My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · In a final classy gesture, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons will step aside today to allow Montreal native Russell Martin to manage the team for the club’s final game of the season. The 35-year-old Martin, who has not played since September 3, will... Continue Reading →
Joey Votto wins Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Tip O’Neill Award
Courtesy of Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame St. Marys, Ont. – For the fifth time in six years, Etobicoke, Ont., native Joey Votto has won the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Tip O’Neill Award. The St. Marys, Ont.-based shrine presents this honour annually to the Canadian player judged to have excelled in individual achievement and... Continue Reading →
Votto, Martin head list of candidates for Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Tip O’Neill Award
Courtesy of Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame St. Marys – One reached base more times than any other player in the big leagues, while the other threw out more baserunners than any other American League catcher. Yes, Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) and Russell Martin (Montreal, Que.) had outstanding seasons in 2015. But John Axford (Port... Continue Reading →
But What Do I Know? . . . Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Jose Bautista
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • The Montreal Expos will be well represented in Cooperstown today as the National Baseball Hall of Fame inducts its class of 2015. Expos Nation, a passionate group of fans who are pushing for Major League Baseball’s return to Montreal, packed a bus that left... Continue Reading →
But What Do I Know? … Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Edition
Some news and notes from this year’s Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony that took place on Saturday in St. Marys, Ont.: • 2015 inductee Carlos Delgado can relate to what Chris Colabello is going through in left field for the Toronto Blue Jays. Some Blue Jays fans might have forgotten that the club... Continue Reading →
But What Do I Know? . . . John Axford, Phillippe Aumont, Jesse Barfield
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • Before he even threw a pitch in a spring training game for the Colorado Rockies, Canadian reliever John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.) was added to the club’s 40-man roster on Monday. The move means that the 6-foot-5 right-hander, who had signed a minor league... Continue Reading →
Toronto Sun baseball columnist Bob Elliott elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
On April 14, 1978, Bob Elliott reported to Olympic Stadium for his first assignment as the Montreal Expos beat writer for the Ottawa Citizen. The then 28-year-old reporter didn’t know a soul and was so nervous that he was scared to leave his seat in the press box to go to the washroom during the... Continue Reading →
But What Do I Know? . . . Matt Stairs, Tyson Gillies, Jackie Robinson
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: - With this year’s Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in the books, I’ve started to look ahead to 2015. Next year will be Fredericton, N.B., native Matt Stairs’ first year of eligibility and the Canuck slugger, who belted 265 career homers (second-most by... Continue Reading →