Rickey Henderson (left) celebrates with Joe Carter after the two helped lead the Toronto Blue Jays to the 1993 World Series title.

December 22, 2024

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Some Canadian baseball news and notes from the past week:

Remembering Rickey

If someone would’ve asked me yesterday what National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee I thought might live forever, my answer would’ve been Rickey Henderson.

His death has hit me harder than expected.

And if I’m feeling this way, I can’t imagine what it’s like for Oakland A’s fans.

Imagine having to deal with the death of your team and the death of the best player to ever suit up for your team in the same year.

Henderson reportedly died of pneumonia. But maybe, just maybe, he died of a broken heart — maybe it was too much for him to bear to see the franchise he set major league records with be moved so callously to Sacramento.

I wrote about Henderson’s 44 regular season and 12 post-season games with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993 yesterday. Without Henderson that season, the Blue Jays wouldn’t have won the World Series.

Tributes have been pouring in for Henderson. Here are a few of them:

Jaffe makes Cooperstown case for Martin

Russell Martin (Montreal, Que.) is on the National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this year. Martin had an outstanding 14-season big league career that earned him induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in June.

But is he worthy of a plaque in Cooperstown?

Jay Jaffe, a frequent FanGraphs contributor and advanced statistician, believes there is a case to be made for Martin, although he’s not confident the Canadian catcher will be elected.

“Though I’ve been anticipating the point when I could write Martin’s name on a Hall of Fame ballot since he entered his final season in the majors, I fear he’ll struggle to gain enough support merely to remain eligible,” writes Jaffe in a recent FanGraphs article. “Nonetheless, I see him as a strong enough candidate to merit enshrinement. It won’t happen overnight; I just hope it doesn’t take 20 or 30 years.”

On top of his four All-Star selections, Gold Glove Award and Silver Slugger Award, Martin was one of the best – if not the best – pitch-framing catcher of his era, argues Jaffe.

“Russell Martin was sneaky good,” writes Jaffe. “At the plate he combined a compact swing and mid-range power with strong on-base skills and (early in his career, at least) the ability to steal the occasional base. Behind the plate, he was exceptional.”

You can read Jaffe’s full article here, but here’s a chart from Jaffe’s article that shows Martin’s value.

For an explanation of the differences about how WAR is calculated by Baseball Reference and FanGraphs, you can read this.

JAWS (Jaffe Wins Above Replacement Score) is a stat created by Jaffe that calculates a player’s Cooperstown worthiness by comparing them to other Hall of Famers at their position. Here is a more extensive explanation.

Soroka signs with Nationals to be a starting pitcher

Right-hander Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) confirmed in a Zoom call with reporters on Friday that he signed a one-year, $9-million contract with the Washington Nationals with the goal of being a starting pitcher.

Soroka was dealt to the Chicago White Sox by the Atlanta Braves in November 2023. After a rough start to the 2024 season as a starter with the White Sox, he was moved to the bullpen where he excelled. In 16 relief appearances, he posted a 2.75 ERA and struck out 60 batters in 36 innings.

Overall, in 25 appearances (nine starts) with the White Sox in 2024, he recorded a 4.74 ERA and had 84 strikeouts in 79 2/3 innings.

A graduate of the Calgary Redbirds and Junior National Team, Soroka, who’s still only 27, was a first-round pick (28th overall) of the Braves in 2015. In 2019, he went 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA in 29 starts to win the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Tip O’Neill Award and finish second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.

Since then, however, his career has been curtailed by a series of injuries, most notably he tore his right Achilles tendon twice. He only had one stretch on the injured list (shoulder strain) in 2024 and he finished the season strong.

Morneau spreading holiday cheer

On top of being one of the best major league players ever to emerge from Canada, Justin Morneau (New Westminster, B.C.) is one of the best guys I’ve met in the sport. He is involved in a long list of charities. Each December, he runs his “Winter Warm-Up Coat Drive” for the Salvation Army and earlier this month, decked out in his best holiday suit (you can see it the video below), he visited the Gillette Children’s Hospital in Minnesota to spread some holiday joy.

Remembering Doug Ault

Former Blue Jays first baseman Doug Ault died 20 years ago today at the age of 54. Most remember him for his heroics in the Blue Jays’ first regular season game. On April 7, 1977, on that snowy day at Exhibition Stadium, Ault belted two homers for the Blue Jays to propel them to a 9-5 win over the Chicago White Sox. That contest proved to be the highlight of his big-league career. In total, he batted .234 with 17 home runs in 247 games in parts of three seasons with the Blue Jays. He later became a coach and minor league manager in the Blue Jays’ organization. But his life after baseball wasn’t easy. Here is an article written by the Ottawa Sun’s Don Brennan about Ault’s struggles. I wish someone could’ve helped him.

