On this day, 19 years ago, Canada picked up a huge win against rival United States in the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic.
It was the second matchup for each nation in Pool B, with neither country having a loss on record entering the day. Some notable Canadian names were factors in the victory against the States – Corey Koskie, Jason Bay, Adam Stern, Justin Morneau, Adam Loewen, and Matt Stairs (amongst others) and faced a USA roster that featured legends and Hall of Famers alike in Derek Jeter, Ken Griffey Jr., and Chipper Jones.
The World Baseball Classic (or the WBC) is baseball’s real world stage, where international competition and rivalry is displayed with patriotism and pride. This tournament ran congruent to the Olympics and became even stronger when baseball was removed from the Olympics. The rivalry was ecstatic, being cross-border and because they are the only two nations to field teams in Major League Baseball.
MLB referred to this game as an ‘upset’. Canada was not seen as the ‘big dog’ in the game, but this changed perspectives as the years went on.
The Canucks got off to a torrid start at Chase Field, compiling all eight runs before the sixth inning. USA clawed their way back in the bottom half of that fifth inning, adding all six of their runs. The Canadians pummeled Dontrelle Willis for five runs and six hits, while also tagging Al Leiter for an additional two runs. Gary Majewski was the other United States reliever to allow a run in the game.
The Canadian of the game goes to Ontario product, Adam Stern. Stern was an outfielder for Canada and dominated with the stick that day. He went 3 for 4, driving in four runs on a triple, and an inside-the-park home run past Matt Holliday. He was responsible for four of the eight scored runs that put Canada on top. Morneau also added three hits and one RBI in the contest while Bay added two knocks and scored twice as well. Stairs, Koskie, Pete Laforest, Stubby Clapp, and Aaron Guiel also added got in on the hit parade, for a total of 13 hits on the day.
Left-hander Adam Loewen got the win and didn’t allow a run through 3 2/3 innings. Chris Begg and Eric Cyr followed, allowing the six USA runs, before Scott Mathieson and Steve Green came in to shut the door, with Green earning the save.
Following a loss to Mexico, the Canadians placed third in their pool and missed out on a run tiebreaker, with USA and Mexico advancing to the next round. Canada has yet to advance outside of the round robin for the WBC.
Canada is set to compete in the upcoming 2026 tournament, with the nation set to be in the same pool as Puerto Rico, Cuba, Panama, and a team to be determined from the qualifier rounds (Chinese Taipei, Brazil, Colombia, or Nicaragua).
For there to be a repeat clash between Canada and the United States next spring, Canada will need to either win their pool and have the USA finish second in theirs (or vice-versa) or both teams would potentially meet in the semifinals or finals, depending on how those brackets shake up.