In November, the Canadian Baseball Network (CBN) gave out their annual awards honouring the top minor league Canadian hitter and pitcher in both the affiliated and unaffiliated ranks. Taking home the Murray Zuk Award – given to the top unaffiliated hitter – was Frontier League star Justin Gideon (Pickering, Ont.).

The 29-year-old outfielder was as surprised as anyone to hear the news.

“It was a great honor. It wasn’t even something that was on my mind until I saw that I won the award,” explains Gideon, speaking with Blue Jays Nation. “It was a really nice surprise. especially because I played baseball all the way through in Canada growing up, stayed in Canada for university, stayed in Canada for semi-pro and then even in Frontier, playing for one of the Canadian teams. So it’s a really big honor to kind of get recognized in that way by the Canadian Baseball Network.”

Gideon grew up playing in the Pickering Red Sox organization in the Greater Toronto area. He frequently played up a level with older players before enrolling at Brock University and walking onto their baseball team. Despite not playing on an elite travel ball team in his youth, his all-around game typically allowed him to dominate wherever he played. However, it wasn’t always easy for him to break through onto a new team.

“I think wherever I’ve played, I’ve kind of gone in with a bit of imposter syndrome trying to kind of find my way in,” says Gideon. “I kind of felt like that at Brock, the first camp I was redshirted. So even from the get go, I kind of felt like I kind of always had to scratch and claw for spots. I’ve kind of felt that everywhere.”

After winning back to back OUA MVP Awards for Brock in 2014 and 2015, Gideon started his Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) career with the Burlington Bandits. The IBL is a semi-pro league that consists of some of the best players in all of Canada, as well as a select number of imports from other countries, mostly hailing from the United States.

Gideon played seven seasons in the IBL from 2015-2022, playing for three different teams and holding a career batting average of .352. He broke through in his last season split between the Hamilton Cardinals and Welland Jackfish, slugging a career high 19 home runs, 45 RBI, and 14 stolen bases. After the big season, he knew it was time for some stiffer competition.

“I think in my twenties, I kind of had the problem of either being too comfortable or just not being aggressive enough in my career,” said Gideon. “I kind of found a home in the IBL. And I was happy to be the big fish there. That last year in the IBL, I had a really good season and I just felt like I had nothing left to prove in that league.”

The power surge that he experienced in 2022 allowed him to realize that hitting long balls could be a big part of his game. At first glance, the five-foot-nine Canuckl may not appear to be a power hitter, but a couple of adjustments was all he needed to tap into that power full time. He joined the Capitales de Quebec of the Frontier League in 2023, blasting 22 home runs in 94 games while swiping 12 bases while helping the club win the league championship. He was just as good the following season, hitting 20 homers and swiping 19 bags in 88 games, while holding a .930 OPS.

“It wasn’t until that last year in IBL that I was kind of like, okay, hitting home runs could be a big part of my game. Like any baseball player, you’re always looking to improve your swing and kind of work on little mechanics.”

Gideon has spent this winter playing in Australia in a semi-pro league in Canberra. With the season set to wrap up in the coming weeks, he has committed to return to Quebec for his third season in the Frontier League. Although playing in a higher level pro league like the Australian Baseball League remains a goal, he mentions that representing his country is also important to him.

“A goal in my career goal is to represent Canada in some capacity,” explains Gideon. “I know it’s a bit ambitious, but whether it’s at the WBC or Olympics or even like qualifiers or whatever international tournaments are out there. I think winning this award kind of helps me build my resume that way.”

Although he’s approaching 30 years old, Gideon plans to continue to push things as far as he can go with the sport. For somebody who has had a knack for emerging as one of the best players in whatever league he’s played in, it would be foolish to write him off.

“I feel like the best I’ve ever felt. Every day I kind of feel like I’m getting stronger and better,” said Gideon. “But obviously once you hit 30, the end is kind of near. I don’t feel that in any way at all, and I still feel like I can continue to play professionally. I know because of my age, affiliated opportunities would be rare. But I’m just of the mindset now of continuing to play hard and whatever opportunities arise will arise.”