BWDIK: Ashman, Bédard, Jenkins, McKay, Renick, Votto
Left-hander Micah Ashman will pitch for Canada at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
February 8, 2026
By Kevin Glew
Canadian Baseball Network
Some Canadian baseball news and notes:
Who is Micah Ashman?
When Baseball Canada released its 2026 World Baseball Classic roster on Thursday night, there was one player on it that I had never heard of.
That was Micah Ashman.
It turns out he is a 23-year-old, 6-foot-7 left-hander in the Baltimore Orioles’ organization who posted a 2.35 ERA and struck out 73 batters in 57 1/3 innings in 43 appearances between High A and double-A in 2025.
Ashman is eligible to play for Canada because his mother, Marinda, is from Cranbrook, B.C. She played volleyball at Brigham Young University from 1987 to 1990.
Davidson to play for Canada
Who has hit the most professional home runs of any player on Canada’s 2026 World Baseball Classic roster?
You might guess Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) or Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, B.C.), both of whom have clubbed more than 100 big league homers.
But the answer is Matt Davidson.
As Bob Elliott noted in his excellent feature about Davidson for the Canadian Baseball Network, the right-handed hitting slugger has belted 385 home runs in 17 pro seasons in the affiliated minors, majors and foreign ranks.
Davidson is best remembered for socking three home runs for the Chicago White Sox on Opening Day in 2018, which made him just the fourth player in major league history to go deep thrice on Opening Day. The first was George Bell with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1988.
In recent years, Davidson, 34, has starred with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), belting 46 home runs in 2024 and 36 in 2025.
He’s eligible to play for Canada because his mother Candi has Canadian citizenship and his grandparents are from Winnipeg, Man.
Jenkins doing fine
Unfortunately, there have been some false stories circulating about the health of Canadian baseball legend Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.). On Thursday, Jenkins, who turned 83 in December, took to social media to assure everyone that he’s doing fine.
Buck Martinez will be missed
Raise your hand if you’ve had your photo taken with Buck Martinez?
I have.
My nephew has.
My dad has.
Not only was Buck a legend on the diamond and in the broadcast booth with the Toronto Blue Jays, he embraced his role as an ambassador for the team better than anyone else. That’s why when he announced his retirement on Friday, many of us felt like we were losing part of our family.
Here’s a tweet I wrote about Martinez after the weekend he spent in St. Marys, Ont., in June 2024 when he received the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Jack Graney Award.
I had been grasping for the best way to pay tribute to Martinez, then I stumbled on this tweet from MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson and this is pretty much how I feel.
Votto to join NBC baseball coverage
According to Front Row Sports, former Cincinnati Reds star Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) is finalizing a deal to join NBC for their baseball coverage this season.
The Canadian slugger, who retired in August 2024, will reportedly be part of a team of analysts that will include longtime Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw and ex-Chicago Cubs slugger Anthony Rizzo.
In January, it was announced NBC would be broadcasting MLB games for the first time in 25 years. Their broadcast schedule will include Sunday Night Baseball, as well as 27 primetime games throughout the season.
Always an insightful and interesting interview, Votto is someone who many think will make a great analyst.
A seven-time Tip O’Neill Award winner, as top Canuck player, Votto played 17 seasons with the Reds and owns Canadian major league records for most games (2,056), plate appearances (8,746), walks (1,365), All-Star Game selections (6) and on-base percentage (OBP) (.409). He was also voted National League MVP in 2010.
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Dave McKay (Vancouver, B.C.) will return as the Arizona Diamondbacks first base coach in 2026. Photo: Arizona Diamondbacks/Facebook
McKay to return for 56th season in pro baseball
The Arizona Diamondbacks confirmed in a release on January 30 that first base coach Dave McKay (Vancouver, B.C.) will return for the 2026 season.
This will represent his 56th consecutive campaign in pro baseball and his 42nd as a big-league coach. That’s the longest streak among active major league coaches.
McKay, who will turn 76 in March, made Canadian baseball history in 2023 when the Diamondbacks defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series. With that D-Backs’ win, McKay became the first Canadian on-the-field coach to be part of three different teams that have advanced to the World Series. He was the first base coach for the Oakland A’s when they competed in the Fall Classic for three straight years from 1988 to 1990. He had the same role with the Cardinals’ pennant-winning squads in 2004, 2006 and 2011. In total, McKay owns three World Series rings (Oakland, 1989, St. Louis 2006, 2011).
Prior to his coaching career, McKay played parts of eight big league seasons with the Minnesota Twins, Blue Jays and A’s. He was the starting third baseman for the Blue Jays in their first game, on April 7, 1977 at Exhibition Stadium. This made him the first Canadian ever to suit up for the Blue Jays.
Rick Renick, former Expos coach, dies
Former Montreal Expos coach Rick Renick died on January 31 at the age of 81.
After completing his five-season playing career with the Minnesota Twins that spanned from 1968 to 1972, Renick became a highly respected coach and minor league manager.
One of his stops was with the Expos where he served as their batting coach in 1985, their third base coach in 1986 and bench coach in 2001.
Renick was also the manager of the Chicago White Sox triple-A Vancouver Canadians for parts of two seasons. The Canadians went 22-43 under him in 1991 before going 81-61 in a full season with him as dugout boss in 1992.
Renick also had coaching stops with the Twins, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins.
You can read his official obituary here.
Seventeen years ago, the Orioles traded Bédard to the Mariners
On this date 17 years ago, the Baltimore Orioles traded left-hander Érik Bédard (Navan, Ont.) to the Seattle Mariners for a package that included pitchers Chris Tillman and George Sherrill and a young outfield prospect named Adam Jones.
Bédard was coming off his finest big-league campaign in 2007 when he went 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA and registered 221 strikeouts in 182 innings in 28 starts. That strikeout total remains the highest in a major-league season by a left-hander born in Canada.
With the Mariners, Bédard would record a 3.31 ERA and fan 249 batters in 255 1/3 innings in 46 starts over parts of three seasons.
Prentice died 31 years ago today
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Bob Prentice passed away 31 years ago today at the age of 66.
Prentice was a multi-sport star in high school at Toronto’s Riverdale Collegiate. After signing with the Cleveland Indians as an 18-year-old, he batted .272 and belted 140 minor league home runs from 1948 to 1957. Unfortunately, the presence of stars Al Rosen and Bobby Avila at the major league level prevented Prentice from cracking the big league roster.
After retiring as a player, he became a part-time scout with the Detroit Tigers in 1959 and was responsible for the Tigers signing John Hiller, Mike Kilkenny and George Korince.
On November 1, 1976, Prentice joined the Blue Jays as their director of Canadian scouting and he held that post until he passed away in 1995. Part of a Blue Jays scouting department that was considered the best in the business, Prentice played a role in the signings of Canadians Paul Hodgson, Rob Ducey, Denis Boucher, Nigel Wilson and Rob Butler.
Rest in peace, Mickey Lolich
Longtime Tigers left-hander Mickey Lolich wasn’t Canadian, but when I was growing up in Southwestern Ontario, it sure felt like he was.
While I was too young to have seen Lolich pitch, I was regaled with countless stories about him and his greatness from Tigers fans around my dad’s age.
Lolich died on Wednesday at the age of 85.
So just how good was Lolich?
This good:
-He had four consecutive seasons of 40 or more starts and 300 or more innings from 1971 to 1974.
-In 1971, he made 45 starts (!), threw 376 innings (!) and had 29 complete games(!)
-In the 1968 World Series, he made three starts, threw three complete games and had three wins. He outdueled Cardinals ace Bob Gibson in Game 7.