Kevin Glew’s Canadian Baseball History Blog
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: - With this year’s Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in the books, I’ve started to look ahead to 2015. Next year will be Fredericton, N.B., native Matt Stairs’ first year of eligibility and the Canuck slugger, who belted 265 career homers (second-most by... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: - Prized St. Louis Cardinals prospect Oscar Taveras homered in his second big league at bat in his team’s 2-0 win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday. Born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, the 21-year-old outfielder also owns a Canadian passport. According to an... Continue Reading →
He didn't quite make the big leagues, but Wally Fiala must have been able to tell some great stories about his professional baseball career. The gritty infielder, whose road to the big leagues was blocked by Brooklyn Dodgers superstars like Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese and Gil Hodges, roomed with the spirited and loquacious Tommy... Continue Reading →
It was Jackie Robinson who reportedly encouraged the Brooklyn Dodgers to sign Bobby Wilson out of the Negro Leagues. And when No. 42 spoke, the Dodgers listened, especially after his 1949 season in which he won the National League batting title and was named league MVP. Born in 1925 in Dallas, Texas, Wilson proved to... Continue Reading →
"He was not a star, but a nova, appearing, flaring and disappearing . . . " Roger Kahn, The Boys of Summer It would be difficult to describe Joe Black's major league career more accurately and eloquently than Kahn did in his acclaimed 1972 book about the Brooklyn Dodgers. After toeing the rubber in... Continue Reading →
Writer’s Note: Jackie Robinson would've turned 95 today. In honour of his birthday, I present to you the short bio that I wrote for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s website. Prior to breaking Major League Baseball’s colour barrier in 1947, Jackie Robinson starred at second base for the Montreal Royals, a Brooklyn Dodgers farm... Continue Reading →
When Glenn Cox debuted with the Montreal Royals in the spring of 1951, the first batter he faced was Jackie Robinson. The Dodgers' Triple-A Royals were battling their big league peers in an exhibition game, and as Robinson dug into the batter's box, Cox, then a raw, 20-year-old right-hander, stared in for a sign from... Continue Reading →
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame has launched its 2014 membership drive. Now in its 15th year in St. Marys, Ont., the Canuck ball shrine is hoping to increase its number of members by 20 per cent heading into what’s destined to be the most exciting year in the Hall’s history. “If everything goes as... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations about stories around the baseball world from a Canadian perspective (Please follow me on Twitter: @kevinglewsports): · At what point will Toronto Blue Jays fans start calling Emilio Bonifacio E4? As exciting as he has been offensively, he has been equally inept defensively at second base. · Three Canadians played portions of... Continue Reading →
I don't like to listen to myself talk (a lot of stammering), but I was honoured to be asked to speak about Jackie Robinson's 1946 season with the Montreal Royals for a Canadian Baseball Network podcast (I talked for about 40 minutes). With help from Peter Bean, Scott Crawford and Alexis Brudnicki, I believe this... Continue Reading →