But What Do I Know? . . . Matt Lloyd, Shi Davidi, Tim Wallach, Milt Dunnell

December 24, 2023

By Kevin Glew

Cooperstowners in Canada

Happy Holidays to all of my followers and friends!

Thank you for your support in 2023.

Here are some Canadian baseball news and notes from the past week:

-Former Okotoks Dawgs slugger Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, Alta.) has signed a minor league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. Most recently, he played for the Mayos de Navojoa of the Mexican Pacific Winter League, batting .295 with nine home runs and 28 RBIs in 55 games. This came on the heels of a productive season with the independent American Association’s Sioux City Explorers where he hit .321 with 14 home runs, 17 stolen bases and 61 RBIs in 88 games. Lloyd also went 4-for-13 (.308 batting average) with a double, triple, home run, four runs and three RBIs for the national team at the Pan Am Games Qualifier in Argentina in June. For his efforts, he was named the Men’s National Team Most Valuable Player by Baseball Canada. Lloyd, 27, honed his skills with the Indiana Hoosiers and Dawgs before being selected in the 15th round of the 2019 MLB draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He spent parts of three seasons in the Reds’ organization, rising as high as double-A.

-Right-hander Jake Polancic (Langley, B.C.) has signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. The 6-foot-3 righty has spent the last two seasons with the independent American Association’s Evansville Otters. In 2023, he posted a 2.16 ERA and registered 17 saves, while striking out 48 batters in 33 1/3 innings in 32 appearances, as the team’s closer. The Langley Blaze alum, who turned 25 in June, was chosen in the 11th round of the 2016 MLB draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He pitched parts of four seasons in the D-Backs’ organization from 2016 to 2019.

-Congratulations to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi on winning Baseball Canada’s Bob Elliott Media Recognition Award. I’m consistently impressed by the quality of his work and his productivity. He has covered baseball for 23 years, and he’s not only a topnotch professional baseball writer and analyst, but he has always made time to cover the national team and its program. He and Bob Elliott are the only two Canadian reporters to cover all five World Baseball Classics. You can read more about Davidi and the award here.

-The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame has added a pair of cleats worn by Milwaukee Brewers infield prospect Dylan O’Rae (Sarnia, Ont.) to their collection. In November, O’Rae, 19, was named second baseman on the Brewers’ Organization team by MILB.com. Before he received a promotion in August, the Great Lake Canadians and Junior National alum was leading the Rookie Ball Arizona Complex League in on-base percentage (.522) and stolen bases (28) and was fourth in batting average (.362). O’Rae continued to showcase tremendous plate discipline in the class-A Carolina League, batting .330 with a .439 OBP in 23 games for the Carolina Mudcats. He also added 16 stolen bases to finish with a combined 44 steals. This made him one of just two players in the affiliated minor league ranks to register at least 40 stolen bases in 60 or fewer games. In total, the Brewers’ 2022 third-round pick hit a combined .349 with a .491 OBP and 57 walks in 60 games.

-The Canadian ball hall has also added a pair of cleats and batting gloves worn by Los Angeles Angels’ outfield prospect David Calabrese (Maple, Ont.), as well as a game-used SAM bat, to their collection. Selected in the third round of the 2020 MLB draft by the Angels, the Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team alum has played three professional seasons. The speedy 21-year-old spent 2023 with the Angels’ double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas, where he hit .194 with 15 home runs and 14 stolen bases in 122 games.

-After playing a record 1,767 games with the Montreal Expos, Tim Wallach was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on this date 31 years ago for minor league infielder Tim Barker. Wallach, who also holds Expos records for hits (1,694), doubles (360), RBIs (905) and total bases (2,728), was 35 at the time. He’d spend parts of the next four seasons with the Dodgers before retiring after the 1996 campaign. Barker suited up for just one season in the Expos’ organization, batting a combined .270 with six home runs, 30 RBIs and 12 stolen bases in 100 games between double-A Harrisburg and triple-A Ottawa in 1993.

– Please take a moment to remember legendary sports writer Milt Dunnell who was born in St. Marys, Ont., on this date in 1905. The highly respected scribe was best known for his work for the Toronto Star from 1949 to 1994, but he also wrote for Sports Illustrated in 1988. He was the second winner of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Jack Graney Award, which is presented annually to a member of the media who has made significant contributions to baseball in Canada through their life’s work. He passed away in 2008 when he was 102 years young.

-My condolences to the family of longtime Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame supporter Lee Beam who passed away on Monday at the age of 82. He was a respected Dorchester, Ont., baseball coach, a passionate collector and most importantly, a proud and much-loved husband, father and grandfather. His passion for old baseball gloves was unmatched. I visited his home twice this fall to see his collection of old gloves and memorabilia. At one point while at his house, I stopped at the mini Dale Murphy display he had on his wall. I told him that Murphy was my favourite player when I was a kid. Lee pulled a signed Murphy card off his wall and gave it to me. He wanted me to have it. That’s the kind of guy he was. You can read his obituary here.

-Speaking of great guys and tremendous Canadian baseball supporters from my hometown of Dorchester, Ont., today I remember Lorne Thompson, one of the most influential baseball coaches and teachers from my youth who passed away five years ago. He was a one-of-a-kind guy without filter which is part of what made him so endearing. He was also generous, encouraging and passionate about baseball. He moved me from the infield to centre field when I was 13, which gave me more opportunities to chase fly balls, something he knew I loved to do. That did wonders for my self-esteem at that age. I was fortunate to stay connected with Lorne and we became good friends. I always looked forward to our chats about the Toronto Blue Jays, Montreal Expos, baseball cards and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees (which he rarely agreed with, but that also made him lovable). I sure do miss him. I’m thinking of his wife, Barb, and sons Robert, Chris and daughter, Sarah, today and sending my love.

-This week’s trivia question: Two members of the 1981 Montreal Expos team – their only squad to advance to the postseason – were born on Christmas Day in 1956. Name one of them. Please provide your answer in the “Comments” section below.

-The answer to last week’s trivia question (Who is the only baseball player to have won the Northern Star Award (formerly the Lou Marsh Award), as Canada’s athlete of the year, twice?) was Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) in 2010 and 2017.