Brett Lawrie: from the Langley Blaze to the Blue Jays

Five things to know about Langley’s Brett Lawrie.

1. He’s a Langley Blaze product

Lawrie went to Brookswood Secondary and graduated in 2008, according to the Langley Advance Times. His baseball came through the Langley Blaze, the wood-bat club in the BC Premier Baseball League that still trains at McLeod Stadium. Wikipedia notes he caught for the Blaze more often than not. His older sister, Danielle Lawrie, was also a Brookswood athlete and went on to pitch for Canada at two Olympics.

2. He went higher in the draft than any Canadian position player before him

The Milwaukee Brewers took him 16th overall in the 2008 draft. Wikipedia and the Canadian Olympic Committee both describe it as the highest a Canadian position player (anyone who isn’t a pitcher) had been selected. That same summer, at 18, he was the youngest player on Canada’s Olympic baseball team in Beijing, which finished sixth. At the 2008 World Junior Baseball Championship he led the whole tournament with a .469 average.

3. His big-league debut was a Langley news story

He reached the majors with Toronto, debuting for the Blue Jays in Baltimore on August 5, 2011. The Advance Times wrote it up the day after, noting his parents and sister were heading to the game. (The photo above is from that night.) He played for Toronto through 2014, won the Wilson Fielding Award at third base in 2012, then had a season with Oakland in 2015 and one with the White Sox in 2016. Wikipedia puts his career line at a .261 average, 71 home runs and 253 RBI.

4. He came home for the kids

The Blue Jays’ own news story on the Jays Care Community Clubhouse at the Boys & Girls Club in Langley’s Douglas Park neighbourhood describes Lawrie, there as a special guest, handing a signed jersey to the club and a Blue Jays toque to every child. The space was paid for with a $250,000 Jays Care grant. “It’s great to be back in my hometown,” he told the team’s site. The club is now BGC Langley, at Douglas Park Community School in Langley City. The team’s article carries no date, so we can’t say which year it was.

5. A note on the birthplace

You’ll see two answers. Wikipedia, SABR and Olympedia say Langley; the Canadian Olympic Committee says Burnaby and gives Langley as his hometown. Either way, Langley is where he grew up and learned the game.

The rest of the story

After the White Sox released him in spring 2017, he sat out two seasons, then signed a minor-league deal with Milwaukee in 2019 and was let go that June without playing for them. Internationally he also wore Canada’s colours at the 2009 World Baseball Classic and won bronze at the 2009 Baseball World Cup.

Where to see the game he grew up in

The Langley Blaze and Langley Baseball page has registration, the home field and contacts.

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