Kevin Glew’s Canadian Baseball History Blog
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported on Friday that the Pittsburgh Pirates intend to extend a $15.3-million qualifying offer to free agent Russell Martin. Coming off one of his finest big league seasons, the Canadian catcher reportedly declined a multi-year offer by Pirates during... Continue Reading →
On December 23, 1974, Montreal Expos president John McHale and general manager Jim Fanning trekked to Ahoskie, N.C., to attempt to reel in a "Catfish." No, this wasn't a fishing expedition, but rather a pitch by the Expos' top executives to try to convince reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, Catfish Hunter, to toe... Continue Reading →
When Tony Gwynn slashed a single into centre field in the first inning on August 6, 1999 at Olympic Stadium, he became the first player to register their 3,000th big league hit outside of the United States. Numbering just 13,540, the small but boisterous Montreal crowd rewarded the eight-time batting champ with a lengthy standing... Continue Reading →
Courtesy of Adam Morrissette, Baseball Canada (www.baseball.ca) OTTAWA - Eric Wood (Pickering, ON) became the first Canadian selected in the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft when the Pittsburgh Pirates took him in the sixth round, 196th overall. In total, nine Canadians were selected on day two of MLB’s First-Year Player Draft which saw rounds two... Continue Reading →
He once called his tenure as general manager of the Montreal Royals his best three years in baseball. That’s lofty praise when you consider that Buzzie Bavasi was the architect of four World Series-winning teams with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers. Assembling talent like Sandy Koufax, Jackie Robinson and Duke Snider, the bold New Yorker also... Continue Reading →
For those requiring further evidence that Pat Gillick is a Hall of Fame general manager, I present the following transaction. On December 9, 1982, Gillick, while acting as the Jays GM, shipped pitcher Dale Murray and infielder Tom Dodd to the Yankees for Dave Collins (who would hit .308 and steal 60 bases for Toronto... Continue Reading →
Matt Stairs wants to be play at least one more season. “In a perfect situation, I’d love to go back to Boston because it’s close to home and I always loved hitting in that park,” Stairs told the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo in October. “But I’d play anywhere.” The 42-year-old New Brunswick native now resides... Continue Reading →
(I'm re-posting this entry. This was the first blog entry I wrote before I went public with my blog.) In his candid biography “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” Dick Williams admits he was a “designated smart ass” during his playing career. A chronic shoulder injury hampered him as a player and eventually relegated him to... Continue Reading →