As we begin the Continental Baseball League 2037 season, now is a great time to start our owner interview series. I reached out to Dan of the Vancouver Canadians to be our first interviewee.
Dan is a 29 year old proud Canadian who comes to us from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. When he’s not fixated on trying to improve his team or sharing his thoughts or opinions on Slack, Dan spends time with his girlfriend and working as a software developer and GIS analyst. I was a little surprised when Dan added, “Not necessarily in that order.”
Dan also enjoys snowboarding, video games, hiking, camping, travelling, and collecting vinyl records. As for the professional sports teams he roots for, Dan enjoys cheering for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. I was reminded of Tom Cruise’s line in Jerry Maguire, “You had me at hello” when Dan mentioned his MLB team is the Dodgers (Dan – you are now my best friend).
When he has time, Dan enjoys watching his favorite show; Rick and Morty. His favorite book is The Humans by Matt Haig.
No matter his mood, it is music that can put Dan in a happy mood. In fact, when asked to name three people living or deceased he would like to hang out with over dinner and drinks, Dan didn’t hesitate to name three musicians; Jack White, John Mayer, and Canadian Valerie Poxleitner known as Lights.
Dan loves sushi and pointed to an area near Victoria BC as the place to go to enjoy his favorite dish.
Dan’s favorite athlete is Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers. There is so much to appreciate about Cody, but Dan points to the reason for him being such a fan is because of Bellinger’s demeanor, the way he entertains fans while in the outfield, and because of his talent of putting the bat on the ball.
Dan has been enjoying OOTP baseball for six to seven years. Currently, the Continental Baseball League is the only league he’s involved in. I was very impressed to learn Dan has played 21 seasons in the CBL and that he’s been involved in the league since season two.
Of all his years as the owner of the Vancouver Canadians, his two favorite players on all of his teams are retired first baseman Griffin Keller (.302/.375/.494 and 418 HRs) and 2036 Hall of Fame inductee SP Jose Fernandez (195-110, 3.23 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 2,712 Ks).
There have been a lot of great players on the Canadians over the years, but Dan points to these two as his favorites because they both played integral parts when he won both of his franchise titles.
When it comes to setting his offense lineup, Dan focuses on his lineups and depth charts based on where the players play best as well as their statistics.
Dan said he appreciates all the GMs in the CBL and how the group is like family.
I asked Dan if he had any parting words and again, without having to think, he said, “To all the GMs, enjoy the league and let’s all be kind and supportive to each other while still keeping the rivalries and light jabs lol.”
Based on his team’s overall record and his involvement on Slack, Dan does a great job representing the fans of the Vancouver Canadians as well as all of us in the CBL.
Thank you Dan for taking time for this interview. I’m sure the rest of the group will enjoy getting to know you more just as much as I did.