Kevin Glew’s Canadian Baseball History Blog
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • Happy Valentine’s Day to you! Former Montreal Expos outfielder Ellis Valentine is the most talented player with the last name “Valentine” to suit up in the big leagues, but here’s a list of the some of the other “Valentines” that have competed in the... 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 →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • Longtime Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay is excited that his former club will be playing in the postseason for the first time in 22 years. Earlier this morning, he sent out a congratulatory message to the Blue Jays on Twitter. “Congrats to the... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson is on pace to post a 9.2 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) this season. WAR is an all-encompassing statistic that measures the number of wins a player (taking into account their offensive and defensive contributions) adds to their... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • When Edwin Encarnacion drove in nine runs (with his three home runs) in the Blue Jays’ 15-1 win over the Detroit Tigers at the Rogers Centre yesterday, he tied Roy Howell’s team record for most RBI in a game. Howell’s record-setting performance came in... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • For a major league team to make the postseason these days, they require their stars to be stars, but they also need to have one or two outstanding performers that come out of nowhere. The Toronto Blue Jays have five such players. Twenty year-old... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • Believe it or not, after Blue Jays centre fielder Kevin Pillar made an ill-advised dive for a line drive hit by Billy Burns in the eighth inning in Thursday’s game against Oakland that turned what should’ve been a single into a triple, there were... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • Don’t get me wrong, Jose Bautista is a great player and the Blue Jays are lucky to have him, but the slugger was rightfully criticized by some members of the media after his initial less-than-enthusiastic assessment of the trade that sent his good friend... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • Right-hander Marco Estrada will get the start for the Toronto Blue Jays today on his 32nd birthday. His birthday present: he gets to pitch against 2011 American League Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander. For the record, this will be Estrada’s first big league... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • After the Toronto Blue Jays traded third baseman Brett Lawrie (Langley, B.C.) to the Oakland A’s as part of the package for Josh Donaldson on November 28, almost every Jays fan I encountered said that they wished the club hadn’t traded Lawrie. My standard... Continue Reading →