Canada-Japan

 A newsy last 36 hours in the Sports/International world. YouTuber turned Boxer, Jake Paul (🇺🇸) will be taking his radically toughest challenge since evolving into Combat Sports, and the Bout will happen in less than a month. Officially booking a Fight with former 2 X Heavyweight Champion, Anthony Joshua (🇬🇧).

Now, this isn't 'former' as in well over 20 years ago Champ, Mike Tyson. This isn't a former MMA Champion crossing into Boxing, or a Bare Knuckle brawler putting on gloves. This isn't somebody like Tommy Furry with just a name (whom I had the hardest time even recalling said first name)/brother of Tyson Furry, or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr./son of the legendary J.C Chavez Sr, with limited talent inside the Ring (the ladder of Paul Opponents less talented than the former, believe it or not). This is a Prize Fighter, and a Prize Fighter whom just challenged for a Heavyweight Belt again last year / somebody still looking for *big Heavyweight Bouts in the future.

Should be really interesting for perhaps the first time, and big props on the short notice. Big Fights like this just don't get done without a boatload of anticipation, glad to see it, and good luck Jake, you may very well need it this time. #ButBallsy 

Now, did somebody say International? Over the last 10 or so days, Son Los Marlins has put together 4 different National Squads, composed solely of Marlins Players in Team History. The next group will be 2 Nations formed into 1 Team. Two Countries which pretty much played each other if you will, during the World Series a couple weeks back.

Canada's Toronto Blue Jays dropped the Series to (can we say) Japan's Dodgers? When 3 of L.A's most prominent Players came from the Land of the far East (including the W.S and NLCS MVP's), all while the Dodgers spent well over a Billion Dollars on those 2 Players alone. 

Coupled with the fact, not enough Ballplayers in Marlins History could make up 1 of these 2 prominent baseball Nations to form an 18 man Roster. So like the saying goes, can't we all just get along 😉??

Pitching most usually dictates if a Ballclub can compete, and this will pretty much remain true with our WBC-Marlins Rosters. With that in mind, let's place Ryan Dempster as the Ace for Canada-Japan. The former All-Star is actually the only Player on this Club to make an ASG Team with the Fish (2000). Dempster retired after helping Win a World Title with Boston in 2013, but semi came out of said Retirement to Pitch for Canada's WBC Team in 2017.

Jordan Yamamoto (Japanese descent) was part of the now very infamous Christian Yelich Trade in 2018. Yamamoto reached the Big Leagues and had 15 very respectable Starts for the Fish in 2019 as a Rookie, before fizzling out in 2020.

Cal Quantrill Signed a 1 Year Deal with the Marlins just this past February, and was able to turn in some really good work during the middle of the summer. The 'Fightn' Fish' went 25-10 (from June 22nd-August 03rd) to incredibly creep into contention until the end, while the Righty Pitcher from Port Hope 🇨🇦 turned in a 3.15 ERA during that Winning stretch (7 Starts, where the Ballclub went 6-1). 

Cal wasn't the first Quantrill in Marlins History, as his father Paul pitched a handful of Games for the '05 Marlins, wrapping up a 14 year MLB Career in South Florida. Paul Quantrill never Started a Game for the Fish, but of the Canadian's 841 Big League Games, 64 of them were Starts earlier in his Career. 

Big Randy Messenger broke into MLB as a Reliever with the Marlins in 2005, and got into 111 Games with Florida into 2007. While Messenger is not a native of Japan, the 6"6 Pitcher became a main stay in the Nippon Professional Baseball League for the Hanshin Tigers for 10 years (2010 -'19), and as a very good Starter none the less.

Anthony Bass is not of Japanese decent either, but did resurrect his Career after Pitching for Japan's Nippon Ham Fighters of NPBL in 2016 (was even a Teammate of one Shohei Ohtani), helping Capture the Japan Series. Bass was brought to Miami to Close Games in 2021, and while that certainty did not happen, the Right Hander did rebound in a setup role to put together a very impressive 2022 (Year Two of a 2 Year MLB Contract landed thanks in large to that work in 🇯🇵).     

Zach Pop warrants a spot in the back end of the Canadian/Japanese Bullpen, seeing as the Ontario Rule-5 Pick (then Traded to the Fish by Arizona), put up a 3.98 ERA as a Marlin in the Righty's 68 Games (2021-'22). Pop pitched for a couple MLB Teams in 2025, and may Pitch for Canada in the upcoming WBC as well.

Junichi Tazawa was the opposite of a Rule- 5 pickup, signing a 2 Year/$12 Million Dollar Deal (2017-'18) with the Marlins, after being in the 2013 (🏆) Red-Sox Bullpen. Tazawa was just awful in Miami, pitching to a 6.57 ERA, and even though is the only Japanese born Pitcher to pitch in MLB with the Fish, don't think lands on this team.

