Kevin Glew’s Canadian Baseball History Blog
Photo: Minnesota Twins program By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Without Rod Carew, Tony Fernandez probably wouldn’t have recorded more hits than any other player in Toronto Blue Jays history. Fernandez, who rapped out 1,583 hits with the Blue Jays, idolized the Panama-born Hall of Famer and modeled his batting stance after him. And if... Continue Reading →
June 14, 2020 By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: - Veteran right-handers Scott Mathieson and Scott Richmond, who were both born in Vancouver, had hoped to pitch for Canada at the Olympics this summer and then retire. With the Olympics postponed until 2021, however, both... Continue Reading →
This is the fifth in my “Find the Canadian Connection” feature. For this feature, I close my eyes and reach into a random box of baseball cards in my basement and pull out a single card. I then try to establish a Canadian connection for the player featured on the card. The card I pulled... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · It has become an Easter tradition on this blog to pay tribute to ex-big league slugger Luke Easter on Easter Sunday. “Luscious Luke” was a hulking, 6-foot-4, 240-pound slugger who became the 11th African-American to compete in the big leagues when he debuted with... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · For me, the best news out of Toronto Blue Jays spring training has been that Vancouver native Scott Richmond is working as an analyst on the club’s radio broadcasts. The former Blue Jays pitcher is one of the nicest guys in his sport and... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: Yesterday would’ve been Montreal Expos legend Gary Carter’s 63rd birthday. It seems fitting that Carter’s birthday falls on the same date as the first-ever Expos regular season game. Carter would’ve turned 15 on April 8, 1969 when the Expos defeated the New York Mets (the... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: It’s safe to say that 2016 National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza enjoyed hitting against the Toronto Blue Jays. In 117 games versus the Blue Jays – including one at Exhibition Stadium – Griffey Jr. batted .301, belted 35... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • When I was leafing through some old baseball cards, I stumbled upon a 1991 Upper Deck Tony Gwynn card (above). This card pictures Gwynn signing autographs at the SkyDome in Toronto prior to the 1991 all-star game. I can’t think of a better way... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada George Brett was a Blue Jay killer. Any longtime Toronto Blue Jays fan is likely to tell you that. And of the seemingly countless games in which the Hall of Fame third baseman teed off on Blue Jays' pitching, Game 3 of the 1985 American League Championship Series (ALCS)... Continue Reading →
The consensus among Blue Jays fans is that Frank Thomas's tenure in Toronto was a disaster. The Big Hurt was 38 years old when he inked a two-year, $18.12-million deal with the Blue Jays on November 18, 2006. It's a contract that many Jays supporters rank as one of the worst in franchise history. But... Continue Reading →