But What Do I Know? … Russell Martin, Chris Carpenter, Champ Summers

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My weekly opinions, observations and rants about some Canadian baseball stories (Please follow me on Twitter: @kevinglewsports):

 Scott Crawford, director of operations at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ont., is excellent at pointing out the milestones of Canadian players. On Friday evening, Montreal native Russell Martin played in his 29th postseason game to move past Larry Walker (Maple Ridge, B.C.) into second place on the all-time list for most postseason games played by a Canadian. Martin, who has now suited up for 31 playoff contests, will have to compete in seven more to match Woodstock, Ont., native Tip O’Neill.

 When he retires, former Blue Jay Chris Carpenter should be remembered as one of the best postseason pitchers ever. Since being low-balled out of Toronto by then-Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi after the 2002 campaign, Carpenter has posted a 10-2 record and a 2.88 ERA in 16 postseason starts.

 For those of us old remember to remember the 1982 World Series-winning St. Louis Cardinals: is Jason Motte not the spitting image of Hall of Fame closer Bruce Sutter?

 I was sorry to hear that former Detroit Tigers slugger Champ Summers passed away on October 11 after a long battle with kidney cancer. Summers played parts of 10 seasons in the big leagues with the A’s, Cubs, Reds, Tigers, Giants and Padres. For the record, his real name was John Junior Summers, but he was nicknamed “Champ” at birth, when his father took one look at him and said, “He looks like he just went 10 rounds with Joe Louis.”

 By my count, there’s only one former Montreal Expo active in the postseason. Giants reliever Guillermo Mota pitched with the Expos from 1999 to 2001.

 Five former Blue Jays are still playing: Carpenter (St. Louis), Marc Rzepczynski (St. Louis), Jayson Nix (New York), Octavio Dotel (Detroit) and Marco Scutaro (San Francisco). Former Jays catcher Mike Matheny is also managing the Cardinals.

 Three New York Yankees played in the minors in Canada: Alex Rodriguez (Triple-A, Calgary, 1994), Nick Swisher (Low-A, Vancouver, 2002) and Eric Chavez (Triple-A, Edmonton, 1998).

 Two St. Louis Cardinals also pitched in the minors in Canada: Chris Carpenter (Short-Season A, St. Catharines, 1999) and Kyle Lohse (Triple-A, Edmonton, 2001).

8 thoughts on “But What Do I Know? … Russell Martin, Chris Carpenter, Champ Summers”

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  1. Tom Valcke – Stratford, Ontario – Tom Valcke put his iCASE Baseball Academy as well as his position of Head Coach at George Brown College into hiatus, when Hong Kong brought him there in 2018 to serve as head coach of their Men's Olympic baseball team, where he finished with unprecedented success in the 2018 Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia, spiking their WBSC World Ranking from #41 to #28 in just one year under his tutelage. China then scooped up Valcke, as he became the GM and Head Coach of Panda Sport and Culture, a division of the China Olympic Federation, overseeing baseball and softball, and training the national team coaches of baseball and softball, men's and women's teams. Panda Sport and Culture is based in Zhongshan, China's nationally recognized "#1 Baseball City," located on the southeast tip of China, and has a climate much like Florida. On his own initiative, he spent his evenings working with the local coaches of Zhongshan's local amateur youth baseball teams. For the first time in history, the same city won all four 2019 China National Championship gold medals, in 18U, 15U, 12U and 10U, that city being Zhongshan! Valcke worked with the China Baseball Association and Major League Baseball in helping the world's largest country accelerate their evolution into baseball, and helped them design and build a professional baseball stadium, a 600-room dormitory, and a new HQ for Panda Sport and Culture, where he held the role of CEO, in charge of a staff of 60. Valcke, former Technical Director, and Executive Director of Baseball Canada, and former coach of Team Canada, remains a baseball analyst with CBC Canada Radio and TV. The former president/CEO of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, who spent a decade as the Canadian Supervisor with the Major League Baseball Central Scouting Bureau, served as a television broadcaster for the Montreal Expos, the GM of the Calgary Cannons Triple-A club, and the CEO/Head Coach of the World Children's Baseball Fair. He is the proud father of Alanna, Jaxon and Mia, and lucky husband of Paula since 1987. Jaxon and Mia are current star players and captains, respectively, of the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds baseball and softball teams. Mia also became the second female in history to play in World Cups for Team Canada Women's baseball team as well as Team Canada Women's softball team. https://www.canadianbaseballnetwork.com/canadian-baseball-network-articles/baseball-nomad-valcke-a-top-amateur-executive http://www.wbsc.org/csta-prestige-awards-honors-tom-valcke/ https://cooperstownersincanada.com/2012/01/23/valcke-recognized-for-global-baseball-efforts/
    The Valckes says:

    Kevin:

    Love the Champ Summers story about how he got his name! He was a Tiger I really enjoyed, and that short right field porch was just right for his swing!

    Tom

    Reply
    1. cooperstownersincanada – Kevin Glew is a professional writer based in London, Ontario. His work has been featured on CBC Sports, Sportsnet.ca, MLB.com and Sympatico.ca. He has also written articles for Baseball Digest, Baseball America, The Hockey News, Sports Market Report and the Canadian Baseball Network. He has been involved with the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame for more than 16 years, including a two-year stint as the museum's acting curator.
      cooperstownersincanada says:

      Thanks for the comment, Tom. Yes, the first year I remember watching baseball was 1979 and Champ was a sensation in Detroit that summer. 21 homers in 90 games. He never repeated that kind of success, but I’ll always remember the summer of 1979.

