Right handed pitcher Ryan Thompson has a future that is much brighter than those rare summer days in Fort McMurray.
Originally from Calgary, he played ball in Fort McMurray before moving to New Hampshire and playing High School baseball at Souhegan High in Amherst. He then started his College career at UConn with mixed success. His highlight was pitching a perfect inning of relief in a win at Hartford, but he ended up only appearing in 5 games, and had a 9.53 ERA. Subsequently he transferred to Franklin Pierce to play for the Ravens of the Northeast-10 Conference in Rindge, NH. Things have been looking up ever since!
As a newcomer and just a sophomore, he was designated one of the team’s captains which was “a testament to his leadership qualities”, said Ravens Coach Jayson King, adding that Ryan “ is one of the hardest working guys on our team and is totally dedicated to pitching and our program”. And the accolades kept coming.
There are 16 Canadian players on opening day rosters. From new household names such as defending MVP Joey Votto to those who were around BEFORE the Blue Jays had won a World Series (Matt Stairs). And these players come from coast to coast, but not a single one of these is from Alberta. Hopefully this will change in the next few seasons, as the Canadian Baseball Network has released its annual list of Canadians playing college ball, and there are 74 Albertan baseball players on the rosters of schools playing college south of the border.
