'Once in a lifetime': B.C. baseball player shines in big league debut

When Abbotsford’s Cade Smith stepped onto pitcher's mound in his first major league baseball game Saturday, his family was there to cheer him on – including his dad.

And that was a bit of a miracle in itself.

“It’s been a crazy week, a whirlwind,” said Cade’s dad, Tim, who got clearance last week from his cardiologist to travel to Oakland to see his son’s MLB debut with the Cleveland Guardians.

And his son did not disappoint.

“He goes out there and in two innings, he’s responsible for six outs and he strikes out five of them. And what we found out was that it was a record in a team debut,” said Cade’s proud father after his son helped his team defeat the Oakland Athletics.

“He knew where we were (in the stands) because we were hooting and hollering. It was just a great celebration of all his hard work,” said Tim Smith, who hadn’t been able to see his son in about a year.

The father had been waiting for a complicated heart surgery that took place in December and then needed time to recover. Cade, in the midst of applying for U.S. residency, was not able to come back to Canada.

“Both Sylvia (Cade’s mom) and I lost our dads when we were about his age, so that made it a whole lot tougher,” Tim said.

But last week, Cade called his family with some exciting news. He would be travelling with the Guardians to Oakland, though he didn’t yet know if he was on the roster.

It was a bit of a scramble, but ultimately, Tim Smith got the medicine, the medical insurance and the clearance from his cardiologist to travel.

“He (my cardiologist) tells me there’s some things going on that still need to get healed, but this is once-in-a-lifetime. You’re stable. We’ll let you go,” he recalled.

While with his family, Cade learned he had made the roster. And then last Saturday, he became the first Canadian this year to debut in the MLB, and one of only about a dozen playing in the league.

“It’s something that you don’t imagine is really going to happen. We’re proud of the work ethic, how he’s connected with his players, coaches,” said his dad.

But it’s been a long road and there’s been plenty of bumps along the way.

Cade started out playing t-ball in Abbotsford at the age of four and in Grade 11, almost quit ball altogether.

In the end, he persevered and made it to the big leagues.

“He just kept working and grinding and getting better,” said his dad.

Now 24, the 6’5” pitcher had a second chance to play Monday night in Seattle.

“He was awesome,” said Tim.

“He had another four outs he had to get and he struck out three of them, didn’t give up a hit.”

Cade’s family, including his grandmothers, were there to cheer him on.

His dad hopes that his son will stay with the Cleveland team and that he will see him play in Toronto on Father’s Day which also happens to be Tim’s birthday.

In the meantime, Tim said his son keeps working on getting better.

“You just want to encourage him to work hard and honor God with his attitude and his effort,” said Tim Smith, who is a teacher at the Mennonite Educational Institute.