Nick-Named “The Condor”

It takes an army of volunteers to make a pro and the more that make it from Canada, the more Major League Baseball looks north for prospects.

When you look at ball players it’s a misconception that to play in the “big’s” you have to live in a major city in Canada or the US, which is by all accounts simply wrong.

Not only do the Mariners have Ladner’s James Paxton on the roster, they also have Right Fielder Michael Saunders on the roster who grew up playing ball in Victoria.

His road to success was as similar as most of the young players looking at advancing from minor to the pro level of any sport.

He had his up’s and down’s, but to put it simple – he persevered to become better at his craft and to date, this clearly shows.

He was nicknamed “The Condor” by Dave Sim’s who (I am told) attributed the origin of this saying to the great to Lee Tinsley.

He told me that he “started playing ball at the Little League level with the Gordon Head Baseball Association, while he was attending Lambrick Park Secondary School in Victoria,

He played high school ball for another Mariners team, only this one was called the Victoria Mariners of the BC Premier Baseball League. Eventually he was selected by the Mariners in the 11th round of the 2004 MLB Draft.

Before he signed with the Mariners, he spent the 04 season playing for the Mississippi Community College, then spent the 95 season closer to home playing with the Everett Aqua Sox of the Northwest League.

In 06 he found himself promoted to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest Leatue and hit a respectable .239 with four HR’s with 39 RBIs.

In 97 he was promoted to the California League and from here he played some of his best ball which the parent organization was thrilled about.

As a dedicated Canadian he  represented Canada at the 98 Olympics in Beijing, playing as Canada’s Right Fielder for such a prestigious event.

While there he managed to grab 8 hits in 28 at-bats out of the third spot in the line-up as well he crossed the plate scoring five runs and added four RBI’s in seven game series.

It should be noted that two of his home runs helped lead Canada to a respectable 6th place finish.

He loves talking about the Island and fondly remembers his time when he played on his home field. Gordon Head!!