Kevin Glew’s Canadian Baseball History Blog
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: If it seems like Russell Martin has hit a lot of clutch, late-inning home runs for the Toronto Blue Jays this season, that’s because he has. Thirteen of the Montreal native’s 19 homers have come in the sixth inning or later. Thirty-two years ago today,... 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: 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: • Happy Valentine’s Day to you! Former Montreal Expos outfielder Ellis Valentine is the most talented player with the last name “Valentine” to suit up in the big leagues, but here’s a list of the some of the other “Valentines” that have competed in the... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • If you’re not convinced that Tim Raines should be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame after reading this Sporting News article, you’ll never be convinced. This story shares many of the former Montreal Expo’s supporting statistics that were up dug up by... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson is on pace to post a 9.2 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) this season. WAR is an all-encompassing statistic that measures the number of wins a player (taking into account their offensive and defensive contributions) adds to their... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • For a major league team to make the postseason these days, they require their stars to be stars, but they also need to have one or two outstanding performers that come out of nowhere. The Toronto Blue Jays have five such players. Twenty year-old... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • Today seems like an appropriate day to remember “Luscious Luke” Easter, 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 Cleveland Indians on August 11, 1949. Known for clubbing tape-measure homers –... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • ESPN’s Darren Wolfson reports that free agent left-hander Scott Diamond (Guelph, Ont.) threw for the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. With Alex Cobb, Drew Smyly and Alex Colome sidelined with injuries and ailments and Matt Moore still recuperating from Tommy John surgery, the Rays... Continue Reading →
