PANEL-Quantrill_FNL Hockey is Canada's game, and over the years the Cobourg-Port Hope area has been a veritable hotbed of professional hockey players. But baseball is a whole di�erent ball game! Of the 230 Canadian players who actually made it to the National and American Baseball Leagues, only Paul Quantrill is from this area. Perhaps this makes him extra special for us! Paul was born in 1968 into a baseball family. Both his grandfather and father pitched for teams in the nearby village of Kendall, known for its ball teams. And now Paul's son, Cal, is a pitcher with Stanford University. Paul played minor ball for his home town of Port Hope, and at 17 was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but didn't sign. Three years later he did sign with the Boston Red Sox and made his major league debut on July 20, 1992. After a stint with the Philadelphia Phillies he was welcomed back to Canada as a Toronto Blue Jay. He was a Jay for six seasons and it was there that he made a name for himself as a durable relief pitcher with impeccable control. He regularly appeared in 80 or more games a season and rarely walked more than 25 batters. In 2001 he represented the Blue Jays at the Annual All Star Game. In an interesting bit of cross-sporting, in the winters at home in Port Hope, one time NHLer Dennis O'Brien served as Paul's bull pen catcher. After leaving the Blue Jays at the end of the 2001 season Paul continued to pitch, including some of his best years with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees. Since retiring in 2005, Paul has been involved at every level of the game. He's helped out local minor organizations, travelled with the national junior and senior programs, and been a consultant with the Toronto Blue Jays. He spends time with seven of the club's minor league teams evaluating and coaching young prospects. "The Blue Jays have been wonderful about giving me opportunities, keeping me in the mix whether it be the draft or looking at players. I wasn't a superstar but I played a long time (14 years). That's the one thing I'm proud of." On June 19, 2010 Paul Quantrill was inducted, along with former Blue Jay Roberto Alomar, into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame at St. Mary's, Ontario. Paul John Quantrill Mr. Reliable on the Mound Design & layout by Quench Design & Communications Inc. | Port Hope | www.quenchme.ca