Canada’s hitting coach Justin Morneau (New Westminster, B.C.) delivered an inspirational speech to Canada’s players prior to their game against Cuba on Wednesday. Photo: Baseball Canada

*This article originally appeared on Alberta Dugout Stories on March 12, 2026. You can read it here.

March 13, 2026

By Ian Wilson

Alberta Dugout Stories

He has never lacked the words to describe what baseball means to Canada.

For Justin Morneau, it’s both personal and a matter of national interest.

The first baseman wore the red-and-white at four World Baseball Classic events as a player before accepting a role as the hitting coach at this year’s edition of the international tournament.

With an opportunity for Canada to make history by advancing out of the opening round robin for the first time ever, it was appropriate that Morneau shared his sentiments with Canadian hitters ahead of a must-win game against Cuba on March 11.

“Justin Morneau gave a really nice presentation to our hitters today in our hitters’ meeting, and I don’t need to say anything more after that … if (his talk) doesn’t inspire you, nothing else will,” manager Ernie Whitt told reporters before the matchup at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

A 7-2 win for the Canucks secured top spot in Pool A and a trip to Houston for a quarterfinal clash against the vaunted United States squad. The triumph ended 20 years of frustration and five futile attempts at advancing to the second round of the WBC, where the top eight teams compete for the championship.

“I’ll call it a very inspirational pre-game speech – it was a really good message,” catcher Bo Naylor told Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae of Morneau’s pep talk.

“Really put things into perspective. This is an awesome time, time that we can be really grateful for … these moments can definitely get sped up, especially the more important the games become, but you know in his message he really emphasized being grateful for where we’re at, understanding that we’re blessed to be here, to do it with a great group of guys and just go out and play our hearts out.”

The love for his home country is ingrained in Morneau, a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame who spent his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing for American-based teams.

“I think that it’s something special. When you look at it – career moments, personal moments – are something, but when you share those things and when you have Team Canada across your chest, I think it just means that much more,” said Morneau during a recent interview with Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast host Joe McFarland.

The product of New Westminster, B.C. had no shortage of career moments during an MLB career that stretched from 2003 through 2016.

He was a four-time All-Star, a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, the 2006 American League MVP, the 2014 National League batting champ and he’s a member of the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame.

Those accomplishments are meaningful for Morneau, but representing Canada always added something special for the lefty slugger, who suited up for the Junior National Team in 1999 and played at the 2003 Olympic Games Qualifying Event when his major-league career was just getting started.

“The first year I made it to the big leagues was 2003, and it was not a great year. I had a lot of learning that needed to happen still, a lot of growth that needed to happen,” recalled Morneau.

“I had the opportunity that fall to go play for Team Canada. We played in the Olympic qualifier. We went down to Panama as a team and we were able to qualify for the Olympics. And I think that rekindled my love for the game of baseball and just reminded me, it re-lit that spark of ‘What do you play for?’ It’s not yourself. You play for a team. You play for the guys around you and you don’t want to let those guys down.”

REPRESENTING CANADA

That experience helped shape his commitment to Baseball Canada and participating in the WBC. Indeed, Morneau struggles with seeing players pass up the opportunity to represent their country.

“That is something that I do get frustrated with, some of these guys who have had the ability or had made the choice to turn down playing for their country in the World Baseball Classic. That is a little bit of a point of contention for me, but everyone has their choice. They’re allowed to do whatever they want to do, but for me, it was never an option,” said Morneau.

“This is the way I always put it. If there’s an international hockey tournament, we’re playing a Canada Cup or a World Cup or whatever it is, and you know, they call McDavid and they call Sidney and they call, you know, some of the greatest hockey players in Canada and they said, ‘I got to get ready for the year. I don’t think the timing’s great,’ the uproar in the country would be absolutely insane. I think people would absolutely lose it on them, and I feel like we need that type of pressure for baseball. I get it. Guys are trying to take care of their careers. They’re trying to make teams, all of those things, but where do the memories come from? What are some of the most meaningful things to me? It’s qualifying for the Olympics, wearing that Canadian jersey and helping this team get to a place where they weren’t able to get to.”

