DUNEDIN, Fla. – CANADIAN CLASSIC
Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson has had just a few months to reflect on his team’s long post-season run last fall.
The Canadian took over as skipper in June when the Phillies were 22-29. He helped turn things around and led the Phillies all of the option to the World Series, where they dropped a six-game series to the Houston Astros.
After the dust settled, Thomson said his brother asked him the way it really felt to administer within the Fall Classic.
“I said before the sport and after the sport, it felt just like the World Series since it was just all of the media and all of the stuff that you will have to do,” Thomson said at a Grapefruit League availability of managers and GMs on the Blue Jays’ spring complex.
“But throughout the game, I don’t know why, I just could lock in and it was just like several other game. We went through our normal process and I believe the players did the identical thing.”
Thomson, a native of Sarnia, Ont., grew up in nearby Corunna, Ont.
He became the primary Canadian to function a manager within the World Series since 1887, when Bill Watkins of Brantford, Ont., guided the Detroit Wolverines to victory over the St. Louis Browns.
WILL RICK STICK?
Yusei Kikuchi and Mitch White are the favourites to land the No. 5 starter role with the Blue Jays this spring, but prospect Ricky Tiedemann also presents an intriguing option for team brass.
The 20-year-old left-hander was 5-4 with a 2.17 earned-run average within the minor leagues last season. The six-foot-four 220-pounder is the team’s top prospect and is ranked No. 32 on the MLB list.
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said he doesn’t think the club must temper his expectations in any respect but slightly have him concentrate on the method.
“He’s as focused on it as any young player that I’ve been around,” Atkins said.
Tiedemann, a native of Long Beach, Calif., was chosen by the Blue Jays within the third round of the 2021 draft.
BABY WATCH
Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk will likely be a late arrival at camp as his fiancée could give birth at any time over the approaching days.
The couple announced the newborn news on Instagram last August, posing by home plate at Rogers Centre and holding up a small red jersey with Kirk’s No. 30 on the back.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider has provided updates at the top of his media availabilities in recent days.
“Still on baby watch,” he said Friday afternoon. “I believed it was going to be yesterday but my last update this morning was ‘Not quite yet.’
“Hopefully soon,” he added with a smile.
Kirk, a Tijuana resident, will represent Mexico at next month’s World Baseball Classic.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2023.
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