Tonight begins baseball’s mid-summer classic, the All Star Game and Events. With the ever popular home run derby taking place tonight, Canadian’s can cheer for BC native Justin Morneau who represents the Twins in the event.
Tomorrow night’s game has a few Canadians in the line-up, although none are starters. The NL side includes L.A. Dodgers’ catcher Russ Martin and Chicago Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster, with Justin Morneau the sole AL player.
Three Canadian players are not a lot, but this is probably a fair representation given the year a lot of Canadian players are having. Francis and Bay are experiencing off-years, and even though some players like Joey Votto and Matt Stairs are having good years, they’re not all-star caliber.
Phillipe Aumont (Mariner’s #1 draft pick) was the lone Canadian in the futures game. Although these numbers look a little bleak for Canadians in the game, there’s not only a solid core in the majors right now, but a growing number of prospects making their way through the minor system. With the growth we’ve seen in the past few years, I think it is safe to expect more in the future. Maybe we will look back at 2008 as an off year, but of course, it’s not over yet!
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: All Star Game, Chicago Cubs, Home Run Derby, Jason Bay, Joey Votto, Justin Morneau, Los Angeles Dodgers, Matt Stairs, Minnesota Twins, Phillipe Aumont, Russ martin, Ryan Dempster, Seattle Mariners
Mast year was a record year for Canadians in MLB. Over 23 different Canadians played in a major league game, with some very impressive performances.
After almost one month into the 2008 season, there has been 6 position players and 8 pitchers on a team roster. Matt Stairs leads the position players in batting, helping the Blue Jays to a surprisingly competitive start. Reds rookie Joey Votto is close behind, hitting almost .300 with 3 homeruns. Mark Teahen leads all Canadian batters with 4 homeruns.
The great start by the Cubs has been helped by Ryan Dempster, whose 3-0 start with a 3.00 ERA is a major reason of their success. The starter role seems to suit him! We’ll have to wait for Erik Bedard to me taken off of Seattle’s injured list before we can see him in action.
There should be more Canadians coming, and there’s a healthy crop at AAA. That will be the subject of an upcoming post.
For now, we’ll cheer on the 14 and hope that number goes beyond 24!!
Categories: Number of Canadians
Tagged: Chicago Cubs, Cincinnatti Reds, Erik Bedard, Joey Votto, Mark Teahen, Matt Stairs, Ryan Dempster, Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays
