Kevin Glew’s Canadian Baseball History Blog
December 4, 2022 By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Former Toronto Blue Jays slugger Fred McGriff was unanimously elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday by the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee. All 16 members on the committee voted for McGriff. Candidates required 12 of 16 votes (or 75 per cent) to... Continue Reading →
September 30, 2022 By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada He was Pat Gillick’s favourite player. At least that’s how Willie Upshaw was described in some newspaper articles in the 1980s. And the description seems appropriate. After all, it was Gillick who drafted and signed Upshaw for the New York Yankees in 1975 and then again,... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · It’s been 83 years since there’s been a full-time Canadian manager in the major leagues. That was when London, Ont., native and Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer George Gibson served as the dugout boss for the Pittsburgh Pirates. But that drought may end soon.... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · Fifty-one years ago today, two days after he was acquired by the Chicago Cubs from the Philadelphia Phillies, Chatham, Ont., native Fergie Jenkins relieved Cubs starter Bob Hendley in the third inning of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field and... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: Take a bow, Don McDougall. It was 41 years ago today that the American League approved the sale of the Toronto expansion franchise to the Labatt Brewing Co. for an estimated $7 million. Part of McDougall’s mandate as president during the mid-’70s was to secure... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: It was 26 years ago today that Chatham, Ont., native Fergie Jenkins was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame to become the first – and still only – Canadian player honoured by the Cooperstown shrine. The 6-foot-5 right-hander won 284 major league games... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: With Bud Selig’s election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Today’s Game Era Committee last Sunday, some baseball writers are now vowing that they will vote for alleged steroid users like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. The train of thought is that... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: Just a reminder that the annual Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction festivities begin this Thursday with a home run derby and celebrity slo-pitch game starting at 6 p.m. at Rotary Field on the Hall of Fame grounds in St. Marys, Ont. Admission to the... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: It has become an Easter tradition on this blog to pay tribute to ex-big league slugger Luke Easter on Easter Sunday. “Luscious Luke” was a hulking, six-foot-four, 240-pound slugger who became the 11th African-American to compete in the big leagues when he debuted with the... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • On Monday, when reporters asked Jose Bautista what it will take for the Toronto Blue Jays to re-sign him after his contract expires at the end of the season, the slugger said that he had a dollar amount in mind (rumored to be at... Continue Reading →