Remembering the Miracle on Grass Beating U.S. at 1999 Pan Am Games put Canada on the international baseball map By: Ken Wiebe Posted: 5:45 PM CDT Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024

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This article was published 01/08/2024 (718 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Stubby Clapp dug into the batter’s box, determined to end the drama-filled, extra-innings nail-biter.

Team Canada’s scrappy second baseman had already extended his at-bat in the 11th inning by fouling off several tough pitches against the United States reliever.

The bases were loaded and the count was full when Clapp lofted a ball into the air that had the left-fielder racing in and the shortstop racing out.

Could it be heading toward no-man’s land?

The crowd inside Winnipeg’s downtown ballpark held its collective breath as Clapp put his head down, hustling toward first base.

“I remember getting a good pitch to hit and I mishit it. But it found the (late afternoon) sun and it dropped in,” Clapp said in a recent phone interview.

“I actually did see it land. I did run hard (to first) but as I was coming around the bag and did see the miscommunication between the left fielder and the shortstop. When it dropped in, I was obviously elated.”

Welcome to the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, where Clapp’s heroic moment caused quite a stir and was dubbed “Miracle on Grass” in the pages of this newspaper.

Friday marks the 25-year anniversary of Canada’s men’s baseball team capturing its first medal in Pan Am Games history.

The road to that bronze medal was paved with moments of exhilaration and a hefty dose of heartache. It also signalled that Canada would be a force to reckon with in international baseball competitions in the years to come.

Clapp’s magical moment got the well-deserved headline as Canada improved to 2-0 with a rare victory over the powerhouse U.S. team with a roster including future big leaguers such as Milton Bradley, Dave Roberts, Travis Dawkins, Adam Kennedy, Matt LeCroy, Craig Paquette and Mark Mulder, among others, but it wouldn’t have been possible without another clutch hit earlier in the 11th inning from catcher Andy Stewart.

Stewart strolled to the plate with two out and Canada trailing 6-3.

Aaron Guiel had walked on four pitches, putting runners on first and second, which meant Stewart represented the tying run.

Normally, a situation like this calls for patience at the plate.

Stewart had other ideas and flipped the script, crushing the next pitch over the wall in left field and into the flatbed of a truck parked beyond the fence.

‘We had a team. No individuals. That was the key. We played for the name on the front, as they say. Not the name on the back’– Andy Stewart

“I told myself, this is my chance. I’ve got to attack to my power side and be aggressive and let it go,” he said.

“He threw me a pitch right down the middle and normally, most guys would take because he hadn’t thrown a strike in six or seven pitches. I just said, ‘Screw it. I’m going to go against the grain. I did and I tattooed it. It took right off. You see how everybody flips their bat these days, I put my head down as I was always taught that you round the bases with very little emotion. It was a tied ball game. We hadn’t won anything.

“I’m not comparing it, but for me, it would be like a (Toronto Blue Jay great) Joe Carter home run. That was the biggest home run that I’ve hit in my career. The way it all came together was amazing. I remember it like it was yesterday.”

The job was complete after Clapp’s game-winning bloop single and the Canadians kept the momentum going with a 3-1 victory over Mexico and a convincing 8-1 triumph over Cuba.

What began as a little engine that could story had quickly transformed into Canada finishing the round robin with a perfect 4-0 record and shifting into the role of the favourite.

“Early on, we were like the underdogs, so to speak — and I said, ‘They can call us whatever they want, but we’re going to show them that we can compete with our peers,’” said former Blue Jays catcher Ernie Whitt, who was managing Canada for the first time in international competition.

“We can win this game and it doesn’t matter who we are playing. That’s a great feeling to have as a manager and a coaching staff, that you’ve got players that believe in themselves.”

Suddenly, Canada was one win away from qualifying for the 2000 summer Olympics.

Standing in their way was the Cuban team that carried a certain aura and mystique around them, despite a 2-2 record.

“It’s changed and you see many, many more Cubans over here playing and they’ve become much more household names, but back at that time, the people that really appreciated the Cubans were those that played against them and those that scouted those tournaments in the international games because they didn’t really have a presence over here with any critical numbers,” said Greg Hamilton, head coach and director of men’s national teams for Baseball Canada.

