Goldeyes, Baseball Manitoba team up for successful baseball clinic in Nunavut

Some of the participants from the baseball clinic held in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut by the Winnipeg Goldeyes and Baseball Manitoba. Photo supplied.

June 18, 2025

By Melissa Verge

Canadian Baseball Network

Just like the ice and snow blanketed the ocean in the distance, Donnie Smith was also covered in multiple layers.

(Two pairs of long underwear, baseball pants, sweat pants, long sleeve shirts, pullovers, and a hoodie, to be exact.)

But just south of the Arctic Circle in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, it was still time for baseball.

Smith, a former Winnipeg Goldeyes pitching star (the second ever to have his number retired), boarded a Calm Air flight earlier that day, alongside Baseball Manitoba clinicians, Winnipeg Goldeyes general manager Andrew Collier, and a plane half full of goods to be delivered to the remote Canadian hamlet.

The Winnipeg Goldeyes were there to put on a one-day clinic with assistance from MLB, Calm Air (who provided the flights, free of charge) and Baseball Manitoba.

Despite the weather, about 60 kids showed up from the community of approximately 3,000 people to take to the field there and practice their skills, Smith said. In 246 innings with the Goldeyes, he recorded 246 strikeouts, 28 saves and 15 wins with a 3.22 ERA.

The players maintained their energy throughout the clinic and beyond, Smith said.

“I know I was cold by the end of it, ready to catch some heat,” said Smith, who was inducted into the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012. “[But] even after the three hours they were sticking around the ball field and throwing the ball around.”

Winnipeg Goldeyes legend Donnie Smith (left) with some of the energetic participants in the Goldeyes’ recent baseball clinic in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. Photo supplied.

The passion they had was evident - many of the kids asked if they would be back for a second day, Smith said.

The attendees included both a large number of boys and girls from the community.

It was clear, despite the weather - a cold wind that made it feel a lot colder than the nine degrees on the weather forecast - they were happy to be there, said Winnipeg Goldeyes general manager Andrew Collier.

“They had a blast,” Collier said.

There were some kids who had obvious on-field skills, he said.

Others had never played baseball before, and were just figuring out which hand to put their glove on, and learning how to hit a ball for the first time at the clinic.

Some of the children at the clinic were playing baseball for the first time. Photo supplied.

This is the third year that the Goldeyes have gone to a remote location to host a clinic like this one. Last year, they went to Flin Flon and The Pas, and in 2023, they held a clinic in Thompson.

Next year, Churchill is tentatively on the agenda, Collier said.

The goal is to continue to grow the game and passion that the kids have for the sport, he said.

“Hopefully us being there combined with what they’re already doing, it continues to grow the game up there,” Collier said.

Does he think there are some future Winnipeg Goldeyes stars in the community?

“You never know,” Collier said.