TORONTO — Heading into a fourth season of coaching since retiring as a player, Michael Saunders is thoroughly enjoying his second career, sharing the knowledge he accumulated over nine seasons with the Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies.
“Don’t be in a rush, understanding where your feet are and concentrating on that rather than thinking about where I want to get to,” the former outfielder says of the advice he doles out as Atlanta’s minor-league outfield and baserunning co-ordinator. “And this is a tough one, but trust in the process over the outcome. It’s something I learned later on in my career that I tried to apply and (share now) if anybody ever asks me about it now that I’m on the other side of the ball.”
Saunders’ accomplishments, which include an all-star campaign with the Blue Jays in 2016 and a World Baseball Classic opening-round MVP honour in 2013, were recognized during Baseball Canada’s annual awards banquet Saturday with selection to the organization’s Wall of Excellence.
The 37-year-old from Victoria is the 12th player to receive the honour, joining Larry Walker, Justin Morneau and Russell Martin, among others, and it led him to reflect on his 14 years as a pro player and the journey there beforehand.
“My dad and I were talking about it: you play catch in the backyard when you’re six years old and you never dream of this situation coming up because of that, right?” he says. “I’m very humbled and honoured to be on that wall … You take a look at some of the names up there and they’re a lot more accomplished than I am. … Your professional career goes by quick and here I am today.”
The speed at which the years passed by — from an 11th-round pick by the Mariners in 2004 to Futures Game selection in 2007 with fellow Canadian Joey Votto, to Olympic team member in 2008 to big-league debut in 2009, to retirement after the 2019 season — is one of the key messages he imparts to players.
There is always urgency to improve, to perform, to seize opportunity, but Saunders also cautions against chasing results, knowing how easily that can become a damaging detour from growth and success.
Not being in a rush, he explains, is knowing that during a period of struggle, a player shouldn’t “try to dig my way out of that hole within a game.”
“Like, if you’re hitting .200, you’re not going to hit .300 after today,” he continues. “It’s going to be a process. That’s what I mean by trusting the process over the outcome. Baseball is a funny game. You can do everything right, hit the ball right on the barrel right at somebody, you’re 0-for-1. Pitcher makes great pitch, breaks your bat, you bloop one over third base for a double. So you can’t get too high. Can’t get too low. But I believe that if you have a solid routine and you trust the process, good things will happen.”
READY FOR DENVER: Cal Quantrill knows full well about the challenges of pitching in Denver’s thin air and after being acquired by the Colorado Rockies earlier this off-season, the right-hander from Port Hope, Ont., has a plan for dealing with Coors Field’s perils.
“One of the biggest challenges of pitching there is what you do to yourself thinking about pitching there,” says Quantrill, traded for minor-league catcher Kody Huff after being designated for assignment by cost-cutting Cleveland. “It’s easy to forget that the guy on the other side of the ball also has to pitch there. This game is about winning. As long as I last longer than their pitcher, I did my job. I know it’s probably not the premier destination for pitchers, but in the end, everyone’s got to go through it. Our game is smart, front offices are smart, everyone knows what it’s like. You prepare and don’t worry too much about it. Execute your pitches. It will turn out alright.”
That mindset should help the 28-year-old be at his best this year, after fighting through shoulder inflammation that led to two injured list stints in a difficult 2023.
While Quantrill can’t pinpoint where his issues began, his workload went from 32 innings in 2020 to 149.2 frames in 2021 to 186.1 innings during the regular season plus 10 more in the playoffs in 2022, before dropping to 99.2 in 2023.
He concedes that he wasn’t right physically until September, when he posted a 2.76 ERA and 1.255 WHIP in 32.2 innings across six starts, identifying a pitch mix he plans to ride again this year. Typically, he’d been primarily a sinker-cutter pitcher, but in September he dropped his sinker usage to 33 per cent and paired it with a splitter 26 per cent of the time, mixing in the cutter (16 per cent), a curve (15 per cent) and a change (nine per cent).
“I was fighting my shoulder for a really good chunk of last season, even when I was pitching and I think it was affecting some of the decisions I was making, pitch selection, going about attacking hitters,” Quantrill says. “When I was healthy at the end of the year, how I was using that arsenal is probably where I’d like to trend towards this year. But I’m not too stubborn to change. If a certain pitch, a certain approach is working better, I’m not too proud to start going to that more often.”
