December 8, 2024

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Some Canadian baseball notes from the past week:

O’Neill signs with Orioles

Outfielder Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, B.C.) has signed a three-year, $49.5-million contract with the Baltimore Orioles, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

The contract includes an opt-out after the 2025 season, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.

In November, the Boston Red Sox declined to offer O’Neill a qualifying offer which made him a free agent. In his first season with the Red Sox in 2024, the Langley Blaze and Junior National Team alum topped the club with 31 home runs. That total also tied him with Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) for the most major league homers by a Canadian. O’Neill’s .511 slugging percentage, .847 OPS and 2.6 WAR all ranked second (to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.)) among Canadian big leaguers in 2024. The two-time Gold Glove Award winner has competed in parts of seven big league seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals and Red Sox.

McKay to return to Diamondbacks in 2025

I spoke with Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Dave McKay (Vancouver, B.C.) on Monday and he confirmed that he’ll return as the first base coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2025. This will be his 55th season in professional baseball as a player or coach. He will turn 75 in March.

McKay made Canadian baseball history in 2023 when the Diamondbacks defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series. With that D-Backs’ win, McKay became the first Canadian on-the-field coach to be part of three different teams that have advanced to the World Series. He was the first base coach for the Oakland A’s when they competed in the Fall Classic for three straight years from 1988 to 1990. He had the same role with the Cardinals’ pennant-winning squads in 2004, 2006 and 2011. In total, McKay owns three World Series rings (Oakland, 1989, St. Louis 2006, 2011).

Prior to his coaching career, McKay played parts of eight big league seasons with the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays and A’s. He was the starting third baseman for the Blue Jays in their first game, on April 7, 1977 at Exhibition Stadium. This made him the first Canadian ever to suit up for the Blue Jays.

National Baseball Hall of Fame Classic Era voting results to be revealed tonight

The 16 members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Classic Baseball Era Committee will meet today at baseball’s Winter Meetings in Dallas to vote on the eight former players that were announced as finalists on November 4. The Classic Baseball Era Committee was constructed to give a second look to players, managers, umpires and executive candidates whose primary contribution to the game came prior to 1980. The eight finalists are Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Vic Harris, Tommy John, Dave Parker and Luis Tiant.

Parker is the only finalist to have played for a Canadian major league team. He closed out his career by batting .333 in 13 games for the Blue Jays in 1991.

A candidate must receive 12 of 16 votes (or 75%) to be elected. The voting results will be announced tonight at 6:30 p.m. C.T. on the MLB Network.

Doucet a finalist for the Frick Award, winner to be announced on Wednesday

Legendary Montreal Expos broadcaster Jacques Doucet is one of 10 finalists for the 2025 Ford C. Frick Award, which is presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame for excellence in baseball broadcasting. The winner will be announced on Wednesday.

This is the fourth time Doucet has been a finalist for the award.

Born in Montreal in 1940, Doucet served as an Expos beat reporter for La Presse from the time the franchise was awarded to the city in 1968 to 1971. He began performing play-by-play for the Expos’ French language radio broadcasts in 1972 and continued for 33 seasons. For many years, Doucet also broadcast major league playoff and World Series games in French.

After the Expos left for Washington following the 2004 season, Doucet continued his broadcast career in his home province, calling games for the independent Quebec Capitales from 2006 to 2011. Starting in 2011, he called Toronto Blue Jays games in French for TVA Sports.

In total, Doucet broadcast more than 5,500 big league games during his storied career. For his efforts, he was inducted into the Quebec Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Montreal Expos Hall of Fame in 2003. The following year, he won the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Jack Graney Award, which is handed out annually by the Hall to a member of the media who has made significant contributions to baseball in Canada through their life’s work. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Van Horne won Frick Award 14 years ago

It was 14 years ago today that Dave Van Horne won the Frick Award. With that, he become the first broadcaster who spent the bulk of his career calling games for a Canadian major league team to capture the honour. The Easton, Pa., native was performing radio play-by-play duties for the Richmond Braves (Atlanta Braves’ triple-A affiliate) from 1966 to 1968 when he met John McHale (then the Atlanta Braves president). When McHale became president of the Expos, he offered Van Horne his first big league radio gig in 1969. Behind the mike for the Expos’ first game on April 8, 1969 until the end of the 2000 season, Van Horne became known for his smooth baritone and trademark catch-phrases like “Up, up and away!” when the Expos hit a home run. In his 32 seasons with the Expos, he broadcast the down-to-the-wire pennant races in 1979 and 1980, the team’s only post-season run in 1981 and Dennis Martinez’s perfect game on July 28, 1991 – a performance that inspired, perhaps, his most famous call, “El Presidente, El Perfecto!” In 1996, Van Horne received the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Jack Graney Award for broadcasting excellence and he was formally inducted into the Canuck ball shrine in 2014.

He completed his broadcasting career with 21 seasons calling games for the Marlins from 2001 to 2021.

Blue Jays “heavily pursuing” Romano

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins told Toronto baseball writers at a meeting on Tuesday that though he non-tendered Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) on November 22, which made the closer a free agent, he will still be “heavily pursuing” Romano to bring him back.

The two-time All-Star closer had been projected to make $7.75 million in 2025. Romano registered eight saves in 15 appearances in 2024 before undergoing elbow surgery in early June.

On April 22, he pitched the ninth inning against the Kansas City Royals in a 5-3 win to record his 100th career save. With that, he became just the fourth Canadian and fifth Blue Jay to reach that milestone.

Originally chosen in the 10th round of the MLB draft by the Blue Jays in 2014, the Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team alum has pitched in six major league seasons.

Blue Jays selected Bell in Rule 5 draft 44 years ago today

On this date 44 years ago, at the urging of Latin American super scout Epy Guerrero, the Blue Jays selected a 21-year-old outfielder named George Bell from the Philadelphia Phillies in the Rule 5 draft. Bell had been signed by the Phillies as an international amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 1978. The young outfielder had played only 22 games with the double-A Reading Phillies in 1980 due to a back injury. In 1979, Bell had hit .306 with 22 home runs, 15 triples and 102 RBIs in 130 games for the class-A Spartanburg Phillies.

Jenkins returned to Cubs 43 years ago

Forty-three years ago today, Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.) signed a one-year contract to return to the Chicago Cubs. The Canuck right-hander headed back to the organization that he spent eight seasons with from 1966 to 1973. Within that stretch, he had six consecutive 20-win campaigns (1967 to 1972). It turned out to be a wise decision for the Cubs. At age 39, Jenkins proceeded to top Cubs pitchers in wins (14), starts (34) and innings pitched (217 1/3) in 1982. He also led Cubs starters with a 3.15 ERA.

Twenty-seven years ago, Blue Jays brought Fernandez back again

Twenty-seven years ago today, the Blue Jays signed Tony Fernandez to a one-year contract, bringing him back for his third of four tenures with the club. The veteran infielder would bat .321 and set a career-high with 72 RBIs in 138 games in 1998. He then re-signed with the club for 1999 and topped his 1998 numbers, hitting .328 with 75 RBIs in 142 games.