Goderich native Brock Dyxhoorn says he is honoured to be part of a team that will be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys.
Dyxhoorn, now 22, was a pitcher on Team Canada that competed at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto and won gold.
On Thursday, the Canadian Baseball Hall Fame announced its 2017 inductees which also includes former Toronto Blue Jay Roy Halladay and Montreal Expos slugger Vladimir Guerrero.
"It's extremely special," says Dykxhoorn. "Only being 22 and having the privilege is pretty cool. I remember growing up I always played at the Hall of Fame diamonds in St. Marys with the Ontario Nationals."
The pitcher is currently gearing up for the 2017 season with the Houston Astros' minor league system.
"For minor league spring training you have to show up ready to compete for that job. I mean there are almost 300 of us competing for 7 or 8 minor league teams."
He is expected to attend camp near the end of February but has been working all winter.
"It really is a full time job throughout the winter," says Dykxhoorn. "I go to London to train every day. There is a group of us that is putting in quite a few hours over the winter to train and be ready for next season."
Dykxhoorn grew up in Goderich but his parents have since moved to Delhi, ON.
Dykxhoorn appeared in Canada's semi-final win over Puerto Rico at the 2015 Pan Am games. He threw one inning, allowed one run and struck out two in Canada's 7-1 win in that game.
Canada would go on to beat the U.S. 7-6 in the gold medal final.
