My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: · The MLB Draft is set to begin tomorrow night at 7 p.m. E.T. in Secaucus, N.J. Thanks to the compensatory pick they will receive from the Cleveland Indians for Edwin Encarnacion, the Toronto Blue Jays will have two first-round selections (22nd and 28th overall).... Continue Reading →
But What Do I Know? . . . Vern Handrahan, Eric Hinske, James Paxton
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: My condolences to the family of Charlottetown, P.E.I., native and ex-big leaguer Vern Handrahan who passed away after a long battle with cancer on Wednesday at the age of 79. One of just three big league players from P.E.I. (George Wood (Pownal, P.E.I.) and Henry... Continue Reading →
But What Do I Know? . . . Justin Smoak, George Kottaras, Cito Gaston
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: The Toronto Blue Jays signed first baseman Justin Smoak to a two-year contract extension on Saturday. The question many Blue Jays fans are asking is why? Though the payout is relatively modest by today’s standards ($4.125 million per season in 2017 and 2018 and a... Continue Reading →
But What Do I Know? . . . John Scott, George Kottaras, Cole Armstrong
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • Happy 64th Birthday to John Scott, the first player to walk to the plate in a major league game for the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jackson, Miss., native struck out to lead off the bottom of the first inning in the Blue Jays’ inaugural... Continue Reading →
But What Do I Know? . . . Roy Halladay, Josh Donaldson, Yogi Berra
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 →
But What Do I Know? . . . Oscar Taveras, Dwight Smith Jr., Joe Carter
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: • Condolences go out to the family of St. Louis Cardinals prospect Oscar Taveras who was killed in a car accident in the Dominican Republic last night. Reports indicate that the 22-year-old outfielder, who spent his early teen years in Montreal, was driving between Sosua... Continue Reading →
August 16, 1989: Larry Walker makes his big league debut with the Expos
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada It was Larry Walker’s first major league game and his opponents were already pitching to him like he was Babe Ruth. At least, that’s what San Francisco Giants first baseman Will Clark told a 22-year-old Walker after he walked for a second time in his big league debut with... Continue Reading →
But What Do I Know? . . . Scott Richmond, Mark Teahen, David Savage
[twitter-follow screen_name='coopincanada'] My weekly observations about stories around the baseball world from a Canadian perspective: - Two of Canada's greatest baseball players took to Twitter this morning to express their thoughts on the Canadian men's Olympic hockey team's 3-0 victory over Sweden in the gold medal game. "GO CRAZY PEOPLE! GO CRAZY! #canadagold," tweeted Larry... Continue Reading →
Some Canadian links to the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants
There were no Canadian players on the World Champion San Francisco Giants, but with a little digging, I uncovered that several members of the organization have links to The Great White North: Jeff Mallett, a principal owner of the Giants, was born in Vancouver. The former Yahoo! president has been part of the Giants... Continue Reading →