Former Orioles pitcher Adam Loewen will be competing in the World Baseball Classic this month for Team Canada, marking his first time back on the field for Canada since 2019.
The WBC is set to take place from March 7-21, with Japan, Taiwan and the United States all hosting games. Canada will be in Pool C with defending champion USA, Colombia, Great Britain and Mexico, with games taking place at Chase Field from March 11-15.
Loewen decided to pitch again due to his history with Baseball Canada. The 6-foot-6, 245-pound left-hander was part of the program through three decades on junior and senior teams.
Loewen, 38, was born and raised in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.
“It’s always an honor to put on Canada across your chest to play for your own country and to play with the guys that you know so well. It’s a small kind of family on our team,” Loewen said on Glenn Clark Radio Feb. 27. “It’s kind of like a reunion. Coming back and seeing everybody and lacing it up for one more time is going to be the icing on the cake for me.”
Loewen also explained that pitching one more time is a way to honor his wife, Lynda, who passed away in 2021 after a five-year battle with breast cancer. He wanted to let his kids see their dad play and remember the experience. He has had a rough few years without his wife, raising their two children Lucy and Lucas, ages 6 and 8, alone.
Loewen first pitched for Canada in the WBC in 2006. Though Canada did not make it past the first round, Loewen remembered how Canada beat the United States. He called it a “miracle” and mentioned how big of a deal that was for him and his team.
“I think it’s good for the countries that are complete underdogs and have nothing to lose,” Loewen said. “Those are the countries that really want to show up and put their best players forward and their best foot forward and make a name for themselves on the international stage. And I think we did that in 2006.”
Loewen has had a unique career in baseball with multiple position changes. He was a full-time pitcher, then a full-time position player, then a full-time pitcher again.
Loewen pitched in the big leagues for Baltimore from 2006-2008 before injuries forced him off the mound. He then signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and made it back to the majors as a position player in 2011. After that, he reverted back to the mound. He pitched in the big leagues in 2015 and 2016 with the Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks, respectively.
“I always felt like I should have stayed in Baltimore,” Loewen said. “I always felt bad about going to Toronto and playing there, but there is a business side to both sides and I just felt like I had to make the best decision for me at the time. I always felt loyal to the Baltimore fans. And I know everybody was upset when I left, but I do feel bad about that.”
Loewen was drafted No. 4 overall by the Orioles in 2002, the highest a Canadian player has ever been drafted at until right-hander Jameson Taillon beat it. He ended his big league career as a pitcher with 63 appearances, 159 strikeouts and a 10-8 record.
“I guess that kind of fueled me, wanting to do the things that people had never done before,” Loewen said. “I am proud of that. I mean, I didn’t have that five-time all-star [career] in the big league level. So that’s what I have to hang my hat on is achieving those things.”
Loewen is now a full-time dad making investments on the side. After the WBC is over, he plans to transition to something he can call a career for the rest of his life.
“I think just looking back on the last couple of years of my life, things have changed so much,” Loewen said. “It’s hard not to look at the totality now and just how much more appreciation I have for the career that I had.”
For more from Loewen, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Baseball Canada