Kevin Glew’s Canadian Baseball History Blog
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Former Montreal Expos first baseman and pinch hitter Hal Breeden passed away on May 3 at the age of 76. Veteran author and longtime Expos writer Danny Gallagher was the first to report Breeden's death. Breeden died at his home in Leesburg, Ga. No cause of death has been... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada The first "Boomer" Wells to play for the Toronto Blue Jays wasn't given much of an opportunity to excel with the club. And in hindsight, it's hard to understand why. In August 1981, when the 6-foot-5 slugger, whose birth name is Greg, was summoned to the big leagues for... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · Congratulations to all of Baseball Canada’s 2018 National Team Award winners. The following awards were handed out on Saturday night: Stubby Clapp Award – Rowan Wick (North Vancouver, B.C.) Special Recognition Award – Jamie Romak (London, Ont.) Junior National Team MVP - Bo Naylor... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · Congratulations to Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee and Canadian Baseball Network founder Bob Elliott and former Montreal Expos catcher and current Blue Jays Central studio analyst Joe Siddall on their inductions into the Baseball Ontario Hall of Fame which took place last... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · Happy 58th Birthday to Paul Hodgson, who was the second Canadian to play for the Toronto Blue Jays. The Marysville, N.B., native was the first right-handed hitting Canuck to belt a home run for the Blue Jays. After signing with the Blue Jays on... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: The best line I heard about home plate umpire Vic Carapazza’s questionable strike zone that led to the ejections of Edwin Encarnacion, John Gibbons and Russell Martin in the Blue Jays’ 19-inning loss to the Cleveland Indians on Canada Day came from Sportsnet hockey blogger... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • On Thursday, Josh Donaldson became the third Toronto Blue Jays player to be named the American League MVP, joining George Bell, who won the honour in 1987 and Carlos Delgado in 2003. Oh wait. Sorry. Delgado finished second in 2003 to Alex Rodriguez in... Continue Reading →
When Glenn Mickens raved to a baseball acquaintance about a promising, young outfielder that was playing behind him on the 1954 Montreal Royals, he may have inadvertently inspired a transaction that would change Pittsburgh Pirates history. “Ironically, one of the other scouts that helped sign me, Howie Haak, was now with the Pirates and came... Continue Reading →
My weekly opinions, observations and rants about some Canadian baseball stories: “The tighter the situation, the worse he pitches” is how former Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi described Jason Frasor last July -- an interesting statement when you consider that Ricciardi traded Jayson Werth to the Dodgers for Frasor in 2004. But in watching Frasor... Continue Reading →