November 14, 2025
By Kevin Glew
Cooperstowners in Canada
Oakland A’s centre fielder Denzel Clarke won the Capital One Premier Play of the year at the MLB Awards at the Chelsea Theater in Las Vegas on Thursday night.
The Pickering, Ont., native captured the honour for his Spiderman-like, wall-climbing grab that robbed Los Angeles Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel of a home run in the first inning of a game at Anaheim Stadium on June 9.
“Sometimes I look back at it, and I’m like, ‘That’s me?!’” Clarke told MLB.com about his award-winning catch, prior to the MLB Awards last night. “Other times I look at it, and I’m like: ‘That was kind of nasty.’ And then sometimes I’m kind of just like: ‘That’s just me playing baseball.’”
That play earned Clarke his second of a record three consecutive MLB Electric Play of the Week awards this season.
Prior to his first MLB call-up on May 23, Clarke batted .286 and posted a .436 on-base percentage in 31 games for the triple-A Las Vegas Aviators.
After his promotion, he made several highlight reel catches in centre field for the A’s before he suffered what proved to be a season-ending abductor strain injury on July 20.
In total in 47 major league contests in 2025, Clarke batted .230 with three home runs, eight doubles and two triples.
Selected by the A’s in the fourth round of the 2021 MLB draft, the Toronto Mets and Junior National Team grad just completed his fifth pro season.
Pivetta finishes sixth in NL Cy Young voting
San Diego Padres right-hander Nick Pivetta (Victoria, B.C.) finished sixth in the National League Cy Young Award voting.
Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes was the winner. All 30 baseball writers who voted had Skenes first on their ballot in the results that were announced on Wednesday.
Pivetta received seven, fifth-place votes and his sixth-place finish is the highest by a Canadian in the NL Cy Young Award voting since right-hander Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.), then with the Atlanta Braves, also finished sixth in 2019.
After signing a four-year contract with the Padres in the off-season, Pivetta proceeded to lead all Canadian big league pitchers in wins (13), starts (31), innings pitched (181 2/3), strikeouts (190) and WAR (5.3). He also topped Padres pitchers in all of those categories.
He was also fourth among all major league pitchers in opponents’ batting average (.195), fifth in WHIP (0.985) and hits per innings pitched (6.39), ninth in ERA (2.87) and 10th in quality starts (19). His regular season performance earned him the start in the first game of the Padres’ Wild-Card series against the Chicago Cubs.
The 2025 season represented the best of Pivetta’s nine big league campaigns. He has also pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox.
Clarke’s 3 catches were amazing! So crazy good. Let’s hope for big 2026.
Same with Nick. He put in a full season of great pitching
Thanks for your comment, Scott.
Thanks for the update.
Thanks for reading it.
Thanks for the update.
Thanks for your support, Bob.