Jenkins’ last MLB hit was a triple

I’ve written a lot about Canadian baseball legend Fergie Jenkins‘ heroics on the mound, and those are the reason he has a plaque in Cooperstown. But the Chatham, Ont., native was also a decent-hitting pitcher. In his 1971 National League Cy Young Award-winning season, he belted six home runs and had a .478 slugging percentage. In total, he had 13 home runs and 27 doubles in his 19-season MLB career. Jenkins’ final MLB hit was a triple off Houston Astros right-hander Mike Lacoss at Wrigley Field on September 3, 1983. Jenkins was 40. It was the sixth triple of his career. You can watch it here:

Happy Birthday to Sheldon Burnside!

Happy 70th Birthday to former big league pitcher Sheldon Burnside! He was born in South Bend, Ind., but his family moved to the Toronto area when he was 10 and he honed his skills as a teenager in Etobicoke. He was signed as a free agent by the Detroit Tigers in 1974 and the left-hander eventually appeared in 12 games for the Tigers in 1978 and 1979 before posting a 1.93 ERA in seven relief appearances for the Cincinnati Reds in 1980. In parts of three big league seasons, Burnside had the opportunity to play alongside Hall of Famers Jack Morris, Alan Trammell, Johnny Bench and Tom Seaver.

Encarnacion leaves Blue Jays eight years ago

On this date in 2016, Edwin Encarnacion left the Blue Jays to sign a three-year, $60-million deal with Cleveland. In the previous month, the slugger had turned down a four-year, $80-million contract to return to the Blue Jays. He thought he could do better on the open market. The Blue Jays moved on to sign Kendrys Morales to a three-year, $33-million deal. In parts of eight seasons with the Blue Jays, Encarnacion belted 239 home runs and socked 34 or more in a season five times. And Encarnacion didn’t disappoint in Cleveland, registering two more 30-home run, 100-RBI seasons before they dealt him to the Seattle Mariners on December 13, 2018.

Ducey signed with Phillies 26 years ago today

Twenty-six years ago, after two seasons with the Seattle Mariners, Rob Ducey (Cambridge, Ont.) signed a one-year, $400,000 contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. The left-handed hitting outfielder proceeded to play parts of three seasons with the Phillies. He enjoyed his finest big-league campaign with the Phillies in 1999 when he set career-highs in home runs (8) and OPS (.846). He also had 33 RBIs and a .383 on-base percentage.

Happy 80th Birthday to Hall of Famer Steve Carlton!

Four-time National League Cy Young Award winner and National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Steve Carlton turns 80 today. The dominant lefty was a 10-time All-Star, who won 20 games in a season six times and owns the fourth most strikeouts in major league history (4,136). But did you know that after the Miami native was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964 he played part of his first professional season in Winnipeg? Yes, Carlton made 12 starts for the class-A Northern League’s Winnipeg Goldeyes and posted a 4-4 record and a 3.36 ERA. He made his big-league debut with the Cardinals the next season.

Thirty-six years ago, Blue Jays sold Fielder to Hanshin Tigers

The Blue Jays had an embarrassment of riches at first base in the mid-to-late 80s. They transitioned from Willie Upshaw to a platoon of Fred McGriff and Cecil Fielder (John Olerud would debut in 1989). But with McGriff emerging as an everyday player, the Blue Jays couldn’t find playing time for Fielder who managed to belt 31 home runs in 506 at bats between 1985 and 1988. The Blue Jays sold the burly first baseman to the Hanshin Tigers of the Japan Central League. According to the Toronto Star, Fielder had made $125,000 with the Blue Jays in 1988. His new contract in Japan would pay him $750,000 (plus incentives) over two seasons.

“Man, it’s incredible,” Fielder told the Toronto Star about the deal. “They’re gonna pay part of my (Japanese) taxes; my wife and son get free round-trip tickets home during the season and I got a whole bunch of really good incentive clauses. I know it’s going to be different, but for that kind of money I can handle it.”

And handle it he did.

In his sole season in Japan, Fielder batted .302 with 38 home runs and a 1.031 OPS in 104 games. Following that campaign, he signed with the Detroit Tigers and belted 51 home runs in 1990.

BWDIK: Encarnacion, Henderson, Jenkins, Martin, Morneau, Soroka