Baseball Canada announced that Moose Jaw product Jim Baba (pictured) has died at the age of 69 after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Baba served as executive director of Baseball Canada from 2000 to 2021 and was regarded as a well-respected and influential leader in Canadian baseball. Baba joined Baseball Canada in 1990 as a guest coach for the men’s national team. He went on to serve as head coach from 1993 to 1998, and again in 2003 and 2005. In 2000, Baba was named Baseball Canada’s manager of baseball operations and, shortly after, became executive director. Prior to that, he was the Director of Operations for Baseball Saskatchewan, a role he held for 10 years.