1. Overview
Michael Edward Brett Saunders (born November 19, 1986) is a Canadian former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, and Philadelphia Phillies. Throughout his career, he was known by two nicknames: "the Condor", attributed by sports commentator Dave Sims to Lee Tinsley, and "Captain Canada", reflecting his prominent role and popularity, particularly during his time with the Blue Jays and in international play.
2. Early life and amateur career
Saunders began his baseball journey in Little League Baseball, playing with the Gordon Head Baseball Association. He was a member of Team Canada at the 1999 Little League World Series. For his high school baseball career, Saunders attended Lambrick Park Secondary School in Victoria, British Columbia, where he played for the Victoria Mariners of the British Columbia Premier Baseball League. After high school, he continued his baseball development at Tallahassee Community College with the Eagles, before being selected in the MLB draft.
3. Professional career
Michael Saunders' professional baseball career began in 2004 when he was drafted by the Seattle Mariners, leading him through various minor league levels before his Major League debut. His career spanned several MLB teams, marked by periods of strong performance, notable achievements, and challenges including injuries.
3.1. Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners selected Saunders in the 11th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft. He then spent the 2005 season with the Everett AquaSox of the Short Season-A Northwest League, where he had a batting average of .270, along with seven home runs and 39 runs batted in (RBI). In 2006, he was promoted to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Class-A Midwest League, hitting .239 with four home runs and 39 RBI. Despite his struggles in 2006, he was advanced to the High Desert Mavericks of the Advanced-A California League for 2007, where he significantly improved, hitting .299 with 14 home runs and 77 RBI. He then moved up to the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx of the Double-A Southern League, finishing the season with a .288 average, one home run, and seven RBI in 15 games. Saunders started the 2008 season again in West Tenn, where he hit .290 with eight home runs and 30 RBI in 67 games before being promoted to the Tacoma Rainiers of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League on June 17.
After starting the 2009 season with the Rainiers, where he hit .313 with 13 home runs and 32 RBI in 243 at-bats, Saunders was promoted to the Major Leagues on July 25, 2009, when the Mariners designated Wladimir Balentien for assignment. He made his MLB debut that day in a game against the Cleveland Indians at Safeco Field, where he went hitless against Jeremy Sowers in a 10-3 loss for the Mariners. His first MLB hit was a single off of Cliff Lee on July 26, 2009.
On May 6, 2010, Saunders was recalled from Tacoma after the Mariners placed Milton Bradley on the restricted list. Three days later, he hit his first MLB home run off Angels pitcher Ervin Santana. He concluded the 2010 season with a .211 batting average, 10 home runs, and 33 RBI. In 2011, Saunders played only 58 games for the Mariners, batting .149 with two home runs and eight RBI.
In 2012, Saunders played a career-high 139 games and significantly improved his performance from 2011, hitting .247 with 19 home runs and 57 RBI. He played in 132 games the following season, finishing 2013 with a .236 batting average, 12 home runs, and 46 RBI. In 2014, Saunders faced several injuries that limited him to 78 games, but he achieved a career-high .273 average, along with 8 home runs and 34 RBI. Towards the end of the 2014 season, Jack Zduriencik, the general manager of the Mariners, publicly criticized Saunders' work ethic, which Saunders challenged.
3.2. Toronto Blue Jays (first stint)
On December 3, 2014, the Mariners traded Saunders to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for pitcher J. A. Happ. To avoid salary arbitration, Saunders agreed to a one-year contract valued at 2.88 M USD on January 16, 2015.
On February 25, Saunders suffered an injury when he stepped on a sprinkler head while shagging fly balls, tearing his meniscus. Initially, it was expected that he would be on the disabled list until the All-Star break. However, after undergoing surgery to remove 60% of his meniscus, the recovery estimate was reduced to 4-6 weeks. He was assigned to the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays for a rehab assignment on April 8. Following a game loss by the Blue Jays to the Tampa Bay Rays on April 24, Saunders was activated from the disabled list. He experienced discomfort in his knee in early May, missing several games after having fluid drained and receiving a cortisone injection. Saunders returned to the line-up on May 9 but was placed back on the 15-day disabled list the following day to rest his knee. Remaining on the disabled list into August, Saunders was officially shut down for the remainder of the 2015 season on August 18. He appeared in just nine games for the Blue Jays, batting .194 with three RBI.
On January 15, 2016, Saunders and the Blue Jays again avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract for 2.90 M USD. In a 13-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on June 17, Saunders hit three home run for the first time in his career, an achievement that made him the first Canadian-born player to hit three home runs in an MLB game while playing for a Canadian team. He joined Joey Votto, Justin Morneau, and Larry Walker as the only Canadian-born players ever to achieve this feat. In that same game, he also recorded eight RBI, setting another career-high. On July 5, Saunders was named as one of five candidates for the All-Star Game Final Vote campaign, and he was announced as the Final Vote winner on July 8, securing his spot in the All-Star Game. After the All-Star break, Saunders experienced a decline in performance, batting only .178 with eight home runs and 15 RBI. Despite a challenging second half, Saunders established several career-highs in 2016, finishing the season with a .253 batting average, 24 home runs, and 57 RBI in 140 games played. He appeared in eight postseason games for the Blue Jays, hitting .381 with one home run and one RBI.
