BWDIK: Barger, Clement, Lindros, Naylor, Rogers
This Topps Now card was created shortly after Addison Barger became the first player to hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the World Series in Game 1 on Friday night.
October 26, 2025
By Kevin Glew
Canadian Baseball Network
Some Canadian baseball news and notes:
World Series Fun Facts
As you already know, the Toronto Blue Jays were beaten 5-1 by the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of the World Series last night.
Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto tossed a complete game, retiring the last 20 Blue Jays batters in order. It was the second consecutive complete game he has thrown this postseason.
If you read this column, you know how much I love my fun baseball facts.
Here are a few fun facts from the first two games of the World Series:
-In the sixth inning of Game 1, Addison Barger became the first player to hit a pinch-hit grand slam in a World Series game.
-Barger’s blast made him the second Blue Jay to homer in their first World Series at bat. The first was Ed Sprague in the ninth inning of Game 2 of the 1992 World Series.
-Really fun fact: Barger did all of this after sleeping on Davis Schneider‘s pull-out couch the night before. Story here.
–According to FoxSports, when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.), Bo Bichette and Daulton Varsho were in the Blue Jays’ lineup on Friday night, it marked the first time that the sons of three former major league players started in the same World Series game.
-When Alejandro Kirk socked a two-run home run in the sixth inning of Game 1, it marked the first time that a player born in Mexico had homered in the World Series, according to the Toronto Blue Jays.
-Just six players on the Blue Jays’ roster were alive when the club won their last World Series in 1993. They are George Springer (36), Tyler Heineman (34), Kevin Gausman (34), Chris Bassitt (36), Max Scherzer (41) and Jeff Hoffman (32).
–According to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, 18 players born in Canada have competed in the World Series. The first was outfielder John O’Neill (Saint John, N.B.) with the Chicago White Sox in 1906.
–Per Baseball Reference, 88 players have played for the Blue Jays and Dodgers over the years, three of those were born in Canada: Paul Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.), Russell Martin (Montreal, Que.) and John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.).
-I can’t recall a more magical rendition of the Canadian national anthem than I heard from gospel choir Voices of Fire before Game 1 of the World Series at Rogers Centre. Please watch this:
The anniversary of the Blue Jays’ first World Series parade
On this date 33 years ago, tens of thousands of sports fans packed the streets in downtown Toronto for the parade to celebrate the Blue Jays’ first World Series title.
Two days earlier, the Blue Jays had captured their first championship when they defeated the Atlanta Braves 4-3 in 11 innings at Fulton County Stadium.
At the time, it was the most attended sports championship parade in Canada’s history.
“The parade was one of the most amazing things I ever saw — over a million people, no trouble,” Tom Henke, the closer on the 1992 Blue Jays told Sportsnet a few years ago. “I felt amazing satisfaction to be able to bring that city [a championship]. I felt a part of it having been there for seven years.”
Dave Winfield, who at the age of 41 drove in the game-winning run with a double in the 1992 World Series-clinching game, also has fond memories of the parade.
“When we won, it wasn’t just for a city or for a region. It was for a whole country. It was for Canada, coast to coast,” reflected Winfield in an interview with Sportsnet. “The times I’ve been back to Toronto, especially the first couple of years, I said “Man, I don’t need no passport to come back up.” They say, “Welcome! Come on up, brother.” It feels like I made a country of friends for life.”
From left to right: John Schneider, Mason Fluharty, Trey Yesavage, Davis Schneider and Addison Barger all spent time with the Vancouver Canadians. Photo: Vancouver Canadians
Vancouver Canadians alum on the Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays aren’t the first professional Canadian team that four of their current players have been on.
Davis Schneider, Addision Barger, Mason Fluharty and Game 1 starter Trey Yesavage all honed their skills with the class-A Vancouver Canadians on their way up to the big leagues.
Schneider had 17 home runs in 113 games over parts of three seasons (2019, 2021, 2022) with the Canadians.
Barger, meanwhile, competed in five games for the Canadians in 2021 and then batted .300 with 14 home runs and 53 RBIs in 69 games with them in 2022.
The following season, Fluharty posted a 0.59 ERA and had 21 strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings in 12 relief appearances for the Canadians.
And earlier this year, Yesavage had a 1.56 ERA and fanned 33 batters in 17 1/3 innings in four starts for the Canadians.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider was also the Canadians dugout boss for three seasons (2011, 2014, 2015). He managed them to a league title in 2011 and a division title in 2014.
Clement wins Fielding Bible Award
Congratulations to Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement who has won his first Fielding Bible Award as a multi-position player.
The Fielding Bible Awards were created by Sports Info Solutions in 2006 as an alternative to the Rawlings Gold Glove Awards. The awards are voted on by a panel of experts who take into account statistical data and a number of other factors.
