North Delta Blue Jays

Teams

BCPBL Teams

Luke Manuel Selected to Canada Junior National Team

Thursday, 16 May 2013 13:53

The 2013 Canada Junior National Team has been announced and the Blue Jay's own Luke Manuel has been selected to the team.

Team Canada Head Coach Greg Hamilton gave Luke the phone call he was hoping for to let him know he made the team. " I feel humbled and honoured" Luke replied when asked about his selection. "It really makes me feel like my hard work has payed off. "

Luke was not included in the official Team Canada spring practice roster for the team, but his impressive performances this spring with the Blue Jays caught the eye of Team Canada coaches. Seven other players from BC were also selected to the team.

Blue Jays Senior Team Head Coach Brad O'Hara had this to say about Luke: "We are really happy for Luke. He has put in a lot of work and has become one of the elite pitchers in the BCPBL. It's nice to see him get recognized at the national level."

First stop for Luke will be the Dominican Republic where the team will play and practice from May 21 to June 1. This will be Luke's first trip to the caribbean. "I haven't been to the Dominican before. I am really excited to see new places and a new culture, plus seeing the players from other countries."

The Junior world championship which is now known as the 18U Baseball World Cup will be played in Taichung, Chinese Taipei from August 30 to September 8, 2013.

2013 Blue Jays Season Outlook

Friday, 08 February 2013 22:48

Led by a core group of senior players and a brand new head coach, the North Delta Blue Jays are hoping to find a perfect blend of new and old during the 2013 PBL season. This year's squad features several players who won a provincial championship two years ago as part of the North Delta Junior Blue Jays, and they hope to carry that winning experience into this year's campaign.

On the mound, Brett Sakaki, Luke Manuel, Ryan Braun and Evan Rogers will be counted upon to log a significant portion of the innings and provide quality starts. Manuel led the Blue Jays last season with 53.9 innings pitched and posted a 3.39 ERA in the process, while Sakaki had a 2.55 mark to go along with 25 strikeouts in 38.1 innings. Braun moves up from the junior team after posting a league leading 1.27 ERA over 77.0 innings pitched.

Lefty Matt Fischer along with right handed pitchers Dylan MacAhonic and Ryo Takenaka will also see significant time on the bump. Dylan pitched 74.1 innings with an ERA of 4.33 with the Junior Jays last year. Ryo struck out 44 batters in 48.1 innings with the Junior Jays in 2012 finishing with an ERA of 3.47

Behind them is a defence that will rely on their speed to be successful. Brad Antchak and Clint Taylor will act as a strong presence up the middle, while Trent Fletcher will take care of business at first base. Trevor Brammer and Mitch Boychuk will also see their share of time in the infield.

Patrolling the outfield will be Riley Grewal, Ryo Takenaka, Malcolm Boehm and Jordy Cunningham. All four have strong arms and good speed, which will prove important in order for them to cover the vast Mackie Park outfield.

As for the catchers, Brad O'Hara and Brock Morgan will share the majority of the time behind the plate.

On offence, Brammer, Fletcher and Antchak are three players who will be expected to produce in the heart of the lineup. Antchak hit .292 last year in 42 games last season for the senior team, and Fletcher posted a .304 clip in 46 at bats. Brammer is moving up from the junior team where he hit .327 during the 2012 campaign.

Taylor will regularly hit near the top of the lineup and is expected to be a table setter for the aforementioned hitters. Cunningham and O'Hara are two others who possess strong speed on the base paths and will be counted on to create scoring opportunities.

Calling the shots this year will be new coach Brad O'Hara. In his second year with the club, O'Hara will take over the head coaching duties for the senior team this season after moving up from being an assistant on the Jays junior squad. He will be assisted this season by Mike Hughes, Christian Jolley, Al McKay and former Jay Michael Caleb. Brent Crowther will oversee the role of pitching coach for the second straight season. Larry Waddell is the general manager.

On the mound, Brett Sakaki, Luke Manuel, Ryan Braun and Evan Rogers will be counted upon to log a significant portion of the innings and provide quality starts. Manuel led the Blue Jays last season with 53.9 innings pitched and posted a 3.39 ERA in the process, while Sakaki had a 2.55 mark to go along with 25 strikeouts in 38.1 innings. Braun moves up from the junior team after posting a league leading 1.27 ERA over 77.0 innings pitched.

Lefty Matt Fischer along with right handed pitchers Dylan MacAhonic and Ryo Takenaka will also see significant time on the bump. Dylan pitched 74.1 innings with an ERA of 4.33 with the Junior Jays last year. Ryo struck out 44 batters in 48.1 innings with the Junior Jays in 2012 finishing with an ERA of 3.47

Behind them is a defence that will rely on their speed to be successful. Brad Antchak and Clint Taylor will act as a strong presence up the middle, while Trent Fletcher will take care of business at first base. Trevor Brammer and Mitch Boychuk will also see their share of time in the infield.

Patrolling the outfield will be Riley Grewal, Ryo Takenaka, Malcolm Boehm and Jordy Cunningham. All four have strong arms and good speed, which will prove important in order for them to cover the vast Mackie Park outfield.

As for the catchers, Brad O'Hara and Brock Morgan will share the majority of the time behind the plate.

Calling the shots this year will be new coach Brad O'Hara. In his second year with the club, O'Hara will take over the head coaching duties for the senior team this season after moving up from being an assistant on the Jays junior squad. He will be assisted this season by Mike Hughes, Christian Jolley, Al McKay and former Jay Michael Caleb. Brent Crowther will oversee the role of pitching coach for the second straight season. Larry Waddell is the general manager.

