Kevin Glew’s Canadian Baseball History Blog
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: My condolences to Great Lake Canadians and Junior National Team alum and Baltimore Orioles prospect Adam Hall (London, Ont.) whose father Tyler passed away on Monday at the age of 53 after a long battle with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood plasma. According... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · Calgary, Alta., native Mike Soroka made his regular start for the Atlanta Braves on Friday despite being hit in the right forearm by a pitch from Washington Nationals right-hander Austin Voth in the second inning of a game last Sunday. The Braves removed him... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · In case you missed it, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame announced its 2019 induction class on Tuesday. Former slugger Jason Bay (Trail, B.C.), versatile ex-pitcher Ryan Dempster (Gibsons, B.C.), esteemed coach Rob Thomson (Corunna, Ont.) and long-time executive Gord Ash (Toronto, Ont.) will... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · Like father, like son. At least, that would be the dream scenario for the Toronto Blue Jays as their top prospect, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., is in Cooperstown for his father’s National Baseball Hall of Fame induction this weekend. We all know how great the... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: I hope Toronto Blue Jays fans savored their opportunity to watch Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Clayton Kershaw make his first career start at Rogers Centre yesterday, even if he wasn’t at his most dominant. When all is said and done, Kershaw will be considered the... Continue Reading →
"He doesn't just hit pitchers. He takes away their dignity." Don Sutton, on Willie Stargell's propensity for belting long home runs. That must have been how Montreal Expos southpaw Dan McGinn felt on July 16, 1969. With the Pittsburgh Pirates trailing 6-2 in the top of the eighth inning at Jarry Park, Stargell strolled... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Bill James, baseball's most influential statistician, ranks him as the greatest second baseman in major league history, and fans that watched Joe Morgan play at Jarry Park would probably agree. In 43 games at the old Montreal ballpark, the 5-foot-7, 160-pound second baseman clubbed seven homers and recorded a... Continue Reading →
In a previous blog entry, I noted that Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa - two of the three legendary managers recently elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame - spent portions of their professional careers in Canada. Cox, of course, managed the Toronto Blue Jays for four seasons from 1982 to 1985, while... Continue Reading →
Roberto Clemente appears comfortable and serene as he signs autographs for an eager group of kids in the above photo that was snapped at Jarry Park in 1970. But if you examine this baseball legend's numbers in Montreal during his professional career, you'd have to think that Clemente was frustrated for much of the time... Continue Reading →
On February 24, I wrote about the Toronto Blue Jays’ first spring training game that took place on March 11, 1977 in Dunedin, Fla. But what happened in the Montreal Expos’ first spring training contest eight years earlier? To find out, I trekked over to the D.B. Weldon Library at Western University to track down... Continue Reading →