Clement excelled at every infield position outside of catcher and pitcher this season. He played his most games at third base, but, at various times, he filled in at shortstop, second base and first base.
“Clement tied for the MLB lead among all players with 22 Defensive Runs Saved in 2025,” noted Sports Info Solutions in their release. “He is the second player to record at least 10 Runs Saved at two infield positions in the same season. The other is Ryan McMahon for the 2021 Rockies. Clement had 11 Runs Saved at third base (good for fourth-most) and 10 Runs Saved at second base (third-most).”
Sports Info Solutions also noted that Clement is the second consecutive Blue Jay to win the multi-position award. Daulton Varsho won it last year.
Just one other Blue Jays infielder has captured a Fielding Bible Award: Aaron Hill, at second base in 2007 and 2009.
Re-signing Naylor a top priority for Mariners
When talking with reporters after the Seattle Mariners were eliminated by the Blue Jays in the American League Championshipo Series, GM Jerry Dipoto indicated that re-signing free agent first baseman Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) is the team’s top priority.
“He was a boost the day he showed up,” Dipoto told reporters. “I think the other 25 guys were really uplifted by the fact that this was a real, All-Star-level player who was in the middle of having a good year, who has been to the postseasons, who could come in here and give us a little bit of an edge that I’m not entirely sure we’ve ever really had before.”
After being acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 24, the 5-foot-10, 235-pound Naylor became one of the Mariners’ most popular players. Not only did he pound the ball with the M’s – including hitting .299 with nine home runs, 10 doubles and an .831 OPS in 54 regular season games – but he also tore up the base paths. He had 18 stolen bases with the M’s and a surprising 30 on the season.
His strong performance carried over into the postseason in which he batted .340 and had 16 hits (three home runs) in 12 games.
In 93 contests with the D-Backs earlier in 2025, Naylor batted .292 with 11 home runs and 59 RBIs. He was in his first season with the D-Backs after being traded to them by the Cleveland Guardians in December.
This will be the 28-year-old Naylor’s first foray into free agency. He made $10.9 million in 2025.
Happy Birthday Steve Rogers!
Former Montreal Expos ace Steve Rogers turns 76 today.
Selected by the Expos in the first round of the 1971 MLB draft (Secondary Phase), he made minor league stops in Winnipeg and Quebec City prior to his major league debut on July 18, 1973. Rogers made an immediate impression, holding the Houston Astros to two runs in eight innings in his first start and tossing a one-hit shutout against the Phillies in his second. His 10 wins and 1.54 ERA in his rookie campaign earned him National League Rookie Pitcher of the Year honours from The Sporting News.
Over the course of his 13-year big league career, spent entirely with the Expos, Rogers racked up 15 or more wins in a season five times and was consistently among the league leaders in innings pitched and ERA. The Expos ace led the National League in complete games (14) in 1980 and in shutouts (5) in 1979 and 1983. He tossed more than 250 innings in a season six times.
Rogers is the Expos’ all-time leader in wins (158), innings pitched (2,837-2/3), strikeouts (1,621), complete games (129) and shutouts (37). For his efforts, he was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.
Lindros wanted to be a Jay
One of the most coveted sports cards of 1990 was the Score Traded card (see below) that pictured Philadelphia Flyers phenom Eric Lindros taking batting practice with the Blue Jays. Lindros evolved into a Hockey Hall of Famer, but as a kid, he dreamed of playing for the Blue Jays. Here’s an X post from him on Thursday:
Big Unit booked for Expos Fest
Hall of Fame left-hander Randy Johnson is the first guest announced for this year’s Expos Fest that will be held in Montreal on April 25.
It’s the first time in the history of the event that Johnson will be in attendance. The 6-foot-10 left-hander was selected in the second round of the 1985 MLB draft by the Expos. He made his first 11 big league appearances with the club before he was dealt to the Mariners as part of the package for ace left-hander Mark Langston on May 25, 1989.
Johnson, of course, developed into one of the most dominant left-handers of all-time. During his 22-season big league career, he won five Cy Young Awards and was an eight-time All-Star. He finished with 303 wins, a 105.3 WAR and was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2015.
Expos Fest raises thousands of dollars each year for the Montreal Children’s Hospital and the Kat D Foundation, which is named in honour of organizer Perry Giannias’s niece Catherine Demes. Kat died July 22, 2015 at the age of 5 from diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a rare form of brain cancer.
Kelly Sage “the Canadian Baseball Card Guy” featured on CBC
Kelly Sage owns the most extensive collection of baseball cards featuring players born in Canada. To many, the Saskatoon native is simply known as the “Canadian baseball card guy.” CBC recently visited him and did this TV story:
Another Fun Fact:
