Adamson’s next journey? The Junior National Team
Pitcher Liam Adamson will compete in Florida this week (including at Tropicana Field) after making Canada’s Junior National Team for a series against the U.S.
Adamson, 17, who plays with the Great Lake Canadians, will be joined by teammate Caleb Clark in Florida for a Friendship Series against the United States’ 18U National Team. (Photo: Great Lake Canadians).
When people return from a week in Florida, more often than not souvenirs consist of a few T-shirts or maybe a seashell or two. Liam Adamson has something else in mind.
The Londoner is scheduled to take the mound Monday afternoon at Tropicana Field, home of the MLB’s Tampa Rays.
“Oh ya, for sure,” laughed the 17-year old when asked if a little dirt from the mound may be coming home with him. “This is going to be fun.”
Adamson is part of a 30-man squad currently in Florida taking part in a seven-game Friendship Series against the United States’ 18U National Team. He made the team following a two-week Junior National Team training camp in Ajax, Ontario this past month.
With the postponement of the 2021 World Baseball Softball Confederation U-18 World Cup due to the pandemic, the Friendship Series was organized to offer the players an international baseball experience, given the difficulties of the last 18 months.
Adamson and his fellow national junior players, including Great Lake Canadians (GLC) teammate Caleb Clark, will get to showcase their skills with games at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota (spring training home of the Baltimore Orioles), LECOM Park in Bradenton (spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates) and, of course, Tropicana Field.
The Oakridge Secondary School student says he’s thrilled to have been given the opportunity to represent Canada on a national stage, considering that he’s already played in Auckland, New Zealand, Basel, Switzerland and Florence, South Carolina.
“It was a neat opportunity to participate and see the different levels of baseball in each country,” said the 17-year old, whose family has moved around a few times for his father’s work. The family returned home to London four years ago.
After a brief stint with the London Tin Caps, a competitive baseball program for Byron and Oakridge Optimist Baseball Associations, Adamson joined the GLC program. It was here that he saw his game blossom. Originally a position player, Adamson became a pitcher at the beginning of 2019 on the advice of his coaches. He hasn’t looked back.
“I was all for it. I fell in love with pitching very quickly,” he said. “I’m a very routine and detail oriented kind of person, so I thrive on the preparation that goes with being a pitcher, with the pre- and post-game routine and the prep time in between.”
GLC pitching coordinator Jon Fitzsimmons said that in the four years Adamson has been with the program it’s his “incredible work ethic” which has allowed him to get the most out of his natural athleticism.
“During the lockdown he used the extra time to refine his delivery and get stronger,” said Fitzsimmons. “He’s added velocity to his fastball, which now comes in anywhere between 87-91mph. He generates a lot of good sink and run which allows him to miss bats and get groundball outs.
“He's one of the most well rounded pitchers on our staff. Not only can he throw around 90mph, he can fill the strike zone with his breaking ball and change up as well.”
Fitzsimmons added that while there are handfuls of hard throwers in the country, there aren't too many guys who can command the zone on top of that, something he says Adamson can do.
“We encourage our pitchers to not only strive to increase velocity, but to command the strike zone with their fastball and off-speed pitches as well,” the pitching coordinator said. “Liam has the ability to attack the strike zone with all three of his pitches and pitch deep into games.”
Adamson has put a tremendous amount of work into improving his game, but he’s quick to give a huge amount of credit to Fitzsimmons and fellow GLC coaches Shane Davis and Chris Robinson.
“When I first started with GLC, I never had in mind that I’d be heading to Florida to represent my country at a big-league park,” said the 5-foot-10 right-hander. “It’s happening because of the work of my coaches. Without the three of them, I wouldn't be where I am today.
Adamson fields grounders at Baseball Canada’s JNT Training Camp, held August 19 to Sept. 1 at the Ajax Sportsplex. (Photo: Baseball Canada/Christian Bender).
“Sure, you have to really devote yourself and put the time in when no one’s looking, and lot of your success is in your hands, as to how far you want to take it, but it’s that solid base GLC gives you that allows you to get there.”
While the current ‘there’ is the tournament in Florida, it will soon be Champaign, Illinois, where Adamson has earned a baseball scholarship to attend the University of Illinois. He begins in fall 2023.
“I'm excited to see what he can do,” said Fitzsimmons. “The best indicator of future success is generating swing and misses on pitches in the strike zone. From what I've seen out of Liam this year, I think he'll be more than ready to contribute to winning games at the division one level.”
While it’s being referred to as the ‘friendship series,’ Adamson admittedly can’t wait to take the field this week with the Maple Leaf on his chest and compete to win.
“There’s definitely motivation playing for your country at this level, and add to that we’re playing the States,” he said. “We want to find that right balance between playing aggressive, but at the same time respecting the other country and actually playing it as a friendship series.”
So, from New Zealand, to Switzerland, to the United States, and back home to Canada. Adamson says that he’s “worked his tail off” to get to this point in time. What keeps him motivated and focused on the future are the words his National Junior Team head coach, Greg Hamilton, shared before heading to Florida.
“This is just the beginning.”
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