Eyk, RHP (2021)
- 16. Sem Robberse, RHP (2021)
- 18. Adrian Hernandez, RHP (2018)
- 20. Zach Logue, LHP (2017)
- 22. Tanner Morris, 2B (2019, 2021)
- 23. Josh Palacios, OF (2016)
- 24. Joey Murray, RHP (2018)
- 26. Chavez Young, OF (2017)
- 27. Spencer Horwitz, 1B (2019, 2021)
- 28. Hagen Danner, RHP (2021)
- 29. Luis Quiñones, RHP (2019, 2021)
January 13 – 2016 and 2021 Canadians righty Justin Maese signs a minor league deal with Atlanta. The 25 year-old Texan was 3-1 with a 4.75 earned run average, striking out 63 batters in 53 innings and collecting four saves.
January 19 – 2011-2012 Canadians righthander Taylor Cole signs a minor league deal with Boston. The 32 year-old from Simi Valley, California has not pitched since 2020 after undergoing shoulder surgery.
January 20 – Baseball Prospectus ranks 2021 C’s shortstop Orelvis Martinez as the 62nd best prospect in baseball in its Top 101 prospects list. 2017 righthander Nate Pearson places 73rd.
January 25 – TSN baseball reporter Scott Mitchell unveils his Top 50 Blue Jays prospects list.
- 2. Orelvis Martinez, SS (2021)
- 3. Nate Pearson, RHP (2017)
- 7. Sem Robberse, RHP (2021)
- 8. Otto Lopez, INF (2018)
- 12. C.J. Van Eyk, RHP (2021)
- 17. Adam Kloffenstein, RHP (2019, 2021)
- 21. Adrian Hernandez, RHP (2021)
- 22. Zach Logue, LHP (2017)
- 24. Hagen Danner, RHP (2021)
- 25. Samad Taylor, 2B (2017)
- 26. Sebastian Espino, 3B/OF (2021)
- 31. Hayden Juenger, RHP (2021)
- 33. Joey Murray, RHP (2018)
- 34. Zac Cook, 2B/OF (2021)
- 35. Spencer Horwitz, 1B (2019, 2021)
- 36. Tanner Morris, 2B
- 37. Josh Palacios, OF (2016)
- 39. Cameron Eden, OF (2019, 2021)
- 40. Chavez Young, OF (2017)
- 46. Rafael Lantigua, 2B/OF (2021)
- 47. Will Robertson, OF (2019, 2021)
February 2 – 2018-2019 C’s righthander Joey Pulido signs with the Sioux Falls Canaries of MLB Partner League American Association. The 26 year-old from Houston struck out 53 batters in 47-2/3 innings and collected 10 saves with the Frontier League’s Southern Illinois Miners in 2021. He allowed just two unearned runs in 27 innings for the C’s.
February 8 – 2018-2019 Canadians hitting coach Aaron Mathews is named manager of the Bluefield Ridge Runners in the summer collegiate Appalachian League.
February 9 – 2015 C’s lefthander Danny Young signs a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners. The 27-year old from Boynton Beach, Florida was 2-2 with a 4.47 ERA and struck out 58 batters in 52-1/3 innings with Triple-A Columbus in 2021.
2013 C’s southpaw Matt Dermody signs a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs. The 30 year-old from Norwalk, Iowa pitched for the Saitama Seibu Lions in 2021 after being released by the Cubs on January 19. He tossed a shutout inning for the North Siders in 2020.
C-Notes
Taking a closer look at Scott Mitchell‘s overview of the Blue Jays minor league system, former C’s who just missed his top 50 list include 2019-2021 C’s catcher Phil Clarke, first baseman P.K. Morris and 2018 infielder Vinny Capra.
Mitchell also predicts where each prospect will start the 2022 season. He expects number 10 prospect, shortstop Leo Jimenez will find his way to Vancouver along with hurler Sem Robberse who checks in at number seven. Mitchell believes Jimenez and first baseman Spencer Horwitz will be among the Blue Jays breakout prospects this season.
Also expected to appear at Nat Bailey Stadium in 2022 is #30 prospect righthander Chad Dallas, Toronto’s fourth round pick in 2021 out of Tennessee, and #18 prospect second baseman/third baseman Miguel Hiraldo, provided he is not selected in the Rule 5 draft, whenever that may be.
Rounding out the list of expected to make their way to YVR include catcher/outfielder Zack Britton (#48) and righthander Trent Palmer (#32), the third- and fifth-round picks by Toronto in the 2020 MLB draft. Palmer tossed two seven-inning no-hitters for Dunedin in 2021.
Also of note, Mitchell expects righty Adam Kloffenstein (#17) and outfielder Will Robertson (#47) to return to Vancouver for a third tour of duty.
The one projection from Mitchell that jumped out at me was shortstop Orelvis Martinez starting the year at Double-A New Hampshire. I expect Martinez to get to Manchester this year but from a purely selfish standpoint, I hope he will make his debut at Nat Bailey Stadium first. For what it’s worth, Baseball America expects Martinez to “get another crack at High-A Vancouver to start 2022.”
FutureBlueJays.com agrees with BA’s assessment.
Martinez will likely find himself back at Vancouver to begin 2022, with a promotion to AA at mid-season. While some might be in a rush to see him, Martinez only turned 20 last November, so 2024 might be a more realistic expectation to see him in Toronto on a full-time basis.
Finally, a tip of the cap to Mr. Mitchell for linking my story about C.J. Van Eyk undergoing Tommy John surgery.
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