Kevin Glew’s Canadian Baseball History Blog
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada It was 15 years ago today that Russell Martin made his major league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Montreal native had been called up from triple-A Las Vegas after Dodgers catcher Dioner Navarro suffered a deep bone bruise on his right wrist from a foul ball off... Continue Reading →
Right-hander Ray Daviault (Montreal, Que.) made his MLB debut with the New York Mets 59 years ago today. By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada It turns out that April 13 is a fairly significant date in Canadian baseball history. Over the years, four Canadians made their major league debuts on this date, while Pete Rose... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada The headline in the Toronto Star the next day read, “When the rain came, Earl went home.” And many of those in attendance at Exhibition Stadium on September 15, 1977 still reminisce about the most costly tirade of Hall of Fame skipper Earl Weaver's career. A master strategist and... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada No one could’ve predicted that Dick Fowler would make history on September 9, 1945. Just eight days earlier, the 6-foot-4 Toronto native had returned to the Philadelphia A’s pitching staff after a 30-month term in the Canadian army. Though Fowler had pitched in a recreational league while in the... Continue Reading →
Twenty-nine years ago today, Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.) became the first - and still only - Canadian inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. The Canadian pitching legend was elected in his third year of eligibility along with fellow right-hander Gaylord Perry and seven-time American League batting champion Rod Carew. Jenkins grew... Continue Reading →
It would’ve been understandable if Kevin Reimer was too exhausted to savour the fact that he had just made Canadian baseball history. After all, on August 24, 1993, when the left-handed hitting slugger became the first and only Canadian to record six hits in a major league game, he accomplished this in a grueling, extra-inning... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Fergie Jenkins can’t recall if he walked or ran to the mound when he was called in from the bullpen to make his major league debut with the Philadelphia Phillies on September 10, 1965 - 55 years ago today. “I don’t know how I got there,” writes Jenkins in... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada It was Larry Walker’s first major league game and his opponents were already pitching to him like he was Babe Ruth. At least, that’s what San Francisco Giants first baseman Will Clark told a 22-year-old Walker after he walked for a second time in his big league debut with... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada It seems fitting that the greatest Canadian pitcher was the first hurler to toss a shutout against the Toronto Blue Jays. On April 24, 1977, Fergie Jenkins, toeing the rubber for the Boston Red Sox, dominated the Jays for nine innings in front of 29,303 fans at Exhibition Stadium.... Continue Reading →
Cooperstowners definitely starred in Canada on September 21, 1978. At first glance, the contest between the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays at Exhibition Stadium that night appears to be little more than another late-season loss by the last-place Jays. However, upon closer inspection of the box score, you'll notice that three Bronx Bombers... Continue Reading →