You may know him as 'Captain Canada' — the Blue Jays outfielder whose breakout season has him on the verge of an All-Star appearance.

And it's really true: Michael Saunders, a Victoria, B.C. native, has roots right across the country — including a proud grandfather in the central Newfoundland town of Gander.

Calvin Saunders catches almost every game. He even stays up late to watch the west coast road trips, which don't get him to bed until about 2 a.m. NT.

"I'm delighted, and I'm up too late every night," he said. "Gotta be something important that keeps me away from that."

Newfoundland connection

Calvin Saunders says he remembers the family visits his grandson Michael used to make to Newfoundland. (Chris Ensing/CBC)

Calvin is Michael's paternal grandfather — his father's father. He remembers the family trips to Newfoundland that Michael took when he was a child, a fishing trip where he almost poked his eye out, and even the days before baseball was even on the radar.

He said the outfielder used to be purely a hockey player, until one day he got frustrated with the size difference between him and some of the older players, and decided to switch.

"He came home one night all disgusted with everything and told his dad he was going to give up the hockey," Calvin Saunders remembers.

"'I'm going to get killed,' he said, 'if I stays in the hockey,' he said. 'I'm going to get into baseball'."

Saunders said the last family trip was in 1997, during the 500th anniversary celebrations of the voyage of John Cabot across the Atlantic Ocean — when Michael went swimming near Bay Roberts.

All-Star dreams

Now, the outfielder is building himself into a real baseball star and this week won himself one of the final spots in the American League All-Star Game vote.

Saunders is a 2016 Esurance MLB ASG Final Vote candidate!<br><br>Send Saunders <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VoteCaptainCanada?src=hash">#VoteCaptainCanada</a> <a href="https://t.co/2A2Yy5lzZP">https://t.co/2A2Yy5lzZP</a> <a href="https://t.co/TadgkOo53m">pic.twitter.com/TadgkOo53m</a> —@BlueJays

With the backing of a Toronto Blue Jays campaign, Saunders has received millions of fan votes, and has been dubbed "Captain Canada."

The nickname is "really something," says Calvin Saunders, and so is the sight of hundreds of baseball jerseys with his family name on the back.

The proud grandfather is hoping for a trip to Toronto to see a game, and said he will definitely watch the All-Star game if he can find it on the dial.

"He's not from Newfoundland, he never spent much time here, but he has Newfoundland connections," Calvin Saunders said. "That's the main thing."

