Longtime MLB slugger Matt Stairs visits New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame

Thursday nights tend to be busy in downtown Fredericton during the summer months thanks to the popular Garrison Night Market, but on Thursday there was another reason for extra foot traffic.

Longtime Major League Baseball player and Fredericton native Matt Stairs was at the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame Thursday evening signing autographs and meeting with local fans. Admission to the Hall of Fame was free for the meet-and-greet.

“It’s always a blast,” says Stairs on getting to interact with local fans. “We moved back here about 10-11 years ago and when (the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame) sent me an email to ask about coming and be part of the program tonight, I said absolutely.”

Stairs was Inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 2012, a year after his retirement from the Majors following 19 seasons. The now 56-year old spent time with multiple MLB clubs, including the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies. He won a World Series with the Phillies in 2008.

Stairs boasts a career batting average of .262. He hit 265 homeruns in his career and still holds the Major League record for most pinch-hit homeruns in a career with 19.

For local fans, getting to meet a Canadian baseball icon was inspirational.

“It's pretty cool,” says young ball player Ryan Connell. “Seeing someone come out of New Brunswick, too it gives me a bit more confidence being able to maybe make it out of Canada into the league as well.”

“Basically you're trying to be a guy like Matt Stairs,” says Naoki Tomilson, another young ball player who noted the small number of Major League Baseball players from Canada. “It makes it even more special because it's like, if he can do it gives me the confidence and the desire to do it as well.”

Also on hand to meet and sign autographs for fans was Bill Saunders, author of the book, “The Buzz on New Brunswick Senior Baseball” which contains hundreds of pages of the sport’s history in the province dating back to 1970. Over 700 copies were printed of the two set volume. There are now less than 25 available for purchase.

“Sometimes I wonder how I ever get in here as a member,” jokes Saunders, who was inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. “I'm sure there was a lot of other people that could ask to come here with Matt, he’s the head one for sure, but I was happy when I got the call to come over here and hang out for a bit.”

“He drove me to Montreal for a tryout way back when,” Stairs says on his relationship with the Saunders. “The good thing is he’s about 25 feet away so I don't have to hear the same stories over and over and over.”

Stairs credits Saunders among the countless people in the greater Fredericton area who are responsible for his success.

“He's done a tremendous job in the community with us,” says Stairs. “He’s donated a lot of money back towards minor league baseball in Fredericton and helping out people going to university and with scholarships as well. What he’s done has been tremendous.”

“He's been very good to me over the years,” Saunders says on his relationship with Stairs. “We've been to Pittsburgh and I’ve watched him play in Fenway and a few other places which was always exciting.”

Jamie Wolverton is the executive director for the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame. He says it’s a treat anytime a member of the Hall of Fame comes in to meet with fans.

“Certainly New Brunswick athletes and our builders punch well above our weight representing our province,” Wolverton says. “It's quite phenomenal to think that we've had athletes that have represented us around the world, and we still do to this day, so we are very proud of all of our Hall of Famers.”

The New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame is open Tuesday through Saturday in the summer from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., except on Thursdays when it closes at 8 p.m.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.