Esteemed Toronto Sun baseball scribe Bob Elliott was named the 2010 winner of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame's Jack Graney Award yesterday. This honour has been handed out just 12 times in the past 24 years. Here's a list of the previous winners, as well as some information about Jack Graney himself (courtesy of... Continue Reading →
Where will Erik Bedard end up in 2011?
A bad attitude and a bad shoulder make for a bad investment. This is probably an unfair assessment of Navan, Ont., native Erik Bedard, who has been sidelined by injuries for the bulk of the past three seasons. He missed the entire 2010 campaign with shoulder woes. A Cy Young candidate with the Orioles in... Continue Reading →
Five things you might not know about John Farrell
It was hard not to be impressed by John Farrell in yesterday’s news conference that introduced him as the Blue Jays new manager. The Jays new field boss came across as ambitious, articulate, intelligent and confident, and the former Red Sox pitching coach appears to be universally respected in baseball circles. The New Jersey native... Continue Reading →
Bob Alexander: A British Columbia pitching pioneer
In recent years, British Columbia has become a hotbed for baseball talent. Current major leaguers Justin Morneau (New Westminster, BC), Jason Bay (Trail, BC), Ryan Dempster (Gibsons, BC), Rich Harden (Victoria, BC), Jeff Francis (North Delta, BC) and Blake Hawksworth (North Vancouver, BC) all hail from Canada’s western-most province. But 55 years ago, Bob Alexander... Continue Reading →
Baseball pioneer Larry Doby was a batting coach in Montreal
Like Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby, the first African-American to play in the American League, also enjoyed a tenure in Montreal. His stint in Canada, however, came 23 years after he originally expected it. As Jackie Robinson was starring for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate Montreal Royals in 1946, Doby was tearing it up with the Newark... Continue Reading →