Canadian Baseball Network contributor Patrick Kennedy writes about legendary Chicago White Sox shortstop Luis Aparicio now being the Hall of Fame’s oldest living member (OLM) after Willie Mays’ death on June 18.
Being the “OLM” is a “strange accolade,” Kennedy writes, “one that’s earned simply by waking up each morning and, as the Irish like to say, “looking down at the grass and not up at the roots.”
Read More“For those of a certain age, the death of Willie Mays was a ride in the Wayback Machine. America knew him through black-and-white film clips, since major league baseball was rarely televised nationally, and through the power of oral history. People were transfixed by the catch he made in the 1954 World Series, off Vic Wertz in the Polo Grounds. They were stunned, and thrilled, to learn that Mays thought other catches were better. Through such limited visibility, people came to think that Mays brought a bag of thrills every time he came to the ballpark.”
Read MoreCanadian Baseball Network editor-in-chief Bob Elliott remembers Orlando Cepeda, the Hall of Fame slugger, who passed away on Friday at the age of 86.
Read MoreToronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) is one of the finalists at first base in the American League for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game voting.
Read MoreCanadian Baseball Network editor Kevin Glew shares some of Willie Mays’ Canadian connections, including how he loved to hit at Montreal’s Jarry Park.
Read MoreCleveland Guardians slugger Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) has been named American League Player of the Week.
Read MoreThe Oakland A’s have placed infielder Abraham Toro (Longueuil, Que.) on the injured list with a strained right hamstring.
Read MoreCanadian Baseball Network editor Kevin Glew’s latest “But What Do I Know?” column discusses James Paxton, Tyler O’Neill, Josh Naylor, Cade Smith, Rob Thomson and Willie Mays.
Read MoreCanadian Baseball Network editor-in-chief Bob Elliott pays tribute to Adrien (Tic) Langlois, who was the best Kingston Collegiate Blue high school football coach he never played for. Langlois passed away on June 17 at the age of 86.
Read MoreFor Matt Simpson, a George Gibson card is as treasured as a Honus Wagner card.
That’s what happens when you focus your collection on Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees.
Read MoreThe Milwaukee Brewers recalled Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.) on Wednesday. It was the Canadian’s second big league promotion of the season.
Read MoreCanadian Baseball Network editor-in-chief Bob Elliott’s remembers Willie Mays.
Read MoreIt’s Dr. Fergie Jenkins now, thanks to an honorary degree bestowed upon the baseball great by Brock University last week. Canadian Baseball Network writer J.P. Antonacci has the story.
Read More“The human body wasn’t designed to fling a baseball 100 mph.
It also wasn’t designed to watch ESPN try to broadcast hockey, but that’s another discussion.
Whether the cause is unnatural velocity, improved diagnostics, a de-emphasis on throwing at an early age, or the pernicious influence of a villain named Max Effort, it’s a great time to be an elbow surgeon.
As of Saturday, there were 115 pitchers on MLB’s 40-man rosters that were on the 60-day injured list, mostly with shoulder or elbow miseries.”
Read More“Before he sent baseballs over the wall at Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, Russell Martin blasted long drives over his uncles’ heads at a Montreal sandlot.
“My brother got to pitch, and I had to play the outfield. So, I was always the one chasing the ball, because he was always hitting it over the fence,” Keith Martin recalled with a smile.
“So, I had to go run after it, which I didn’t really like.”
The Canadian catcher has a large extended family on his father’s side, but his first cousin, Erika Martin, said Russell is the only star athlete in the bunch, making him a top draft pick in the family’s annual Thanksgiving ballgames.”
Read MoreCleveland Guardians slugger Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) will be presented with the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s 2023 Tip O’Neill Award today at Rogers Centre.
Read More“For over 14 years, Russell Martin (Montreal, Que.) was on the biggest stage in professional baseball, appearing in front of hundreds of thousands of fans every time he stepped onto the field.
Today, the former Toronto Blue Jays backstop took on another stage, one that saw him earn one of the highest honours for a Canadian baseball player in the smalltown of St. Marys, Ont.
Martin was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame as part of their 2024 class, joining a prestigious group of individuals who had a positive impact on Canadian baseball. Splitting his time between the Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and New York Yankees from 2006 to 2019, he retired as one of the top catchers from north of the border.”
Read MoreCanadian Baseball Network editor Kevin Glew’s “But What Do I Know?” column is a Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction day/Father’s Day edition.
Read MoreSix new members will be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in a ceremony on the Hall of Fame grounds on Saturday. Former Toronto Blue Jays all-stars Russell Martin (East York, Ont.) and Jimmy Key will be inducted alongside national team infielder and trailblazing coach Ashley Stephenson (Mississauga, Ont.) and national team pitching legend Rod Heisler (Moose Jaw, Sask.). Onetime Blue Jays president and CEO Paul Godfrey, who played a significant role in bringing Major League Baseball to Toronto, and longtime Toronto Leaside baseball executive Howard Birnie will also be honoured.
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