Kevin Glew’s Canadian Baseball History Blog
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Thirty-eight years ago yesterday, Luis Leal tossed a two-hit shutout for the Toronto Blue Jays in their 8-0 win over the eventual American League West champion Chicago White Sox on a steamy night at Comiskey Park. It was the 26-year-old right-hander’s first major league shutout. “It was warm like... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada When you examine a list of the Toronto Blue Jays' Opening Day starting pitchers, all the names you'd expect to see are on it. There's Roy Halladay (seven Opening Day starts), Dave Stieb (four), Jimmy Key (three), Pat Hentgen (two) and Jim Clancy (two). Other prominent names on the... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · Thursday wasn’t a good day for Philadelphia Phillies players born in Victoria, B.C. After allowing one earned run in 4-2/3 innings in his start that day, Nick Pivetta was sent down to the triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs following the game. In four big league... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: In July, the National Baseball Hall of Fame announced it would be revamping its Veterans Committee voting so that separate committees will now examine overlooked candidates from four different eras: Today’s Game (1988 to 2016), Modern Baseball (1970 to 1987), Golden Days (1950 to 1960)... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: If it feels like John Gibbons gets thrown out of a lot of games, that’s because he does get thrown out of a lot of games, at least that’s what the statistics say. Just 45 games into the 2016 season, the Toronto Blue Jays skipper... Continue Reading →
[twitter-follow screen_name='coopincanada'] My weekly observations about stories around the baseball world from a Canadian perspective: - Baseball lifer Vern Benson passed away on Monday at the age of 89. The North Carolina native's 15-year playing career included stops with the Triple-A Toronto Maple Leafs in 1946 and the Class-C Winnipeg Goldeyes in 1956 and 1957.... Continue Reading →
He could have managed the Toronto Blue Jays forever. That's what Stephen Brunt wrote about Bobby Cox in his excellent 1996 book, "Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball." "He could have been to Toronto what Walter Alston was to the Los Angeles Dodgers, skipper for life," wrote Brunt. But that wasn't to be.... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations about stories around the baseball world from a Canadian perspective (Please follow me on Twitter: @kevinglewsports): - The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ont., is offering fans a chance to own a piece of Toronto Blue Jays history. The ball shrine is selling seats from Exhibition Stadium, the first... Continue Reading →
Set to retire at the end of this season, Bobby Cox would like nothing more than to ride off into the sunset with another World Series ring. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely to happen for the Cooperstown-bound skipper, who once piloted the Braves to 14 consecutive division titles. In a best-of-five series, the San Francisco Giants’ starting... Continue Reading →