With his next save, Cleveland Guardians closer Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.) will become the sixth Canadian to record 30 saves in a major league season.

July 26, 2026

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Some Canadian baseball news and notes:

Cease throws one-hitter for Blue Jays

Right-hander Dylan Cease threw a one-hit shutout for the Toronto Blue Jays in their 6-0 win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Saturday. He struck out 12 batters.

Including Cease’s performance, there have been 14 one-hit, complete game (nine innings) shutouts thrown by Toronto Blue Jays pitchers.

Here’s a list:

Apr. 24, 1979 – Dave Lemanczyk vs. Texas

Aug. 27, 1979 – Phil Huffman vs. Oakland

Sep. 28, 1982 – Jim Clancy vs. Minnesota

May 22, 1986 – Jimmy Key vs. White Sox

May 31, 1988 – Dave Stieb vs. Milwaukee

Sep. 24, 1988 – Dave Stieb vs. Cleveland

Sep. 30, 1988 – Dave Stieb vs. Baltimore

Apr. 10, 1989 – Dave Stieb vs. Yankees

Aug. 26, 1989 – Dave Stieb vs. Milwaukee

Aug. 26, 1992 – Todd Stottlemyre vs. White Sox

June 24, 2007 – Dustin McGowan vs. Colorado

Sep. 4, 2009 – Roy Halladay vs. Yankees

Aug. 8, 2010 – Brandon Morrow vs. Tampa Bay

July 25, 2026 – Dylan Cease vs. Boston

There have been two complete game (nine innings) one-hitters thrown by Blue Jays pitchers in which the opposition scored one run:

Sep. 27, 1998 – Roy Halladay vs. Detroit

Aug. 16, 2010 – Shaun Marcum vs. Oakland

Smith set to join elite Canadian saves club

Cleveland Guardians All-Star closer Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.) has a major league-leading 29 saves this season.

With one more save, he’ll become just the sixth Canadian to record 30 or more saves in a major league season. He’ll join an exclusive group that includes John Hiller (Toronto, Ont., with the Detroit Tigers in 1973), Eric Gagne (Mascouche, Que., with the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2002-04), Ryan Dempster (Gibsons, B.C., with the Chicago Cubs in 2005), John Axford (Port Dover, Ont., with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2011 and 2012) and Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont., with the Blue Jays in 2022 and 2023).

Smith is in his first full campaign as the Guardians’ closer. He had 16 saves for the Guardians last season after taking over ninth-inning duties from Emmanuel Clase.

Romano back as closer with Rockies

Speaking of Romano, he is 4-for-4 in save opportunities since taking over the closer’s role for the Colorado Rockies earlier this month.

In total, since being promoted by the Rockies on July 4, he has a 1.35 ERA in seven appearances. He has fanned nine batters in 6 2/3 innings.

The 33-year-old righty started the season with the Los Angeles Angels before he was designated for assignment on April 26 after posting a 10.13 ERA in 11 games.

The Rockies signed the Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team grad to a minor league contract on May 6 and he recorded a 3.72 ERA in 10 outings between Rookie ball and triple-A prior to his promotion.

Ex-Jay Kent to be inducted into National Baseball Hall of Fame today

Jeff Kent will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame today.

He will become the 12th former Blue Jays player to be inducted, joining Phil Niekro (1997), Dave Winfield (2001), Paul Molitor (2004), Rickey Henderson (2009), Roberto Alomar (2011), Frank Thomas (2014), Jack Morris (2018), Roy Halladay (2019), Scott Rolen (2023), Fred McGriff (2023) and Dave Parker (2025).

Kent, who was elected by the Contemporary Era committee in January, began his major league career with the Blue Jays in 1992, batting .240 with eight home runs in 65 games before being dealt to the New York Mets for right-hander David Cone.

What you might not know about Kent is that he began his professional baseball career with the St. Catharines Blue Jays of the Class-A Short-Season New York Penn League in 1989. That season he topped the league with 13 home runs and led his team with 37 RBIs.

Also on that 1989 St. Catharines team?

An 18-year-old catcher named Carlos Delgado, who hit just .189 with no home runs and 11 RBIs in 31 games. That’s the same Delgado who finished second (with nine votes) to Kent in the Hall’s Contemporary Era voting in January. And the same Delgado that also deserves a plaque in Cooperstown.

Peters has yet to ground into a double play with Sox

Canadian baseball statistician Neil Munro shared with me that Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) has yet to hit into a double play in 99 games and 306 plate appearances this season.

Munro points out that the only Canadian player to not hit into a double play in a full season (minimum 100 games and 250 at bats) is Terry Puhl (Melville, Sask.) with the Houston Astros in 1988.

The next lowest number of double plays a Canadian has grounded into in a season (minimum 100 games) is Jeff Heath (Fort William, Ont.) who did it just twice in 100 games with Cleveland in 1940.

Happy Birthday to Greg Hamilton!

Happy 61st Birthday to Greg Hamilton!

Born in Toronto and raised in Peterborough, Ont., he has served in prominent leadership roles with Baseball Canada for more than three decades. During that time, he has overseen the most successful era in the history of the national teams program.

A Princeton University graduate, he became the head coach of the Junior National Team in 1996. He continues to head the junior team today, while doubling as director of men’s national teams. Under his guidance, the Junior National Team has won three medals: a silver at the U-18 Baseball World Cup in 2012 and bronze medals at the same event in 1997 and 2006. Among the players Hamilton has coached on the junior squad are major league All-Stars Jason Bay, Justin Morneau, Michael Soroka, Josh Naylor, Russell Martin, Michael Saunders and Cade Smith.

