Trail’s Chris Kissock will enter the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday along with his Team Canada baseball teammates.
The national team was named to the Hall after winning Canada’s first ever baseball gold medal at the Pan Am Games in Mexico last October. Along with a bronze at the World Cup in Panama, this makes this team the most successful in Baseball Canada’s history.
At the Pan Am Games Kissock was instrumental in Team Canada’s 5-3 semi-final win over Mexico, as he came in and closed out the last two innings to earn the save and send the Canadians to the championship game. This led to a 2-1 victory against the USA in the final, which surprised the baseball world.
The former Trail Oriole was also in the bullpen in the gold-medal game warming up in the final innings, ready to go if called upon.
“As a player and a pitcher (the highlight) was closing out the semi-final game against Mexico and getting us to the final game – but the whole (team) highlight was winning against Team U.S.A.,” Kissock said following the tournament. “That game was just an unbelievable game, so nerve wracking.”
The team joins fellow inductees Rusty Staub, Doug Melvin, and Rheal Cormier at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Museum in St. Mary’s, Ont. for the ceremony Saturday.
Kissock pitches for the Reading Phillies in the Double-A Eastern League and was drafted in the 9th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft. He has played baseball professionally for six years.
After starting this season strong at spring training camp in March, Kissock suffered an injury that has left him sidelined since early May. He has now recovered and is happy to be back on the field.
