Kevin Glew’s Canadian Baseball History Blog
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Most longtime Toronto Blue Jays fans can tell you that Bill Singer threw the first regular season pitch in the franchise's history on that snowy day at Exhibition Stadium on April 7, 1977. But who caught that first pitch? The answer is Rick Cerone, who turns 67 today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoyXVG2Xc6E... Continue Reading →
Elliott Wahle, the Toronto Blue Jays' original administrator of player personnel, shown here second from the right, passed away on Friday at the age of 69. He is pictured here at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in St. Marys, Ont., in 2018 with ex-Blue Jays (far left to right) Paul Hodgson (Marysville,... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · Veteran right-hander Dustin Molleken (Regina, Sask.) has signed with the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican Professional League for the 2020 season. This will be the right-hander’s 18th professional campaign. The 35-year-old Molleken informed me, however, that he will pitch for Canada... Continue Reading →
Ron Fairly, the only player to be named an all-star as a member of the Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 81. A cause of death has not been released, but the Seattle Mariners, whom Fairly had most recently worked for as a broadcaster, shared the news... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · On July 1, 1969, the Montreal Expos defeated the Chicago Cubs 11-4 in front of 19,858 fans at Jarry Park in the first major league game played in Canada on Canada Day. Expos pitcher Steve Renko was the star of the contest, holding the... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: I won’t pretend that I really know Chris Colabello, but I do know this, in 29 years of going to spring training in Dunedin and attending Toronto Blue Jays games, I’ve never met a kinder, more generous player. I’ve told this story before, but in... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Thirty-eight years before David Price was dominating batters for the Toronto Blue Jays, another left-hander from Vanderbilt University was mowing down hitters out of the bullpen in the club’s inaugural season. Mike Willis, a 1972 Vanderbilt graduate, tossed 2-2/3 scoreless innings and recorded a save in his first major... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada He was the first rifle-armed Toronto Blue Jays right fielder. Before Jesse Barfield, Shawn Green, Raul Mondesi and Jose Bautista, there was Steve Bowling. The former University of Tulsa running back was the starting right fielder for the Blue Jays in the franchise’s first game on April 7, 1977.... Continue Reading →
He’s the answer to one of the more challenging Canadian baseball trivia questions. Who is the only person to be in a big league uniform for the first game at Exhibition Stadium and the first game at the SkyDome? The answer is Chuck Hartenstein, who was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen for... Continue Reading →
Gary Woods, who played centre field and batted fifth in the first game in Toronto Blue Jays history, died unexpectedly at his home in Solvang, Calif., on Thursday. He was 60 years old. The Santa Barbara Foresters, the California Collegiate League team that Woods had been coaching with, shared on their website that the cause... Continue Reading →