New Era for Blue Jays Begins in 2012

Friday, 02 March 2012 19:58

For the first time in Blue Jays history Bob Burkmar will not be on the field with the North Delta Blue Jays. Bob decided to step down after 17 years as a coach and general manager of the Blue Jays at the end of the 2011 season. Long time pitching coach John McRae and Senior team head coach Jason Rich have also stepped down. As a result the Blue Jays begin the 2012 season with new management and coaching staff.

Larry Waddell will take over the role of General Manager of the North Delta Blue Jays. He was involved for fifteen years with Ladner Minor Baseball serving in various executive capacities and as a coach. Larry will oversee all the administrative and off field components of the Blue Jays program.

Gerry White will be the new Head Coach for the Blue Jays. Gerry joined the Blue Jays in 2008 as the Co-Head Coach of the Junior team following a very successful coaching career with Ladner Minor Baseball. While with Ladner, Gerry’s teams won provincial championships in 2003, 2006 and 2007, a Western Canada Championship in 2005 and a National Silver Medal in 2007. In 2011 Gerry led the Blue Jay Junior team to a second place finish in league play and then went on to win the BC Junior Premier League Championship tournament. Gerry will be the Head Coach of the Senior team and will also be responsible for the overall Blue Jays coaching and on field baseball program.

Joining Gerry on the Senior team coaching staff will be Mike Hughes and Scott Taffinder. Mike will move up as an Assistant Coach on the Senior team after assisting Gerry on the Junior team this past season. Mike will assist Gerry with the infielders and hitting. Scott will also join the Blue Jays as an assistant Coach to the Senior team. Scott is a level III coach and has extensive playing and coaching experience and will work primarily with outfielders.

Brent Crowther has joined the Blue Jays as the club’s pitching coach and will work with both the Junior and Senior teams. Brent has a long history in BC both as an athlete and as a coach. Originally from North Vancouver, Brent played in the Colorado Rockies organization from 1994 to 1997 during which time he led the Rockies organization in wins, innings pitched, shutouts and complete games including a streak of twelve wins in consecutive outings in the 1995 season. Brent played for the Canadian National Team at the 1998, 2003 and 2005 World Cups as well as numerous Pan AM, Olympic and World Cup Qualifier tournaments. Since 1998 Brent has worked as a coach and instructor in numerous venues. Brent was the owner/operator of the Dugout Training facility until 2010 and is a regular fixture on the coaching staff at the Big League Experience Baseball Camps in Oliver, BC. He has coached teams from BC in the Western Canada Games and Canada Cup. Most recently he was the pitching coach for Team Canada at the 2010 World University Games. Brent will take the lead role in guiding our pitcher training and development program and will serve as a mentor to our entire pitching staff.

Mike Addy will be the new Head Coach of the Blue Jays Junior team. Mike has been involved as a player and coach in the Surrey area for many years. Most recently, Mike has been an assistant coach the past four seasons with the Fraser Valley Chiefs of the BCPBL. In addition he was the Coach of the 2008 Whalley Little League Senior All Star team that finished 3rd at the Senior Little League World Series in Bangor, Maine and was Coach of the Zone 4 Gold Medal winning BC Summer Games baseball team in 2010.

Also new to the Blue Jays is Brad O’Hara who will be an Assistant Coach on the Junior team. Brad is a very experienced and knowledgeable coach who comes from North Delta Bantam AAA and will work with the catchers and infielders. Assistant Coaches Bruce Faulkner and Matt Walker will round out the Junior team coaching staff. Bruce helped coach the North Delta Bantam AAA team last season following several successful years coaching with Cloverdale Minor. Matt is a BCPBL alumnus (White Rock 2006) who played at Thompson Rivers University and Douglas College. Matt was an Assistant Coach with the White Rock Tritons Junior team in 2011.

Coaching Changes for Blue Jays

Monday, 27 February 2012 23:11

Bob Burkmar, Jason Rich and John McRae have all decided to call an end to their coaching careers with the Blue Jays at the end of the 2011 season.

Bob Burkmar’s retirement marks the end of an era in Blue Jays history. Along with Ari Melios and Mike Kelly, Bob started the Blue Jays in 1995 serving as an assistant coach and then taking on additional duties as General Manager in 2009 when Mike and Ari stepped down. Since 1983 Bob has served in numerous coaching and executive capacities with the North Delta Baseball Association, BC Minor Baseball, the Baseball Coaches Association of BC and the Delta School District Baseball Academy at Sands Secondary School. While Bob’s accomplishments are nearly too numerous to describe, his service was recognized when he was inducted into the North Delta Baseball Association Hall of Fame in 2007 and into the Delta Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

John McRae has been a member of the Blue Jays coaching staff for the past fifteen years, most recently as the pitching coach for the Senior team since 2008. John has been a successful coach at various levels in North Delta over the past twenty years. His outstanding commitment to coaching was recognized in 1997 when John was selected “Coach of the Year” by the Baseball Coaches Association of BC. Along with Ari Melios and Bob Burkmar he was a member of the coaching staff for the 1998 Blue Jays who were inducted into the Delta Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

Jason Rich took over the reigns of the Senior team as Head Coach in 2010. A 1997 Blue Jay alumnus, Jason played on the Canadian Junior National team and then with Yavapai College and the Kelowna Heat in the Canadian Baseball League. Jason made an immediate impact on his return to the Blue Jays in 2010 leading the Senior team to second place finishes in BCPBL league play and in the championship tournament as well as receiving the honor of BCPBL “Team of the Year.”

The Blue Jays are thankful for the many years of service Bob, John and Jason have given to the program and in carrying on the Blue Jay legacy of “Building Champions.” The entire Blue Jays family wishes them well in all their future endeavors.