Canadian rather be at ballpark than hockey rink

205 Canadians have played in the majors

By David Dorsey
Fort Myers News Press

Sporting a black and blue shiner on his left eye, Mark Zamojc could have been mistaken for a professional hockey player, given his 6-foot-2, 195-pound frame and his hometown of Burlington, Ontario in Canada.

But as part of a growing trend of Canadians hoping to infiltrate the big leagues, Zamojc actually got the black eye playing baseball.

The Fort Myers Miracle outfielder and corner infielder fouled a ball that bounced hard off the ground and flew up, slamming into his left eye two weeks ago.

After missing a game, Zamojc since has fully recovered.

"Where I'm from, hockey is definitely the No. 1 sport," said Zamojc — which is pronounced, Zam-OICH.

"But baseball is getting bigger."

This week, The News-Press is looking at the diversity and cultural differences that abound in the Miracle's clubhouse.

The Miracle roster has players from 12 states, six countries and three continents.

Out of the 239 players in the Minnesota Twins system, Zamojc is one of just five Canadians.

Two of them — first baseman Justin Morneau and relief pitcher Jesse Crain — are on the big league roster.

While growing up in suburban Toronto, Zamojc rooted for the Toronto Blue Jays.

"I got to go to one of the World Series games," Zamojc said. "It was Game 2. I was like 10 years old."

Zamojc, who was actually 11, then watched on TV as Joe Carter slugged a series-clinching, three-run homer off Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams as the Blue Jays defeated the Philadelphia Phillies for the 1993 World Series.

Unlike some of his teammates from overseas and Latin America, Zamojc did not face many cultural differences when he joined his new American team.

"I think our government is more on the liberal side," said Zamojc, who through nine games has hit .152 with one homer, two RBI and one stolen base.

"Other than that, there's not much of a difference."

Because of its cold climate, its loyalty to hockey and its limited number of months to play baseball, Canada has taken some time to produce its share of big leaguers.

Most Canadian high schools did not field teams until the mid-1970s, and college baseball did not begin in earnest until the early 1980s.

Zamojc's own college, the University of British Columbia, did not field a team until seven years ago.

Since 2001, the university has sent nine players on to be drafted by major league teams, including Jeff Francis, a first-round pick by the Colorado Rockies in 2002.

"It's a secondary sport in high school," said Minnesota Twins scout Jim Ridley, a 61-year-old native of Burlington, Ontario.

Ridley, who signed Zamojc after the Twins drafted him in the 42nd round of the 2003 draft, has scouted Canada for the Twins and previously for the Blue Jays during the past 30 years.

"Thirty or 40 years ago, it was very, very difficult," Ridley said of a Canadian reaching the big leagues. "The big thing here is, Canadians love hockey. I can't stand the game myself. But the athletes in Canada are more cosmopolitan. It's like a melting pot. They play all the sports in all the seasons.

"In Canada, in some provinces, there are real good baseball programs. Up here, we have smaller numbers of athletes who are good, confident baseball players. But we have several potential tool players who play hockey instead."

Another hurdle for Canadian players to clear would be getting better baseball facilities.

"Most of our home games, we had to play on a minor league field, where the Oakland A's have a rookie league team," Zamojc said.

So far, the clear poster boy for successful Canadian players has been outfielder Larry Walker, now 38 and with the St. Louis Cardinals.

"I coached Larry Walker with Canada's youth national team in 1984," Ridley said. "I have to say that I could have put Larry Walker at any one of nine positions, and he would have been my best player."