3.3. Philadelphia Phillies
On January 16, 2017, Saunders agreed to a one-year, 8.00 M USD contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, which also included a 9.00 M USD club option for the 2018 season. The contract was made official on January 19. During the first three months of the season, Saunders struggled to a .205 batting average with six home runs while playing for the last-place Phillies. On June 20, Saunders was designated for assignment by the Phillies and was subsequently released three days later.
3.4. Minor League stints and later teams
After his release from the Phillies, Saunders signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on June 28, 2017, marking his second stint with the organization. On August 31, Blue Jays' manager John Gibbons announced that Saunders would be called up on September 1.
Saunders signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates on February 21, 2018. However, after Pittsburgh acquired Corey Dickerson the following day, Saunders requested and was granted his release from the team. On February 23, he signed another minor league contract, this time with the Kansas City Royals. The Royals released Saunders on March 24. On April 2, he signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles. He played 25 games for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, where he batted .161/.291/.253 with one home run, 14 RBI, and two stolen bases. On May 15, Saunders asked for and was granted his release by the Orioles.
On May 21, 2018, Saunders signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox. In 13 games for their Triple-A affiliate, the Charlotte Knights, he slashed .152/.235/.239 with one home run and four RBI. Saunders was released by the White Sox organization on June 21.
On December 30, 2018, Saunders signed a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies. He was released prior to the start of the season on March 17, 2019.
4. International career
Michael Saunders proudly represented Canada in several major international tournaments throughout his career. He participated in the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing, China, serving as Canada's primary right-fielder. In that tournament, Saunders recorded eight hits in 28 at-bats while batting third in the lineup. He scored five runs and had four RBI in seven games, and his two home runs led Canada to a sixth-place finish.
Saunders also represented Canada at the 2013 World Baseball Classic. For his strong offensive performance, he was named as one of three outfielders on the All-WBC Team. He was selected to play for Canada at the 2019 Pan American Games Qualifier on January 9, 2019. His international career concluded with his selection to the 2019 WBSC Premier12 on October 8, 2019.
5. Post-playing career
On October 25, 2019, following his participation in the 2019 WBSC Premier12, Michael Saunders announced his retirement as a player. He transitioned into a coaching role, becoming a minor league coach in the Atlanta Braves organization starting in 2020. In March 2021, he was named as the manager of the Augusta GreenJackets, which is the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. In 2025, Saunders returned to the Seattle Mariners organization, taking on the role of minor league baserunning coordinator.
6. Career statistics
The following table summarizes Michael Saunders' Major League Baseball batting statistics through the 2014 season:
| Year | Team | Games | Plate Appearances | At Bats | Runs | Hits | Doubles | Triples | Home Runs | Total Bases | Runs Batted In (RBI) | Stolen Bases (SB) | Caught Stealing (CS) | Sacrifice Bunts (SAC) | Sacrifice Flies (SF) | Walks (BB) | Intentional Walks (IBB) | Hit By Pitch (HBP) | Strikeouts (SO) | Double Plays Grounded Into (GDP) | Batting Average (AVG) | On-Base Percentage (OBP) | Slugging Percentage (SLG) | On-base Plus Slugging (OPS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | SEA | 46 | 129 | 122 | 13 | 27 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 1 | .221 | .258 | .279 | .537 |
| 2010 | 100 | 327 | 289 | 29 | 61 | 11 | 2 | 10 | 106 | 33 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 1 | .211 | .295 | .367 | .662 | |
| 2011 | 58 | 179 | 161 | 16 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 35 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 1 | .149 | .207 | .217 | .424 | |
| 2012 | 139 | 553 | 507 | 71 | 125 | 31 | 3 | 19 | 219 | 57 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 0 | 1 | 132 | 6 | .247 | .306 | .432 | .738 | |
| 2013 | 132 | 468 | 406 | 59 | 96 | 23 | 3 | 12 | 161 | 46 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 54 | 4 | 1 | 118 | 6 | .236 | .323 | .397 | .720 | |
| 2014 | 78 | 263 | 231 | 38 | 63 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 104 | 34 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 2 | .273 | .341 | .450 | .791 | |
| Career Total: 6 years | 553 | 1919 | 1716 | 226 | 396 | 82 | 14 | 51 | 659 | 182 | 54 | 20 | 12 | 13 | 176 | 6 | 2 | 489 | 17 | .231 | .301 | .384 | .685 | |
7. Legacy and reception
Michael Saunders' career is marked by his consistent efforts and notable achievements, particularly during his time with the Toronto Blue Jays where he earned the nickname "Captain Canada." His selection to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 2016, following a strong first half of the season that included a rare three-home run, eight-RBI game, highlighted his peak performance and impact as a powerful outfielder. He is one of only four Canadian-born players to hit three home runs in an MLB game, underscoring his offensive capabilities. Throughout his career, Saunders was recognized for his role as a representative of Canadian baseball, making significant contributions in international competitions such as the World Baseball Classic and the Olympic Games. His transition into a coaching role after retirement further demonstrates his commitment to the sport and developing future talent.