My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · Wednesday might have been the greatest day ever for Canadian pitchers in the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system. Shane Dawson (Drayton Valley, Alta.) and Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) started and picked up the wins for double-A New Hampshire and class-A Advanced Dunedin respectively,... Continue Reading →
But What Do I Know? . . . Joey Votto, Tim Raines, Felipe Alou, Buck Martinez
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · It’s been a great season for Etobicoke, Ont., native Joey Votto, but the past two weeks have been particularly memorable. On June 28, he broke Maple Ridge, B.C., native Larry Walker’s record for most career walks by a Canadian when he notched his 914th... Continue Reading →
But What Do I Know? . . . Saunders, Guerrero, Halladay, Votto, Zimmerman
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · How humbling can it be to be a professional baseball player? Last year at this time, Victoria, B.C., native Michael Saunders was enjoying his first of two consecutive, three-hit games for the Toronto Blue Jays and was headed to his first all-star game. This... Continue Reading →
But What Do I Know? . . . Fergie Jenkins, Rheal Cormier, Hank Aaron, Tom Burgess
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · Fifty-one years ago today, two days after he was acquired by the Chicago Cubs from the Philadelphia Phillies, Chatham, Ont., native Fergie Jenkins relieved Cubs starter Bob Hendley in the third inning of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field and... Continue Reading →
But What Do I Know? . . . Wayne Gretzky, Jim McKean, Roy Halladay, Tim Raines
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: On the Dan Patrick Show on Thursday, Wayne Gretzky shared that baseball was his favourite sport when he was growing up. The Brantford, Ont., native, who’s the NHL’s all-time leading scorer, said that if he had been given the choice of playing professional hockey or... Continue Reading →
But What Do I Know? . . . Tim Raines, Larry Walker, Johnny Rutherford, Jim Adduci
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: So far so good for Montreal Expos legend Tim Raines in the National Baseball Hall of Fame voting. Thanks to the hard-working Ryan Thibodaux, who documents baseball writers’ ballots that have been made public, we know that Raines has been named on 139 of 153... Continue Reading →
But What Do I Know? . . . Terry Francona, Brad Mills, Joe Carter
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: The 1982 Topps Montreal Expos Future Stars card (pictured above) showcases Terry Francona and Brad Mills together on their first Topps baseball card. Both played for the Expos’ only playoff team in 1981 and 35 years later, Mills is serving as Francona’s bench coach for... Continue Reading →
But What Do I Know? . . . Mark Shapiro, Russell Martin, Cito Gaston
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 →
But What Do I Know? . . . Michael Saunders, Dustin Molleken, Andre Dawson
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: Victoria, B.C., native Michael Saunders is the only Canadian player headed to the MLB All-Star Game in San Diego on Tuesday. Garnering 17.7 million fan votes, Saunders defeated the four other “Final Vote” candidates – George Springer, Dustin Pedroia, Evan Longoria and Ian Kinsler –... Continue Reading →
But What Do I Know? . . . Dustin Molleken, Dustin McGowan, Fergie Jenkins
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: After 13 long seasons in the minors, right-hander Dustin Molleken (Regina, Sask.) was called up by the Detroit Tigers on Monday. Unfortunately, he did not pitch in a game before the Tigers shipped him back to triple-A Toledo two days later. A 15th round pick... Continue Reading →