Kevin Glew’s Canadian Baseball History Blog
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · To Toronto Blue Jays fans, it’s simply known as the “bat flip” and it happened three years ago today. The seventh inning of Game 5 of the 2015 American League Division Series against the Texas Rangers was arguably the wildest and most exciting inning... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · If I’m a Canadian major leaguer, I’d consider wearing full body armor in the field these days. In the past two weeks, three Canadians, James Paxton (Ladner, B.C.), John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.) and Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) have been hit with fast-moving baseballs... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · Etobicoke, Ont., native Joey Votto reached two more statistical milestones this week. On Tuesday, the Cincinnati Reds slugger scored his 100th run of the season. This marks the fifth time he has tallied 100 runs in a major league season, tying him with... 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: Five years ago, Langley, B.C., native Brett Lawrie was on top of the Canadian baseball world. After recording a .373 on-base percentage and belting nine home runs in his first 43 major league games with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2011, the sparkplug infielder went... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: Plenty of criticism was levelled at Toronto Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro last off-season when the club did not re-sign David Price. Of course, in hindsight, given that J.A. Happ outperformed Price this season and Price’s post-season struggles have continued, it’s now easy to applaud... 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: The Toronto Blue Jays signed first baseman Justin Smoak to a two-year contract extension on Saturday. The question many Blue Jays fans are asking is why? Though the payout is relatively modest by today’s standards ($4.125 million per season in 2017 and 2018 and a... 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 →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: It’s now been confirmed that 2016 Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Tony Kubek will not be attending the ceremony on June 18 in St. Marys, Ont. The four other living inductees – Pat Hentgen, Dennis Martinez, Wayne Norton and Howard Starkman – will all... Continue Reading →