Hiroshi Takahashi was born in Japan/raised in Venezuela, but never even made it to the United States via the Minor Leagues after signing for just $42 Grand (pitched to an ERA well over 10 in the Dominican Summer League from '23 to '24). Raisei Nakamura, from Takaoka 🇯🇵, has produced better results in the same League in year 2, and is still in the Marlins System, after signing a Minor League pact in 2024.

Canada's Cris Leroux reached the Majors with the Marlins in 2009/would later actually Pitch in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League (you see, we're bringing it all together 🇨🇦 🇯🇵), and was part of 3 WBC Rosters for Team Maple Leaf. Leroux, as a proud Canadian, is currently part of the Toronto Blue Jays Broadcast Team.

Turning it over to Team Canada/Japan's Position Player side. This Leadoff Hitter was the most prolific Ballplayer to come out of Japan (until Shohei Ohtanti), a 10 X Gold Glover/7 X All-Star and Silver Slugger/2 X Batting Champ/Former Rookie of the Year and MVP in '01. Ichiro Suzuki picked up MLB Career Hit number 3,000 as a Marlin in 2016 (one of 3 years spent in Miami). The Japanese legend, Ichiro also helped capture the first 2 WBC Titles for his native Land 🇯🇵, and helped the Marlins tap into a market financially from the Far East that was previously non-existent.  

Fellow Hall of Famer Tim Raines Sr. spent parts of 13 Years Playing in Montreal, went into Cooperstown as a member of the Expos, and though is not from Canada, was also inducted in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame even prior to his induction into the HOF which resides States side. 'Rock' as Raines Sr. was known, finished a 23 Year Big League Career as a Florida Marlin in 2002. Though Raines never played 2B with the Fish (more on that later), the long time Outfielder did play the Position during his younger days in the Big Leagues, North of the Border 🇨🇦.

We have a current Marlin hitting in the 3 spot and playing SS for Team Canada/Japan, in one Otto Lopez. Born in Santo Domingo 🇩🇴 but raised in Canada, Otto will participate alongside his fellow Canadians again (Played in the 2023 Classic), during the upcoming '26 WBC.

Josh Naylor (a 2015 1st Rd. Pick by the Marlins out of an Ontario 🇨🇦 H.S), was 1 Game away from reaching the World Series with Seattle this Year (where the First Baseman just resigned for over $90 Million). Naylor was Traded by the Marlins in 2016 following a prank gone wrong with Teammate Stone Garrett (🔪iykyk🔪).

The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame has more than one fellow Floridian and former Marlin, in said halls resides Andre Dawson. Nicknamed the 'Hawk', Dawson retired at Pro Player Park with the home Team in '96, and is enshrined in Cooperstown as well, wearing a ballcap from up North (Expos) on the Plaque.

Casey McGehee turned into a bit of a cult hero in 2014 for the Marlins, this after the Third Baseman helped capture the first ever Japan Series for the Rakuten Eagles in '13. That 2013 Season in Japan brought McGehee back to the Majors on a 1 Year $1.1 Million Dollar Deal with the Fish (which was actually a pay cut from 🇯🇵). 'Hits' McGehee would more than quadruple his Salary in 2015 however, ($4.8 Million after being Traded to the Giants of course) through Arbitration. This followed a 2014 Season where the Cali native became arguably the Marlins most clutch Hitter and helped turn around a 15 Win Improvement in South Florida.

The Fish picked up quite the find 1 year ago via the Rule 5 Draft, selecting Catcher Liam Hicks from the Detroit Tigers. Hicks' Bat found him plenty of playing time, be it behind the Dish, as the DH 🇨🇦, or even over at First, as the Lefty Swinging Torontonian Batted .304 with RISP in MLB, after never Playing in Triple-A before.

Catcher Joe Sidall from Windsor 🇨🇦, got into 18 Games for the '96 Marlins. While Outfielder Nigel Wilson out of Oshawa 🇨🇦, Played all of 7 Contests for the Inaugural Fish of 1993, and finished his Career in Japan/'97. Charles LeBlanc (Laval 🇨🇦), cracked the Majors in 2022 in Miami, and had a nice showing at the Plate. While Defensively LeBlanc (pronounced 🗣 le-blahh) found himself transitioning 3 different positions on the Infield, and will be Marlins Team Canada/Japan's Bat off the Bench. 

Don Mattingly, who had spent over 35 Years as either a Player/Coach/Manager in the Big Leagues, without ever reaching a World Series until 2025 (🇨🇦 Toronto Blue Jays 🇨🇦), would be the perfect Skipper for Team C.J. Seeing as the longest tenured Manager in Marlins History, also Managed the MLB 🇯🇵 Japan All-Star Series in November of 2018.