Kevin Glew’s Canadian Baseball History Blog
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 →
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: 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 →
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 →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: Just a reminder that the annual Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction festivities begin this Thursday with a home run derby and celebrity slo-pitch game starting at 6 p.m. at Rotary Field on the Hall of Fame grounds in St. Marys, Ont. Admission to the... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: Congratulations to Langley, B.C., native Brett Lawrie, who recorded his 500th career hit on Thursday. His milestone hit was a single off of Minnesota Twins reliever Trevor May with two out in the top of the eighth inning in a 3-1 win for the Chicago... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Thirty-eight years before David Price was dominating batters for the Toronto Blue Jays, another left-hander from Vanderbilt University was mowing down hitters out of the bullpen in the club’s inaugural season. Mike Willis, a 1972 Vanderbilt graduate, tossed 2-2/3 scoreless innings and recorded a save in his first major... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada He was the Toronto Blue Jays’ first ace. Before there was Dave Stieb, there was Dave Lemanczyk. And few have fought harder to stay on the mound than Lemanczyk, who tossed 11 complete games for a hapless Blue Jays squad in their inaugural season. The strong-willed, 6-foot-4 right-hander pitched... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • There was good news and bad news for Montreal Expos great Tim Raines when the National Baseball Hall of Fame voting results were announced on Wednesday. The bad news is that the speedy former outfielder did not receive the 75 per cent support from... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • This article written by MLB.com’s Andrew Simon offers the best statistical evidence I’ve read yet that Maple Ridge, B.C., native Larry Walker deserves to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Simon uses advanced statistics to make a case for the Canadian... Continue Reading →