BWDIK: Brown, Clarke, Delgado, Morneau, Freeman, Stairs, Walker

Colorado Rockies legend Larry Walker (Maple Ridge, B.C.) will be honoured with a statue outside of Coors Field on Aug. 23. Photo: Rockies

January 25, 2026

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Some Canadian baseball news and notes:

Rockies to honour Walker with statue

The Colorado Rockies will unveil a statue of Larry Walker (Maple Ridge, B.C.) outside of Coors Field on August 23.

Walker was present on Saturday for the announcement by the team.

“The number being retired, and you walk in the ballpark and I see 33 out there, trust me, it melts my heart,” Walker told MLB.com on Saturday. “It’s a pretty cool honour. And then when that phone call comes and says we’re going to put a statue outside of the ballpark that’s going to be there forever … it’s out of this world.”

After beginning his career with the Montreal Expos, Walker signed with the Rockies prior to the 1995 season. In his decade as a player with the Rockies, Walker was an All-Star four times. He also won five Gold Glove Awards and three batting titles and was voted the National League MVP in 1997.

In 2020, he became the second Canadian to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, joining legendary Chicago Cubs pitcher Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.).

Walker will also join Jenkins as the only Canadian players to have statues outside of big league stadiums. A statue of Jenkins was erected outside of Wrigley Field in 2022.

The Rockies will also unveil a statue of Hall of Fame first baseman Todd Helton on September 19.

New Hall inductees Beltrán, Jones homered in Toronto and Montreal

Former centre fielders Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday. Beltrán’s name was checked on 84.2% of ballots, while Jones received 78.4% support (75% was required to be elected).

Both belted over 400 home runs during their major league careers and both homered multiple times at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium and Toronto’s Rogers Centre.

Of Beltrán’s 435 big league homers, seven were hit at Rogers Centre and two were clubbed at Olympic Stadium.

Beltrán hit particularly well in the two series he played against the Expos at the Big O (June 18 to June 20, 2002 with the Royals and Aug. 13 to Aug. 15, 2004 with the Astros). In six games at Olympic Stadium, he went 9-for-25 (.360 batting average). On top of his two home runs, he also had four doubles and seven runs.

Jones socked 434 big league round-trippers. He clubbed six of those at Rogers Centre and 17 more at Olympic Stadium. That total at the Big O is the most he hit at any opposing big league park. In 59 games at Olympic Stadium, he batted .296 with a .937 OPS and had 69 hits and 56 RBIs

2025 Most Influential Canadians in Baseball List

Bob Elliott and I have poured countless hours into putting together the list of the Top 100+ Most Influential Canadians in Baseball in 2025. Bob is the mastermind behind the list and he does the bulk of the work, but I helped write many of the bios.

So, who do you think was the most influential Canadian in baseball in 2025?

You can find out who Bob picked here.

Brown signs with the Brewers

After six seasons in the Toronto Blue Jays’ organization, Dasan Brown (Oakville, Ont.) has signed with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Zach Worden, of Sportsnet, was the first to report the transaction.

The top Canadian selected in the 2019 MLB draft (second round), Brown rose to the triple-A level in the Blue Jays’ ranks last season. But the speedy 24-year-old struggled offensively, batting a combined .175 between double-A and triple-A, but he still swiped 36 bases. It was his third consecutive season of 30 or more stolen bases.

Brown played parts of three seasons, from 2022 to 2024, with the High-A Vancouver Canadians and in 2024, he was recognized with a minor league Gold Glove for his prowess in the outfield.

Prior to being drafted, he honed his skills with the Ontario Blue Jays and the Junior National Team. Brown will join fellow Canadians Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.) and Dylan O’Rae (Sarnia, Ont.) in the Brewers’ organization.

1-of-1 Denzel Clarke rookie card pulled

The 1-of-1 version of Denzel Clarke’s 2025 Topps Update rookie card was recently pulled out of a pack in Canada. The collector, who wishes to remain anonymous, has allowed me to share photos of the front and back of the card (below). Despite some offers to purchase it from him, he’s holding onto it. Its value is well into the triple digits.

After Clarke’s promotion to the A’s last season, he made several highlight reel catches in centre field, which made him the first player to win the MLB Electric Play of the Week award in three consecutive weeks.

Clarke has committed to play for Canada in the World Baseball Classic in March. It will be his second appearance in the WBC; he played three games in 2023.

Morneau signed $80-million contract 17 years ago

It was 17 years ago today that Justin Morneau (New Westminster, B.C.) signed a six-year, $80-million contract extension with the Minnesota Twins.

At the time, it was the highest contract ever signed by a Canadian major league player, eclipsing the six-year, $75-million deal Walker signed with the Rockies in March 1999.