“You were playing Major Leaguers, they weren’t minor leaguers. To be competitive with them and playing against them, you had a ton of respect for how good they were.”

Canada jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the semis after Clapp blasted a two-run homer, putting his team in a great position to advance.

Cuban third baseman Omar Linares spoiled the party by delivering a three-run dinger that pushed his team to victory.

“If I could go back in time, I would never call a fastball on the inner part of the plate,” Stewart said.

“I made a mistake, just even risking going inside. Mike (Meyers) just made a mistake in leaving it over the plate, just enough. We jammed him, he hit half of the ball. He didn’t get all of it. It barely went over the fence from what I remember.”

Just like that, Canada’s Olympic dreams were dashed.

“It was disappointing. That was a lot of our first opportunity as a group of guys to be able to chase that dream of qualifying for the Olympics,” Clapp said.

“It was a heartbreaking end, but we put on a good show and put Baseball Canada on the map and it gave everybody hope for the future for our program.”

There was still one game to play with a medal on the line.

Canada regrouped by crushing Mexico 9-2.

“We had a meeting the night before the bronze-medal game and had a talk and we decided that it was our medal to take and we were going to try to take it,” said Lundar’s Troy Fortin who was the team’s primary designated hitter.

Fortin spent six seasons in the Minnesota Twins farm system after being chosen in the 11th round of the 1993 MLB Draft, reaching the Double-A level before asking for his release and joining the Winnipeg Goldeyes in 1998.

Participating in the Pan Am Games will go down as one of Fortin’s career highlights.

“It would be up there, for sure. Getting a chance to play in something like that is a thrill. From playing for the Goldeyes, the crowd knew who I was. It was extra special,” said Fortin.

“That alone, being that it was the home park. It’s always an honour to be able to represent your country, but being that it was in Winnipeg, everybody that I knew — family and friends — could all come and see the games and that was a huge benefit.

“It was awesome. The fans were great. They had signs and I had never really heard that stadium get that loud. It was pretty intense and it was great to be in front of all of those people that were cheering us on.”

The lasting memory for all involved was the support provided by the baseball fans of Manitoba and those who attended from other parts of the country.

“We had a team. No individuals. That was the key. We played for the name on the front, as they say. Not the name on the back,” Stewart said. “We would sing O Canada on the way to the ballpark and do stuff like that. We just became engulfed in our country’s flag.

“The atmosphere was amazing. The fans were going nuts. Instead of being the forefront for hockey, baseball was showing our strength up there. It must have made them proud. Winnipeg was awesome. They loved us. It was just a great experience. An experience of a lifetime.”

Whitt’s ability to connect with his players was an essential piece of the puzzle.

“It starts with him. He set the tone,” said Kevin Briand, who was part of the Baseball Canada management group that put the team together and now is a pro scout for the Toronto Blue Jays.

“Just a great leader of the players. He had instant respect and he did just a tremendous job.”

Clapp became a fan favourite and represented his country numerous times before shifting to the coaching ranks, where he now serves as the first base coach for the St. Louis Cardinals.

“That’s kind of Stubby’s MO, it’s what he was all about. He kind of overachieved throughout his career and found a way. He would never give up,” Hamilton said.

“It wasn’t always necessarily pretty, but he prided himself on that. He dug in and fought and the game never gave him anything. He had to earn every inch of it. That was what that ball club represented in many ways and he was the poster child for it.”

The core group from 1999 went on to help Canada qualify and compete for the bronze medal at the Olympics in 2004 and had an impact on the inaugural edition of the World Baseball Classic in 2006.

Several guys went on to play in the majors, while Whitt continues to serve as manager for Canada at numerous international tournaments.

Most importantly, the solid showing paved the way for the growth of the sport — which included gold medal wins for Canada at the 2011 and 2015 Pan Am Games and a silver at the Pan Am Games in 2019.

“It was a springboard for a lot of positive things in the game in the country,” Hamilton said.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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Ken Wiebe
Reporter

Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken.

Every piece of reporting Ken produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.