As Senior National Team GM, Hamilton assembled the Canadian squads that captured gold at the 2011 and 2015 Pan Am Games – the first two golds ever won by the Canadian senior team. Hamilton also put together the rosters for the Canadian teams that competed in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and in all six World Baseball Classics.

For his efforts, he was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025.

Remembering Pete Ward

Former big leaguer Pete Ward was born 89 years ago today.

Son of Montreal Maroons hockey star, Jimmy Ward, Pete was born in Montreal, before moving to Portland, Oregon when he was eight years old.

In 1958, the Baltimore Orioles signed him and he toiled in Vancouver during his first professional season. After five seasons in the minors, he made his big league debut with the Orioles on September 21, 1962. In his first at bat, he hit a two-run single against the Minnesota Twins.

During that off-season, Ward was traded to the Chicago White Sox in a blockbuster deal that brought Luis Aparicio to Baltimore. In his inaugural campaign in the Windy City, Ward was transformed into a third baseman. In 157 games that season, he hit .295, socked 22 home runs and finished second in the American League to Carl Yastrzemski in hits. For his performance, he was named The Sporting News American League Rookie of the Year.

For an encore, he belted 23 homers, knocked in a career-best 94 runs and finished sixth in the American League MVP voting in 1964.

Unfortunately, he suffered a neck injury in a car accident in 1965 that hampered him for the rest of his career. He played his final season with the New York Yankees in 1970.

After retiring as a player, he managed for eight seasons in the minors with the Yankees, White Sox and Pirates. He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.

He passed away in 2022.

Stewart, Clapp made history against U.S. on this date in 1999

It’s been called the game that put the Canadian Senior National Team on the map.

It was 27 years ago today that the Canadian Senior National Team upset the U.S. 7-6 in 11 innings in a preliminary round contest in the Pan Am Games played at CanWest Global Park in Winnipeg in front of a boisterous, capacity crowd.

Trailing 6-3 heading into the bottom of the 11th, Canadian catcher Andy Stewart (Oshawa, Ont.) stepped up to the plate with two outs and belted a dramatic, three-run home run to tie it. Three batters later, with the bases loaded, Stubby Clapp (Windsor, Ont.) singled to left field to give Canada a walk-off win.

Canada finished the preliminary round 4-0 but lost a 3-2 nail-biter to Cuba in the semi-finals and ended up with a bronze medal. But that team made a huge statement for Canada on the international stage and showed our country could be force on the diamond. You can watch Clapp’s game-winning hit in the video below.

Hicks homers again

Miami Marlins catcher Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) clubbed his 14th home run of the season on Monday. It was a two-run shot in the fourth inning off Houston Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco.

Hicks has discovered his power stroke this season. Last year, he belted six home runs in 119 games for the Marlins and he never had more than six home runs in any of his minor league seasons.

In 93 games with the Marlins this season, he owns a .279/.356/.442 slash line and a .798 OPS. He also has 60 RBIs.

The Marlins chose Hicks in the Rule 5 draft from the Detroit Tigers in December 2024. He was originally taken in the ninth round of the 2021 MLB draft by the Texas Rangers.

Remembering Roland Gladu

Please take a moment to remember former big leaguer and Quebec baseball legend Roland Gladu who passed away 32 years ago today at the age of 83.

The Montreal native enjoyed a 23-year playing career in the pro, semi-pro and foreign professional baseball ranks.

In 1944, he got his only taste of big league action when he batted .242 with a home run and seven RBIs in 21 games for the Boston Braves. The following year, he suited up for his hometown Montreal Royals and enjoyed an outstanding season, batting .338 with 12 home runs, 45 doubles, 14 triples and 105 RBIs.

Towards the end of his playing career, he also served as a player-manager and later became a scout for Cleveland (1953) and Milwaukee Braves (1954 to 1964). As a Braves scout, he signed Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Claude Raymond (St. Jean, Que.) and Ron Piche (Verdun, Que.).

He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame posthumously in 2021.

Young hits seventh home run of the season

New York Mets 1B/OF Jared Young (Prince George, B.C.) hit his seventh home run of the season in the Mets’ 4-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on Monday. It was a solo shot off right-hander Brandon Sproat in the second inning.

Overall, Young is batting .255 and has a .439 slugging percentage with 19 RBIs in 58 games for the Mets this season.

Young’s seven home runs are the most he has hit in a major league campaign. But he still has a long way to go to equal his most in a pro season. He hit 21 home runs with the triple-A Iowa Cubs in 2023.

Signed by the Mets in December 2024, the Okanagan Athletics alum also played parts of two seasons with the Cubs in 2022 and 2023.

Fourteenth anniversary of Henderson’s MLB debut

It was 14 years ago today that Okotoks Dawgs alum Jim Henderson (Calgary, Alta.) made his major league debut when he hurled a 1-2-3 sixth inning for the Brewers in their 8-2 loss to the Washington Nationals at Miller Park.

The 6-foot-5 right-hander struck out Roger Bernadina, the first batter he faced, for his first major league K.

Henderson proceeded to post a 3.52 ERA in 36 games down the stretch for the Brewers that season before recording 28 saves and becoming the club’s closer in 2013.

Ducey reacquired by Blue Jays 26 years ago

Twenty-six years ago today, the Blue Jays reacquired outfielder Rob Ducey (Cambridge, Ont.) from the Philadelphia Phillies for a player to be named later (which turned out to be left-hander John Sneed).

Ducey only had 13 at bats in five games with the Blue Jays in his second stint with the club prior to being traded back to the Phillies for second baseman Mickey Moradini.

Ducey had previously played for the Blue Jays for parts of six major league seasons from 1987 to 1992.

Glew - BWDIK: Cease, Ducey, Hamilton, Henderson, Peters, Romano, Smith