Morneau, who won the 2006 American League MVP award, proceeded to have another excellent season in 2008, batting .300 with 23 home runs and 129 RBIs. It was his third of four consecutive 100-RBI campaigns for the Twins.

Morneau’s contract remains the fourth highest in total value signed by a Canadian MLB player. For a list of the top 15 contracts for Canadian MLB players, click here.

Procyshen named bench coach of D-back’s triple-A affiliate

Jordan Procyshen (Calgary, Alta.) has been named bench coach of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ triple-A Reno Aces.

The former catcher spent last season in the same role with the double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles.

Procyshen, 32, entered the coaching ranks last year after a nine-season pro career in the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers’ organizations. In 437 professional games, the Okotoks Dawgs and Junior National Team grad hit .230 with 29 home runs. He also suited up for Canada in multiple international competitions, including on the silver medal winning squad at the 2019 Pan Am Games.

Jays and ex-Jays on Team Mexico

Last week, I shared that former Blue Jays right-hander Aaron Sanchez will be pitching for Mexico at the World Baseball Classic. I also mentioned that current Blue Jay Alejandro Kirk will likely catch him.

Two more ex-Jays also plan to join Sanchez on the Mexican squad. First baseman/DH Rowdy Tellez, who suited up with the Blue Jays from 2018 to 2021, recently confirmed that he’ll play for Mexico. His grandfather was Mexican. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound first baseman split last season between the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers and batted .228 with 17 home runs in 112 games.

Right-hander Taijuan Walker, who posted a 1.37 ERA in six starts for the Blue Jays at the end of the 2020 season, has also agreed to pitch for Mexico. His mother is Mexican.

Both Tellez and Walker played for Mexico at the 2023 WBC.

Twenty-one years ago, Delgado left Blue Jays

It was on this date 21 years ago, after parts of 12 seasons with the Blue Jays, that Carlos Delgado signed a four-year, $52-million contract with the Florida Marlins.

It was not a surprise that Delgado signed elsewhere. He was essentially lowballed out of Toronto by Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi who reportedly made a half-hearted two-year, $12-million offer to retain the slugger. Ricciardi had referred to Delgado’s previous four-year, $68-million contract as an albatross that handcuffed his ability to improve the club.

While suiting up for the Blue Jays, Delgado rewrote much of the club’s record book and he remains the team’s all-time leader in several statistical categories, including home runs (336), RBIs (1,058), doubles (343), runs (889), total bases (2,786), slugging percentage (.556), extra-base hits (690) and walks (827). For his efforts, he was added to the Blue Jays Level of Excellence in 2013 and was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.

In his sole season with the Marlins, Delgado batted .301 with 33 home runs and 115 RBIs in 144 games before he was traded to the New York Mets.

Matt Stairs (Fredericton, N.B.) played one season with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Stairs signed with Brewers 24 years ago

Twenty-four years ago today, Matt Stairs (Fredericton, N.B.) signed a one-year, $500,000 contract with the Milwaukee Brewers.

It was the fifth of 13 major league clubs he’d play for. He was coming off a season in which he had batted .250 with 17 home runs and an .820 OPS in 128 games with the Cubs.

In 107 contests with the Brewers in 2002, the left-handed hitting slugger batted .244 with 16 home runs and had an .827 OPS. He began the season as a pinch-hitter but by the end of it, he was their starting left fielder and was hitting in the middle of the order.

Canadian ball hall adds Freeman’s World Series cleats

This past week, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame received the cleats Freddie Freeman wore for the Los Angeles Dodgers to help them defeat the Blue Jays in the 2025 World Series.

Freeman remains a beloved slugger in Canada, even though he belted a walk-off home run against the Blue Jays in the 18th inning of Game 3 of the World Series and was snubbed by the children in a hilarious Sick Kids Hospital Foundation ad produced by Canadian movie star Ryan Reynolds that went viral in December.

That home run was one of Freeman’s six hits for the Dodgers in the Fall Classic, which helped them to their second consecutive championship. It was the veteran slugger’s third championship overall (He also won with the Braves in 2021), but this one was special because four of the games were played in Toronto.

“I lost my mom when I was 10, and you come to the place where she was born and raised and grew up and was around a lot in Toronto, you just feel a little closer to her,” Freeman said during Series Media Day at Rogers Centre. “I think that’s why coming back here is so special for me. It makes me feel like I’m closer to my mom.”

Freeman’s mother Rosemary grew up in Peterborough and moved to Windsor, Ont. She died from melanoma, a form of skin cancer, at the age of 47. His father, Fred, is from Windsor.

To honour his mom, Freeman played for Canada at the 2017 and 2023 World Baseball Classics.

Freeman leads all active major leaguers in hits (2,431), runs (1,379), doubles (547), RBIs (1,322) extra-base hits (947) and total bases (4,145).