Richmond's Jimmy Van Ostrand is once again wearing Canadian colours, this time for the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifying tournament in Germany.
Canada was slated to open play yesterday against Great Britain and will also battle the Czech Republic and Germany for a spot in next year's tournament.
Van Ostrand is one of 14 players on the roster who helped Canada win gold at the 2011 Pan Am American Games in Lagos de Moreno, Mexico. The 28year-old first baseman began the season playing for an independent team, before signing with the Washington Nationals and being assigned to their Class-AA team - the Harrisburg Senators - where he batted .310 with 10 home runs and 30 RBIs in 80 games.
The Canadian team also has a veteran coaching staff returning to the fold, led by long-time manager, and recent Baseball Canada Wall of Excellence inductee, Ernie Whitt. The staff also includes 1997 National League MVP Larry Walker as the team's hitting coach.
In 2011, Major League Baseball and World Baseball Classic Inc. expanded the World Baseball Classic from 16 countries to 28 and introduced a new qualification round. The new round features 16 teams divided into four pools of four teams each. The teams invited to participate will include the four World Baseball Classic teams from 2009 that did not win a game (Canada, Panama, South Africa, Chinese Taipei) along with Brazil, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Israel, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Philippines, Spain and Thailand.
Each qualification tournament will consist of a six-game modified double-elimination format.
The Canadian team gathered in St. Petersburg, Florida for a short training camp and a series of exhibition games before travelling to Regensburg, Germany on Monday.
