Kevin Glew’s Canadian Baseball History Blog
The 1997 National League Cy Young Award won by Montreal Expos pitcher Pedro Martinez will be one of the new artifacts on display at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ont., when it opens for the season on May 3.
My weekly "But What Do I Know?" column discusses the World Baseball Classic, Cal Quantrill, Tristan Pompey and Jerry Howarth.
Two former big league pitchers, a legendary Toronto Blue Jays outfielder and a grassroots coach and executive who has devoted seven decades to baseball have been elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Former Montreal Expos left-hander Denis Boucher (Montreal, Que.), ex-Oakland A’s right-hander Rich Harden (Victoria, B.C.) and rifle-armed ex-Blue Jays right fielder Jesse Barfield will be inducted in a ceremony at the Hall of Fame grounds in St. Marys, Ont., on June 17. Longtime Manitoba baseball coach and executive Joe Wiwchar will also be inducted.
Right-hander John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.) would like to play for Canada at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Photo: Baseball Canada July 10, 2022 By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada -Right-hander John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.) is hoping to pitch for Canada at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The 39-year-old right-hander hinted at that in... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: – Rest in peace to Canada's hockey dad, Walter Gretzky. He passed away on Thursday at the age of 82 after battling Parkinson's disease and a number of other health issues. The senior Gretzky was also a big baseball... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: – Canadian Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) appears to have found his batting stroke again. Hitting leadoff for the Cincinnati Reds, the Canuck slugger is 8-for-24 (.333 batting average) in his last seven games. Three of those hits have been... Continue Reading →
This is the third in my “Find the Canadian Connection” feature. For this feature, I close my eyes and reach into a random box of baseball cards in my basement and pull out a single card. I then try to establish a Canadian connection for the player featured on the card. The card I... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • Who says you need to have a lively young arm to be a successful big league pitcher? With the shutout he tossed on Saturday against the Miami Marlins, 42-year-old, former Montreal Expo Bartolo Colon has now hurled 25 consecutive scoreless innings for the New... Continue Reading →
[twitter-follow screen_name='coopincanada'] My weekly observations about stories around the baseball world from a Canadian perspective: - Thanks to Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame volunteer and SABR member, Andrew North, for sharing with me that Huntsville, Ont., native George Selkirk, a former New York Yankees outfielder, once belted four home runs off of the same pitcher... Continue Reading →
The consensus among Blue Jays fans is that Frank Thomas's tenure in Toronto was a disaster. The Big Hurt was 38 years old when he inked a two-year, $18.12-million deal with the Blue Jays on November 18, 2006. It's a contract that many Jays supporters rank as one of the worst in franchise history. But... Continue Reading →