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Listen to Alberta Dugout Stories interview Justin Morneau here.

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The hockey analogies come easy to Morneau, who grew up playing the game and maintains a backyard rink at his home.

It’s also a sport that Canada has typically had success in, despite recent Olympic gold medal losses for the men’s and women’s hockey teams in Milano Cortina.

“I think we spend so much time on hockey in Canada. I think it’s probably because we win a lot. But I think there is that same honour, whether you’re playing for Baseball Canada, whether you’re playing for Soccer Canada, whatever it is, anytime you have a chance to put that logo, put your country across your chest and go out there and try and do the best you can. I think there’s something special about that,” noted Morneau.

“Obviously the Blue Jays going on a World Series run, I think will have a tremendous impact for years to come. Also, I think that was part of what sparked my love of the game of baseball. I was 12 or 13 years old and the Blue Jays are winning the World Series. And I’m looking at it as a kid growing up playing hockey and baseball and saying, ‘Maybe that’s what I want to do. Maybe I want to play for the Toronto Blue Jays one day.'”

Despite never playing for the Jays, Morneau did help a professional Canadian baseball team win a title. In 2002, he joined the Edmonton Trappers during their playoff run.

“That team was one of the best teams ever assembled in minor league baseball,” recalled Morneau of the Pacific Coast League championship club.

Morneau is also helping to grow the game across Canada as the face of the newly created Road to Okotoks event, which will see amateur teams – consisting of players who are 19 years old or younger – battle it out while representing their academies and baseball programs from across the country.

The Seaman Stadium Complex in Okotoks will serve as host of the championship tournament from July 14-19, with the winner taking home the Morneau Cup.

“It sounds like it’s something that has a chance to be really, really exciting for baseball in Canada,” Morneau said after the Road to Okotoks was announced in the fall of 2025.

TAKING ON THE U.S.

With Canada advancing to the second round of elite eight play, the competition will only get more difficult.

After nearly fumbling their way out of the WBC, the United States was able to move on courtesy of an Italy win over Mexico in Pool B action, setting up a North American mismatch between the U.S. and Canada.

It’s not impossible for the Canadians to win this game, but it is unlikely.

Canada did defeat a star-studded American roster that included Derek Jeter, Ken Griffey Jr., Chase Utley and Chipper Jones in 2006. That stunning 8-6 win at Chase Field in Phoenix included a strong performance from Morneau, who went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a pair of runs and an RBI.

The team had a mix of established MLB talent in Matt Stairs and Jason Bay, but it also called upon clutch performances from prospect pitcher Adam Loewen, Canadian veteran Stubby Clapp and the unheralded Adam Stern, who produced a triple, an inside-the-park home run and four RBI during the upset.

The Canadians will likely need similarly inspired performances to take down the U.S. in Houston on Friday.

This time around, the Americans batting lineup includes catcher Cal Raleigh, three-time American League MVP Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson, and designated hitter Kyle Schwarber.

Calgarian Michael Soroka, who will start on the mound for Canada, will have his hands full.

The task at the plate won’t be any easier for the Canucks.

The U.S. has Paul Skenes – the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year and reigning NL Cy Young Award winner from the Pittsburgh Pirates – in the rotation, although Logan Webb is a more likely opponent. Webb, a starting pitcher with the San Francisco Giants, led the NL in strikeouts in 2025 and he was also a Gold Glove Award winner last season.

Add in the motivation for the United States to shake off the embarrassment of nearly being knocked out in round one, and a Canada win is a very tall task.

But you won’t hear Morneau describe it as impossible.

“I think in an international competition, the way it is when you have countries like Japan, like the U.S., like the Dominican Republic, a lot of these countries where baseball is huge and they could field three teams in this tournament, if we’re being realistic, and we need everybody. So, I think there is something there that hopefully guys have an understanding of,” said Morneau.

“Anybody can beat anybody, and you have to play each other. And that’s the beauty of sports is underdogs win. The best team doesn’t always win, or what’s considered the best team on paper doesn’t always win.”

Wilson: Morneau motivated Canada prior to history-making win