      Reply

  2. I don’t remember Champ’s numbers but I remember that he brought a joy to the Tigers that had been lacking in many years. He played the game with heart and he endeared himself to the fans with his enthusiasm and great sense of humour. I may be mistaken about this bur former Tigers GM Doug Lajoie had a knack of picking up players that had tons of heart that other teams passed by. Think of guys like Enos Cabell, John Wockenfuss, Marty Castillo, John Grubb and so many others during the late seventies and eighties. Champ is another player that he brought into Detroit………….seemingly out of nowhere who made the Tigers instantly more fun to watch. God bless you Champ!!!

    Reply
    1. cooperstownersincanada – Kevin Glew is a professional writer based in London, Ontario. His work has been featured on CBC Sports, Sportsnet.ca, MLB.com and Sympatico.ca. He has also written articles for Baseball Digest, Baseball America, The Hockey News, Sports Market Report and the Canadian Baseball Network. He has been involved with the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame for more than 16 years, including a two-year stint as the museum's acting curator.
      cooperstownersincanada says:

      Well said and thanks for the comment, David. Interestingly enough Champ’s final big league at bat came as a member of the San Diego Padres against the Detroit Tigers in the 1984 World Series. He also managed the Frontier League’s Gateway Grizzlies in 2001, so he would’ve passed through Labatt Park when the Grizzlies played the London Werewolves. I wish I would’ve interviewed him.

      Reply
  3. Tom Valcke – Stratford, Ontario – Tom Valcke put his iCASE Baseball Academy as well as his position of Head Coach at George Brown College into hiatus, when Hong Kong brought him there in 2018 to serve as head coach of their Men's Olympic baseball team, where he finished with unprecedented success in the 2018 Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia, spiking their WBSC World Ranking from #41 to #28 in just one year under his tutelage. China then scooped up Valcke, as he became the GM and Head Coach of Panda Sport and Culture, a division of the China Olympic Federation, overseeing baseball and softball, and training the national team coaches of baseball and softball, men's and women's teams. Panda Sport and Culture is based in Zhongshan, China's nationally recognized "#1 Baseball City," located on the southeast tip of China, and has a climate much like Florida. On his own initiative, he spent his evenings working with the local coaches of Zhongshan's local amateur youth baseball teams. For the first time in history, the same city won all four 2019 China National Championship gold medals, in 18U, 15U, 12U and 10U, that city being Zhongshan! Valcke worked with the China Baseball Association and Major League Baseball in helping the world's largest country accelerate their evolution into baseball, and helped them design and build a professional baseball stadium, a 600-room dormitory, and a new HQ for Panda Sport and Culture, where he held the role of CEO, in charge of a staff of 60. Valcke, former Technical Director, and Executive Director of Baseball Canada, and former coach of Team Canada, remains a baseball analyst with CBC Canada Radio and TV. The former president/CEO of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, who spent a decade as the Canadian Supervisor with the Major League Baseball Central Scouting Bureau, served as a television broadcaster for the Montreal Expos, the GM of the Calgary Cannons Triple-A club, and the CEO/Head Coach of the World Children's Baseball Fair. He is the proud father of Alanna, Jaxon and Mia, and lucky husband of Paula since 1987. Jaxon and Mia are current star players and captains, respectively, of the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds baseball and softball teams. Mia also became the second female in history to play in World Cups for Team Canada Women's baseball team as well as Team Canada Women's softball team. https://www.canadianbaseballnetwork.com/canadian-baseball-network-articles/baseball-nomad-valcke-a-top-amateur-executive http://www.wbsc.org/csta-prestige-awards-honors-tom-valcke/ https://cooperstownersincanada.com/2012/01/23/valcke-recognized-for-global-baseball-efforts/
    The Valckes says:

    … and, Champ also beat Jimmy Connors in a tennis match as a kid growing up. He also was invited to a Dallas Cowboys’ camp. Remember, those were the days the Tom Landry Cowboys would sign or draft exceptional athletes… Pete Gent, Bob Hayes, even drafted Pat Riley in 1967!

    Reply
    1. cooperstownersincanada – Kevin Glew is a professional writer based in London, Ontario. His work has been featured on CBC Sports, Sportsnet.ca, MLB.com and Sympatico.ca. He has also written articles for Baseball Digest, Baseball America, The Hockey News, Sports Market Report and the Canadian Baseball Network. He has been involved with the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame for more than 16 years, including a two-year stint as the museum's acting curator.
      cooperstownersincanada says:

      Wow. Did not know this, Tom. Thanks for sharing this.

      Reply
  4. cooperstownersincanada – Kevin Glew is a professional writer based in London, Ontario. His work has been featured on CBC Sports, Sportsnet.ca, MLB.com and Sympatico.ca. He has also written articles for Baseball Digest, Baseball America, The Hockey News, Sports Market Report and the Canadian Baseball Network. He has been involved with the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame for more than 16 years, including a two-year stint as the museum's acting curator.
    cooperstownersincanada says:

    From Devon Teeple:

    Very sad to hear about Champ Summers passing.

    Champ was my coach when I played professionally.

    I truly thank him for giving me the opportunity to play.

    My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
    Devon Teeple – Founder / Executive Director – The GM’s Perspective

    Reply
    1. cooperstownersincanada – Kevin Glew is a professional writer based in London, Ontario. His work has been featured on CBC Sports, Sportsnet.ca, MLB.com and Sympatico.ca. He has also written articles for Baseball Digest, Baseball America, The Hockey News, Sports Market Report and the Canadian Baseball Network. He has been involved with the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame for more than 16 years, including a two-year stint as the museum's acting curator.
      cooperstownersincanada says:

      Thanks for the note, Devon. I didn’t realize that Champ was your manager.

      Reply

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