But What Do I Know? . . . Matt Stairs, Tyson Gillies, Jackie Robinson

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StairsExposMy weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories:

– With this year’s Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in the books, I’ve started to look ahead to 2015. Next year will be Fredericton, N.B., native Matt Stairs’ first year of eligibility and the Canuck slugger, who belted 265 career homers (second-most by a Canadian), would appear to be a shoo-in. Others that I’d like to see honoured are Toronto Blue Jays great Carlos Delgado and Port Moody, B.C., native Wayne Norton, who had a fine professional playing career before establishing the Canadian junior national team and becoming one of our country’s most respected big league scouts. The Canadian ball hall’s selection committee consists of 16 members (including baseball writers, historians and living inductees) spread across the country. A nominee must be named on 12 of 16 ballots to be enshrined. The new class will be announced in February 2015.

– In case you missed it, Vancouver, B.C., native Tyson Gillies was released by the Philadelphia Phillies on June 23. The speedy Canadian, who was acquired by the Phillies from Seattle along with fellow Canuck Phillippe Aumont in a deal for Cliff Lee in December 2009, hit just .214 in 43 games in Triple-A this season. Now in his eighth professional campaign, the 25-year-old outfielder has yet to play in the big leagues.

– One thing that has always astounded me about Jackie Robinson’s stat line from his 1946 season with the Montreal Royals is his walk-to-strikeout ratio. In 553 plate appearances that season, the trailblazing superstar registered 92 base on balls and struck out just 27 times.

– Am I the only one that was hoping that Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista would’ve pleaded with manager John Gibbons to pinch-hit in the late innings of one of the club’s close games last week? Yes, he did pinch-hit in Sunday’s game, but the club could’ve used him earlier in the week. If he’s not on the disabled list and he says he can pinch-hit, then, in my opinion, he should step up and pinch-hit, especially when the game is close in the eighth or ninth inning.

– It was one of those feel-good stories while it lasted. After 12 seasons in the minors, London, Ont., native Jamie Romak made his major league debut on May 28. The 28-year-old Canadian got into 15 games with the Dodgers, but managed one hit in 21 at bats before he was designated for assignment on Wednesday.

– While giving a tour to a group of Grade 1 students from Little Falls Public School at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday, one student stumped me when he asked who hit the first home run in major league history? Well, hopefully he’s reading this, because I went home and looked it up. Chicago White Sox player Ross Barnes clubbed the first home run in National League history in the fifth inning of a game at the Avenue Grounds in Cincinnati on May 2, 1876.

 

6 thoughts on “But What Do I Know? . . . Matt Stairs, Tyson Gillies, Jackie Robinson

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    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:

      The students do, indeed, ask good questions. Thanks for the comment, Scott.

  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/
    tomvalcke says:

    Hi Kevin:

    I always enjoy these nice breaks in my day when I get these emails. I heard a stat yesterday that I haven’t verified, nor looked if it is as special as it sounds to me. DiMaggio had more homeruns that strikeouts, apparently? True? Uncommon? Super-uncommon? Impossible??????

    I cc’d Scott and Zach in case they know or have an opinion ….

    Tom

    Tom Valcke Field Manager/GM iCASE Baseball Academy International Canadian Academy of Sports Excellence http://icasebaseball.com Personal Email: valcke@quadro.net Cell: 519.703.4088

    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, Tom. I think Scott provided you with the answer. DiMaggio had 361 homers and 369 Ks.

  2. Devon Teeple – Highly motivated and hard-working professional offering solid business skills in both baseball and corporate enterprises. Lifetime’s experience in athletics, culminating with a pro contract in 2001. Intimate knowledge of the athletic industry from the inside, with specific knowledge of what it takes to win, on the field and in the back office. Outgoing and extremely hard working with a passion for athletics and an ability to contribute immediately.
    Devon Teeple says:

    Love the Matt Stairs pic!

    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, Devon. It’s the Matt Stairs 1992 Bowman rookie card.

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