Former Toronto Blue Jays general manager Gord Ash will be one of the four people enshrined in this year’s hall of fame class.
He’ll be joined by former MLBers Jason Bay, Ryan Dempster and Rob Thomson for the induction ceremony June 15 in St. Mary’s, Ont.
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame made the announcement Tuesday morning.
Ash began his career with the Toronto Blue Jays working in the ticket office in 1978. He would serve in several positions as he rose through the organization’s ranks, before he was promoted to assistant general manager in 1989, a position he held until 1995. He was later promoted to general manager in 1995, becoming the fourth Canadian to be named GM of a Major League Baseball team.
Ash says he was honoured to receive the call from the hall of fame’s Scott Crawford.
“I was overwhelmed with emotion. So many baseball memories flashed vividly through my mind, including the people I have met and worked with, the places the game has taken me and the experiences I have had the good fortune to enjoy, all came back to life.”
Jason Bay made his big league debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates and is the only Canadian to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Bay finished his MLB career with 222 home runs, 751 RBIs, and 1,200 hits. He is one of only 13 Canadians with at least 1,000 major league hits.
Ryan Dempster made his MLB debut with the Florida Marlins in 1998. He was named the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Tip O’Neill Award winner in 2000, after posting a 14-10 record with the Marlins.
He finished his major league career with the second most wins among Canadian-born pitchers with 132 wins and 2,075 strikeouts.
Rob Thomson grew up in Corunna, Ont., and was drafted in the second round by the Detroit Tigers in the 1984 draft. After shifting his career to coaching, he joined the New York Yankees staff as a special assignment instructor in 2004. Four years later, he was hired as Yankees bench coach. Thomson had also organized spring training for the Yankees since 1998 and secured five World Series rings during his lengthy tenure with the franchise.
“I am humbled and honoured to be inducted into Canada’s Baseball Hall of Fame,” Thomson said. “Growing up in Corunna, I would have never dreamed that such an honour would be bestowed onto me.”
In December 2017, Thomson was hired by the Philadelphia Phillies to be their bench coach and he is now in his second season in that role.
The hall of fame will hold the induction ceremony on June 15.