(PHOTO PROVIDED: Sportsnet)
Dream big, work hard and never give up.
Words all young athletes, hoping to make the big leagues should follow.
For Fort McMurrayite Shane Dawson, following that motto has led him to the biggest stage of his young career.
Dawson has been included on the Toronto Blue Jays roster for the final two pre-season games to be played in Montreal against the Boston Red Sox.
“One of my goals coming into spring training was to be invited to go to Montreal and I’m excited to show them what I’ve got and be able to pitch in front of Canadian fans again,” said Dawson.
Drafted in the 17th round in 2012, the 22 year old pitcher suited up with the single-A Lansing Lugnuts last season, compiling a 12-4 record. He was also a member of Team Canada at the 2015 Pan American Games, helping the team to a gold medal.
“This is probably top two of my career highlights, pitching for Team Canada last year was really an unbelievable experience for me and having my family be able to come and watch me and defend the gold medal on Canadian turf was unbelievable,” said Dawson.
Groomed in the Fort McMurray Minor Baseball system, Dawson is one of just a handful of players to come out of the organization and land with an MLB franchise.
“It’s unbelievable to have a local boy that played in our minor baseball organization here for many years and to get drafted out of Fort McMurray and get that opportunity and now to be included on that Jays team and to get this opportunity to go to the big show is unbelievable,” said Dutche Iannetti, Vice President, Fort McMurray Minor Baseball. “Anything can happen and that’s the nice thing about baseball and if you put the work into it, things can happen and that’s what our youth in our community needs to know is it’s commitment and anything can happen, just keep dreaming and never give up.”
“Hopefully I’m paving the way for many other athletes from Fort McMurray to kind of be ambitious and not just go through the motions of playing minor league baseball or hockey but really aspire to reach those major league aspirations,” said Dawson. “I’ve put in a lot of time into this game and it’s starting to pan out for me and I’m really excited for that and I hope that the kids back home can see that and take a lesson that if you work hard you can really achieve what you want to.”
Iannetti couldn’t be more proud of Dawson and his accomplishments and hopes to one day see him on the mound full time in a Blue Jays uniform.
“Shane has always been a hard worker and he’s always committed and put the time and effort in and dreamed one day that he would make it to the big show and here we are, another step closer and it’s unbelievable for our association and our community,” said Iannetti.
If Dawson does get the opportunity to take the mound in Montreal, he will be pitching in front of a crowd of nearly 50,000 people at Olympic Stadium.
“The most I ever pitched in front of was 14,000 a couple years ago in Lansing on the 4th of July and that was pretty unbelievable but even that was surpassed by the 6,000 Canadian fans down in Vancouver when I played there,” said Dawson.
Asked if he had any words of advice for young ball players in Fort McMurray, Dawson said play hard and have fun.
“Just have fun with the game, every time I go out there, I play with 100 per cent and I play with a passion that I sometimes feel is unmatched by other people and work your butt off, not everyone has the opportunity to take advantage of the facilities that Fort McMurray has so just go out everyday and take advantage of it.”
The Blue Jays and Red Sox will play in Montreal on Friday, April 1 and Saturday, April 2. After the series, Dawson will be assigned to the double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
