The 2026 World Baseball Classic can’t come fast enough for Ernie Whitt.
The Baseball Canada manager believes his team is on the cusp of getting into the championship bracket of the tournament if all of the stars align – literally.
Despite missing Major League Baseball standouts like Joey Votto, Nick Pivetta, Michael Soroka and Jordan Romano, Canada mustered a 2-2 record during the 2023 WBC.
However, it wasn’t enough to advance out of pool play after losses to the United States and Mexico.
“We have to have full commitment from all of the players playing in the big leagues that they will come and play in the WBC,” Whitt told Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast. “I think we’re seeing a little bit more (than in the past), but I’d like to see more players at that level.”
The former MLB catcher made the comments ahead of a visit to Calgary for the Blue Jays Academy National Coaches Clinic, hosted by Baseball Alberta and Webber Academy.
A LITTLE BIT SHORT
It all came down to a matchup with Mexico, which is exactly what Whitt expected heading into the spring classic.
After wins over Great Britain and Colombia and a loss to the U.S., Canada needed to beat Mexico to advance to the championship bracket for the first time.
And through five innings, they found themselves with a 3-2 deficit.
“Then all of a sudden, we had to bring in some younger players and we got tossed up,” Whitt said of the eventual 10-3 loss.
“Our game-plan was that we knew that it all boiled down to the game against Mexico and we just came up a little bit short.”
While the team was anchored by veterans like John Axford, Andrew Albers, Cal Quantrill and Freddie Freeman, the Canadian skipper saw it as a learning opportunity for his young nucleus of players like Edouard Julien, Bo Naylor, Mitch Bratt and Owen Caissie, who he believes are just scratching the surface of their potential.
“You look at the United States, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico – they’re strictly all big-league players,” he said. “This is giving them the opportunity to come and compete, and also elevate their game but also see where they need to improve to get better to play at that level all of the time.”
THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE
While the World Baseball Classic typically didn’t draw major attention in years past, the 2023 edition seemed to have a new energy to it.
Players relished the opportunity to represent their country, and Whitt says that passion, coupled with fan buy-in, made it a special atmosphere.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever gone to watch winter league games in the Dominican Republic or Venezuela, but it’s like that all of the time,” he said. “There are whistles and horns, just total excitement.”
Whitt believes energy and memories made during the WBC will likely have a trickle-down effect for players who were previously on the fence about playing competitive baseball right before the start of the MLB season.
“The players talk to each other and that’s a big part, too,” he continued.
“You want them to go back to their teammates and tell them what an experience they had, how exciting it was, and hopefully that will spark some other players that really want to come out and play.”
The young players coming up also provide potential for future Canadian entries at the WBC.
Whether it was Vauxhall Academy grad Damiano Palmegiani getting named to the roster and seeing some action or other young players in the minors who could move up the depth chart like Dawgs Academy grad Tristan Peters, St. FX product Matt Coutney or Erik Sabrowski of AHP Academy, the future is bright.
“I see a lot of talent coming up, I really do,” Whitt says. “We’re young but we also have a feeder system with our Junior National Team and a lot of these guys are now being drafted.”
SEIZING THE MOMENT
In order to keep that momentum going, Whitt believes events like the Blue Jays Academy National Coaches Clinic become even more valuable.
He says in order to train world-class players, you need to have world-class coaches who are able to get the most out of every athlete.
“Coaches sometimes try to create robots out of players,” says the 12-year MLB backstop, who made the All-Star Game in 1985.
“Good coaches will take their players, get to know them, get to know what they’re capable of doing, what they’re not capable of doing, and really go after what they’re capable of doing and fine-tune it.”
Even though he’s been coaching the national team since 1999, Whitt continues to evolve his coaching philosophies as well, which he hopes grassroots coaches take into account.
While he understands the value of analytics as athletes get older, he says it’s important to have a grasp of fundamental things like “see the ball, hit the ball” as well as soft skills like being good teammates.
Whitt says he’s noticed how many Alberta born and trained athletes are heading to top-level US college programs, which should serve as an inspiration for young athletes who want to keep chasing the baseball dream.
He adds it bodes well for Baseball Canada’s future at major events like the World Baseball Classic, as he has established a culture and expectation with his teams.
“That’s why I ask them when they come: guys, when you come in the locker room and you put on that jersey, all we’re thinking about is winning,” he said. “We’re going to go and we’re going to play until the end of the game.”
Heading into the 2026 World Baseball Classic, Whitt believes the youth movement with Canada can allow them to see more than the end of just four round-robin games.
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