Gibsons’ Ryan Dempster is stepping back onto the pitchers’ mound to throw for Canada in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) coming up in March.
Dempster – who pitched in the major leagues until 2013, most notably with the Chicago Cubs – said he is excited to represent Canada, although this isn’t a move out of retirement.
“I’m focused on just trying to get ready for the WBC,” Dempster said. “That’s a tough enough task as it is, right there. To not be pitching for three years and then go out there and face some of the best hitters in the world – well, the best in the world. I’ve got to put everything I’ve got into that.”
Dempster said he started playing catch last summer and was surprised to find his pitching arm was working great. Even so, he’s ramped up his training between now and the WBC, which runs March 6 to 22.
“I think at the end of the day, the thing that I’ve learned the most throughout all of it is that it’s not about how hard you throw or ultimately who the batter is or where they’re from,” Dempster said. “It just comes down to executing pitches and good quality strikes. I want some crispness on my breaking pitches and my off speed pitches. As long as I have that with command, I think it will be good enough to get people out.”
Dempster pitched for the Boston Red Sox in 2013, when they won the World Series. He also played in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 2000 with the Miami Marlins and again in 2008 with the Chicago Cubs.
He spent nine seasons with the Cubs from 2004-12, posting 67 wins and 87 saves and is the only pitcher in club history to record more than 50 wins and more than 50 saves. Overall, he finished his career with a win-loss record of 132-133, 87 saves and an earned run average of 4.35.
Dempster encouraged aspiring athletes on the Coast to follow their dreams and work hard.
“If you believe you can do it, you can do it,” Dempster said. “I’m living proof of that. I came from Gibsons, B.C., and I played in the major leagues. Obviously you need to have talent and ability and things like that, but more importantly – more than anything – you have to work harder than everybody. That’s just the truth.
“I realized that at a young age,” he said. “When my coach would say it’s time to run 10 poles or five laps of the field, I would run 10 laps. It felt like the only way to get ahead of everyone else is to outwork them. I think that’s a common theme in life in general: if you work harder than everybody you’re going to have better results.”
