But What Do I Know? . . . James Paxton, Andrelton Simmons, Roberto Clemente, Chris Reitsma

December 31, 2023

By Kevin Glew

Cooperstowners in Canada

Happy New Year 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:

-The Boston Red Sox have “strong interest” in re-signing James Paxton (Ladner, B.C.), according to Rob Bradford, of Boston radio station WEEI. After missing nearly two full seasons due to Tommy John surgery and other injuries, Paxton posted a 5-1 record and a 2.73 ERA in his first 10 starts with the Red Sox in 2023. He finished the season with a 7-5 record and a 4.50 ERA, while striking out 101 batters in 96 innings. His 19 starts were tied with Guardians right-hander Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) for the most by a Canadian in the majors. The 6-foot-4 lefty, who had signed with the Red Sox prior to the 2022 season, was paid $4 million in 2023. A North Delta Blue Jays and Junior National Team alum, the 35-year-old southpaw has pitched in parts of 10 major league campaigns and owns a 64-38 record and a 3.69 ERA in 156 starts.

–Andrelton Simmons, one of the best defensive shortstops of all-time, has retired. The announcement came via an Instagram post on December 26 from his representatives at ISE Baseball. Selected in the second round of the 2010 MLB draft by the Atlanta Braves, Simmons went on to play parts of 11 major league seasons with the Braves, Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins and Chicago Cubs. He batted .263 with 1,169 hits in 1,225 games, but he was best known for his glove. He captured four Gold Glove Awards at shortstop and had a 4.0 dWAR or better in three seasons. What you might not know about Simmons, however, is that he honed his skills in Canada prior to his major league career. Ian Wilson, of Alberta Dugout Stories, wrote this excellent article in 2020 that shines the spotlight on Simmons’ summer collegiate season with the Yorkton (Saskatchewan) Cardinals of the Western Major Baseball League in 2009. A 19-year-old Simmons batted .291 in 127 at bats that summer and also pitched 17 innings.

-Five players from Canada’s World Baseball Classic team are featured in the 2023 Topps World Baseball Classic set that was released on Dec. 20. The Canuck players included are Freddie Freeman, Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.), Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, B.C.), Otto Lopez and Edouard Julien (Quebec City, Que.). The Naylor and Julien cards are featured below.

-It was 51 years ago today that Pittsburgh Pirates legend Roberto Clemente was killed when his plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff while he was attempting to deliver relief supplies to earthquake-stricken Nicaragua. A 12-time All-Star, Clemente amassed exactly 3,000 hits, was a 12-time Gold Glove Award recipient and won two World Series in his 18-year big league career with the Pirates. Prior to debuting with the Pirates in 1955, he had been signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and assigned to their triple-A affiliate Montreal Royals in 1954. In that season, he batted .257 with two home runs in 87 games before being selected by the Pirates in what was the equivalent of today’s Rule 5 draft.

-Speaking of Clemente and his tenure with the Montreal Royals, a new photo (featured below) of Clemente with the Royals has surfaced and will be sold in Heritage Auctions’ Winter Platinum sale.

-Happy 46th Birthday to Calgary native Chris Reitsma! The former right-hander pitched parts of seven major league seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners before becoming a pitching coach for Canada’s Junior National Team. He also became a respected scout with the Baltimore Orioles and was named the Canadian Baseball Network’s Jim Ridley Award winner, as Canadian scout of the year, in 2017. These days, Reitsma is working as the senior advisor of baseball operations and pitching director at the Webber Wildcats Academy, just outside of Calgary. He also scouts part-time for the Kansas City Royals.

-Congratulations to Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Don McDougall who has been chosen business leader of the year by the Stratford (Ont.) and District Chamber of Commerce. McDougall recently turned 86 and was the major driving force behind landing a big league franchise for Toronto while he was president of Labatt’s in 1976. In recent years in Stratford, McDougall purchased Novatronics, which has become a successful aerospace business. He also headed Rambri Management Inc., a local developer and property management company. The Charlottetown, P.E.I. native was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002.

-Canadian baseball legend Tip O’Neill died on this date in Montreal in 1915. He was 55. He honed his baseball skills in the ballroom of his parents’ hotel in Woodstock, Ont., during his youth. After starring locally, nationally and internationally with barnstorming teams, he was signed by the American Association’s New York Metropolitans. He made his major league debut as a pitcher on May 5, 1883. A formidable moundsman (his career ERA was 3.39), O’Neill was hampered by arm problems early in his career. Fortunately, his bat was potent enough to convince the St. Louis Browns to employ him in their outfield. It was with the Browns that O’Neill became Major League Baseball’s first Triple Crown winner in 1887. In that magical campaign, he set then big league records in hits, doubles, slugging percentage and total bases. His batting average was an astounding .492 (walks were included as hits that season, but even without the walks, his average was .435, the second highest in big league history). When his playing days were over, O’Neill moved to Montreal where he helped secure an Eastern League franchise for the city. The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame hands out the Tip O’Neill Award annually to the player judged to have excelled in individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to baseball’s highest ideals.

-The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame has added some 2023 Blue Jays artifacts to their collection, including jerseys worn by Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) and the lineup card from the game on August 25 when Cleveland Guardians catcher Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) homered in his first major league at bat in Canada. They have also added a base that was used in the Blue Jays game against the Chicago Cubs on August 12 after Jose Bautista was added to the Level of Excellence in a pre-game ceremony.

-This week’s trivia question: This former Blue Jays outfielder turns 58 today. He’s the outfielder that’s the reason the Blue Jays wanted to make George Bell a DH in 1988. Can you name him? Please provide your answer in the “Comments” section below.

-The answer to last 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.) was one of Wallace Johnson or Charlie Lea.