Richmond Gets a Second Start Tonight

Scott Richmond, who made his MLB pitching debut with the Toronto Blue Jays last week, gets a second start tonight against the Oakland A’s.

I his first start, Richmond was strong going past 5 innings and allowing 3 runs on seven hits.

Richmond makes his MLB debut

Scott Richmond, a Canadian from North Vancouver, made his MLB debut with the Toronto Blue Jays today, but lost 3-2 to the Tampa Rays.

Richmond pitched 5.1 innings, gave up 7 hits and 3 runs, with 4 strikeouts.  Some more offense by the jays might have helped him to a win, but he’ll have to settle for a strong first time outing.

Richmond is the 229th Canadian to play in the major leagues.

Congrats to the Drafted Canadians

This year’s MLB draft was a good one for Canada, and history making as well.  The most notable pick was Brett Lawrie of Langley, BC who became the 4th highest Canadian draft pick of all time, and the highest position player.  Only Adam Loewen, Jeff Francis and Phillipe Aumont have been picked higher than this year’s 16th overall pick.  He is now the property of the Milwaukee Brewers, an organization with a few prominant Canadians in their managerial ranks who probably had some good knowledge of the Canadian.

It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if Lawrie lasted one more pick.  The Toronto Blue Jays picked 17th, and if he had been available he would have been a logical pick for them.

On the second day of the draft (yes, it goes for multiple days! we saw another 31 Canadians drafted.  Here’s the list:

• Andrew Albers; North Battleford, SK (10^th round, 315^th/Padres), LHP
• Brad Furdal; Ancaster, ON. (11^{th round}, 323^rd/Rays), RHP
• David Francis; Mississauga, ON (12^th round, 370^th/Braves), RHP
• Marcel Champagnie; Bolton, ON (15^th round, 469^th/Angels), SS/OF
• Carter Morrison; Langley, BC (16^th round, 479^th/Reds), CF
• Stosh Wawrzasek; Langley, BC (16^th round, 488^th/Brewers), RHP
• Michael Crouse; Port Moody, BC (16^th round, 489^th/Blue Jays), OF
• Nick Bucci; Sarnia, ON (18^th round, 548^th/Brewers), RHP
• Jordan Meaker; Burlington, ON (20^th round, 618^th/Diamondbacks), RHP
• Mathieu Poirier; Montreal, QC (21^st round, 634^th/Athletics), RHP
• Mitch Delaney; LaSalle, ON (21^st round, 650^th/Yankees), 1B
• Carter Bell; Courtenay, BC (22^nd round, 657^th/Giants), INF
• Marcus Knecht; Toronto, ON (23^rd round, 698^th/Brewers), OF
• Michael Gosse; Pitt Meadows, BC (23^rd round, 703^rd/Tigers), 2B
• Lionel Morrill; Edmonton, AB (24^th round, 726^th/Twins), OF
• Brad McElroy; St. Thomas, ON (25^th round, 759^th/Blue Jays), OF
• J.R. Robinson; Burnaby, BC (31^st round, 939^th/Blue Jays), LHP
• Jordan Lennerton; Surrey, BC (33^rd round, 1003^rd/Tigers), 1B
• François Lafreniere; St-Bruno, QC (34^th round, 1017^th/Giants), RHP
• Ruddy Rio-Nunez; Montreal, QC (35^th round, 1066^th/Phillies), OF
• Nick Purdy; Grafton, ON (36^th round, 1075^th/Royals), RHP/OF
• Clay Caufield; Toronto, ON (38^th round, 1160^th/Yankees), RHP
• Nick Fogarty; Richmond Hill, ON (40^th round, 1208^th/Brewers), LHP
• Benson Merritt; Smithville, ON (42^nd round, 1259^th/Reds), RHP
• George Agyapong-Mensah; Mississauga, ON (44^th round, 1329^th/Blue Jays), RF
• Jean-François Ricard; Montreal, QC (44^th round, 1334^th/Mets), LHP
• David Cooper, Edmonton, AB. (44^th round, 1337^th/Diamondbacks), SS
• James Kottaras; Markham, ON (45^th round, 1357^th/Brewers), 2B
• Ashton Florko; Trail, BC (45^th round, 1359^th/Cubs), LHP
• Nathan Linseman; Ariss, ON (45^th round, 1361^st/Tigers), LHP
• Leonardo Ochoa; Longeuil, QC (48^th round, 1428^th/Giants), SS

A Slow but Respectable Start

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!!

Canadians and Baseball

Canadians have a long history of baseball.  Every since the late 1800’s, Canada has played a role in the evolution of baseball. 

Some players and achievements are well known (Expos, Jays, Larry Walker, Fergie Jenkins, Justin Morneau).  Others are only known to a few diehard fans in Canada.  This blog will not only keep track of players in today’s leagues, but reflect on the past and contributions Canadians have made to the game.

I hope you enjoy the posts and gain some appreciation to the role of Canada in baseball.  hey, we’re not just all about hockey!!