Kevin Glew’s Canadian Baseball History Blog
September 1, 2022 By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Most baseball fans have probably forgotten that Jason Thompson spent nearly three months with the Montreal Expos at the start of the 1986 season. And Thompson would likely prefer it that way. A three-time All-Star with the Detroit Tigers, California Angels and Pittsburgh Pirates before being... Continue Reading →
Photo: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame June 14, 2022 By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame will hold its first in-person induction ceremony since 2019 this Saturday in St. Marys, Ont. Four inductees will be honoured: Jeff Francis (2022), Justin Morneau (2020), Duane Ward (2020) and Pedro Martinez (2018). In... Continue Reading →
Rob Thomson (Corunna, Ont.) has been named interim manager of the Phillies. Photo: Twitter June 3, 2022 By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada The Philadelphia Phillies have fired manager Joe Girardi and have named Canadian Rob Thomson (Corunna, Ont.) as their interim dugout boss for the remainder of the 2022 season. The underperforming Phillies, who... Continue Reading →
May 28, 2022 By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Montreal native Russell Martin is set to officially announce his retirement. The veteran catcher, who hasn’t played a big league game since 2019, told Guillaume Latendresse and Maxim Lapierre during an interview for their La Poche bleue podcast that he’ll make the formal announcement on social... Continue Reading →
May 3, 2022 By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Many of the biggest highlights of Gary Waslewski’s baseball career happened when he was pitching in Canada. In 1965 and 1966, he was a key pitcher for the International League’s Toronto Maple Leafs and helped them capture back-to-back championships. In the latter year, he won 18... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada To say Bill Sampen had an unlikely big league career would be a massive understatement. The former Montreal Expos right-hander grew up in Emden, Ill., a tiny farming community (population 500) and attended an equally tiny high school (approximately 120 students) whose baseball team was managed by the basketball... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Former Montreal Expos scout Kelvin Bowles passed away on Sunday at the age of 82 after a lengthy illness. He died in his home in Smith Mountain Lake, Va. Bowles was a versatile and respected scout for Jim Fanning and the Expos from 1985 to 1990. He was entrusted... Continue Reading →
Manitoba baseball legend Gerry MacKay has passed away at age 91. Photo: Redpath Funeral Home By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Gerry MacKay, the head coach of the first Canadian national team to compete in the Pan Am Games, passed away on January 22 in Brandon, Man., at the age of 91. A multi-sport legend... Continue Reading →
Bob Robertson with the Toronto Blue Jays. By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada He belted three home runs in Game 2 of the 1971 National League Championship Series hitting behind Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell. And he'd club two more during the 1971 World Series to help the Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the Baltimore Orioles in... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Former Montreal Expos manager Bill Virdon passed away on Tuesday at the age of 90. The Pittsburgh Pirates, whom Virdon maintained ties with, announced his death on social media early Tuesday afternoon. Virdon was the dugout boss of the Montreal Expos in 1983 and for most of the 1984... Continue Reading →