Combined with an off-season focus on making sure his shoulder is ready for the grind ahead, that thought process has him prepared for a fresh start with the Rockies.
“You’re always surprised when something happens,” Quantrill says of Cleveland’s decision. “In the end, it is a business and they have to do what they think is right for their team. I know that I’m still good enough to be in the big-leagues and I knew there’d be another opportunity elsewhere. I certainly wasn’t going to lose any sleep over it. I’m happy that I got to land in a good organization and a really quality place. My family and I are excited to take on this next chapter and focus on bigger and better.”
ALL IN THE FAMILY: As Josh, Bo and Myles Naylor mingled with fellow national team players during Baseball Canada’s awards banquet, it was easy to imagine the brothers suiting up together and manning the infield at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
And, yeah, they’ve imagined it, too.
“That would be awesome if it worked out,” says elder brother Josh, 26, who plays with middle brother Bo on the Cleveland Guardians but had to miss teaming with him at the 2023 Classic due to the fallout from a severe ankle injury. “That would be a great experience not only for us, but our family, and hopefully we could so something special there.”
Says Bo, 23, who posted an .807 OPS in 67 games with the Guardians after backstopping Canada during the WBC last spring: “It’s definitely one of those things that you dream about. For that kind of thing to come true would truly be special.”
Adds Myles, 18, who was picked in the first round, 39th overall, by Oakland last summer and posted a .669 OPS across 34 games at two levels in his pro debut: “I got to watch (Bo) play this year and it was a great experience overall. Next time it could be all three of us. So I’m excited.”
By 2026, Myles — a shortstop right now — could very well be pushing toward the big-leagues and in the mix for a spot on the national team. Josh was 22 when he was selected to the 2019 Canadian WBC team, before he’d made his big-league debut, while Bo had just turned 23 and had five big-league games before playing last year.
The experience with the Canadian team helped jump-start his season as “seeing competitive pitchers, getting competitive at-bats early really helped put my mind in the right place,” he says. “Everyone knows it’s a long season, but the earlier you can get it going, the earlier you can start to feel comfortable. That really helped me for the end of the season. Once I got to that point, I was just keeping on, controlling everything that I could control and we ended the right way.”
Josh’s decision to give his ankle extra time to recuperate paid off as he batted .308/.354/.489 with 17 homers and 97 RBIs in 121 games for the Guardians in his most productive season in the majors yet.
“It sucked not playing there,” he says. “I got an opportunity to watch a few games (Bo) played in, one of our good friends came down and part of our family came down to watch and we supported the best we could. Hopefully next time I have the chance to play in it, we have a chance together to play in it. But taking that time off to let things recover better and making that tough decision not to play in it really did benefit me. It made me a little healthier for the season. And I was able to last the whole year with the stronger leg.”
SHORT HOPS: Third baseman Damiano Palmegiani, who bookended an .842 OPS season at double-A New Hampshire and triple-A Buffalo with stints on Canada’s WBC team and an Arizona Fall League championship, is expected to get an invite to big-league spring training with the Toronto Blue Jays. The 23-year-old from Surrey, B.C., has impressed across the organization over the past two seasons and is someone to keep an eye on this year. … The Women’s Baseball World Cup is set for July 28-Aug. 3 in Thunder Bay, Ont., and Ashley Stephenson, who is returning to coach at single-A Vancouver again this season, will be part of Canada’s staff at the event. The Blue Jays are giving the longtime national team icon time away from Vancouver to work alongside manager Anthony Pluta. Stephenson helped Canada win two silver and four bronze medals at the World Cup during a 15-year playing career. … Slugger Owen Caissie, who hit a homer and drove in four runs in three World Baseball Classic games as a 20-year-old last spring, is expected to get an invite to big-league camp with the Chicago Cubs, who may give the outfielder some reps at first base to create more pathways to the majors for him.
QUOTABLE: “The thing I think about with Joey is professionalism, respect for the game and this fiery will to win. His preparation is second to none. His baseball intelligence. Obviously, you can see the production that he put out on the field. He’s more of a quiet guy but as far as Canada goes, as far as the people that come into this banquet, he’s family. What a career. I hope it becomes a Hall of Fame career. It should be, in my opinion. I hope he gets in there sooner than Larry (Walker, who was elected in his 10th and final year of eligibility). But just to be mentioned and be on the ballot with serious consideration, it talks a lot about what he was able to accomplish.” — Michael Saunders on free agent Joey Votto
