BWDIK: Freeman, Harrigan, Leblanc, Naylor, Perez, Puhl

Freddie Freeman became the first Canadian national team player to win the World Series MVP this week.

November 1, 2024

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

I have a commitment on Sunday, so here are some Canadian baseball news and notes on a Friday:

-Shortly after the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees 7-6 on Wednesday night to win the World Series, Freddie Freeman was named the Fall Classic MVP. With this, as Shawn Spradling, a World Baseball Classic expert, tweeted out on Wednesday night, Freeman became the first Canadian national team member to win the World Series MVP award. Freeman, whose parents Fred and Rosemary were born in Canada, batted .300 with four home runs and 12 RBIs in the five-game series. Freeman played for Canada at the 2017 and 2023 World Baseball Classics to honour his mother who was born in Peterborough, Ont. She died of melanoma when he was 10.

-Ellen Harrigan, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ senior director, business administration, will soon have her fourth World Series ring. The Beeton, Ont., native was working in the Toronto Blue Jays’ organization when they won championships in 1992 and 1993 and she will soon receive her second ring (her first was in 2020) as an executive with the Dodgers. Harrigan began her career with the Blue Jays as an administrative aide in player development in 1981 and later became the general manager of the club’s New York Penn League affiliate in St. Catharines, Ont. After a stop with the Baltimore Orioles, she moved on to the Dodgers and has risen through the organization’s ranks to hold a number of key executive positions. She just completed her 24th season with the club.

-Matt Swartz has put a tremendous amount of time and effort into establishing a model that estimates salaries for arbitration-eligible players. He recently shared his projected 2025 salaries for arbitration eligible players with MLB Trade Rumors. His list includes five Canadians. Swartz projects Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) to earn $29.6 million in 2025, while Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) is projected to make $12 million. Colorado Rockies right-hander Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) is projected to earn $9 million and Blue Jays relievers Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) and Zach Pop (Brampton, Ont.) are projected to make $7.75 million and $1 million respectively.

-Infielder Charles Leblanc (Laval, Que.) has elected to become a free agent after the Los Angeles Angels outrighted him off their 40-man roster on October 24. He cleared waivers and had been assigned to the Angels’ triple-A Salt Lake Bees. In 2024, Leblanc saw his first big league action since 2022 when he belted two home runs, had seven walks, six runs and posted an .869 OPS in 11 games for the Angels. The 28-year-old infielder spent the bulk of the campaign in triple-A, where he batted .254 with 12 home runs and a .379 OBP in 98 games.

When it comes to Terry Puhl, I thought I knew everything about him. I’ve followed his career religiously since I was a child. But Joe McFarland, of Saskatchewan Dugout Stories, conducted an outstanding interview with the longtime Houston Astros outfielder and Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee and I learned several new things about Puhl. For example, I didn’t know that Puhl was a high school quarterback or that he once attended a tryout with the Montreal Expos. Another funny revelation in McFarland’s interview was that Puhl forged his mother’s signature on his first pro contract with the Astros. “I needed to have both parents sign the contract because I was only 17,” Puhl told McFarland. “My dad signed and it’s my mom’s turn and she says, ‘I’m not signing that contract’ and walked out of the kitchen.” Puhl desperately wanted to play pro ball, but his mother didn’t want her son to leave Saskatchewan, so he took matters into his own hands. “As soon as she left the kitchen, I slid over into that chair and signed her name on that contract,” he told McFarland with a chuckle. “I said, ‘I’m going to play baseball.’” You can listen to the full interview here. You can also read an excellent article that McFarland wrote about Puhl here.

Lindsay Earle, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s care of collections and public engagement supervisor, hit a home run with her Halloween costume. Photo: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

-What do you dress up as for Halloween when you work at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame? Well, Lindsay Earle, the Hall’s care of collections and public engagement supervisor, had the perfect costume. She dressed up as a member of the Rockford Peaches of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The 68 Canadian women that played in the AAGPBL were inducted into the Canadian ball hall in 1998.

-Ten years ago today, the Blue Jays dealt 1B/DH Adam Lind to the Milwaukee Brewers for right-hander Marco Estrada. At the time, the deal was not greeted warmly by Blue Jays fans, but Estrada evolved in a key starting pitcher for the club for four seasons and was particularly effective in the post-season, registering a 2.16 ERA in six starts. Lind, meanwhile, batted .277 with 20 home runs in 149 games in his sole season with the Brewers before he was dealt to the Seattle Mariners.

-It was 12 years ago today that former Montreal Expos right-hander Pascual Perez passed away at the age of 55. Perez pitched parts of three seasons with the Expos from 1987 to 1989. What I tend to forget about Perez is that beyond his enthusiasm, energy and zaniness on the field, he was an excellent pitcher. In 10 starts for the Expos in 1987, he went 7-0 with a 2.30 ERA. He followed that up with 12 wins and a 2.44 ERA in 27 starts in 1988 and a 3.31 ERA in 33 appearances in 1989. You can watch some fun Expos highlights of him by clicking on the following video.

-Forty-five years ago today, the Blue Jays traded Rick Cerone, Tom Underwood and Ted Wilborn to the New York Yankees for Chris Chambliss, Paul Mirabella and a little-known prospect named Damaso Garcia. Just over a month later, the Blue Jays swapped Chambliss to the Atlanta Braves for a package of players that included Barry Bonnell and Joey McLaughlin. And while Mirabella was mostly ineffective in parts of two seasons with the Blue Jays, Garcia blossomed into an All-Star second baseman. In his seven seasons with Toronto, Garcia was selected to the Midsummer Classic in 1984 and 1985, won a Silver Slugger Award in 1982, batted over .280 five times and was the leadoff hitter on the Blue Jays’ 1985 division-winning team. This trade still stands as one of the most underrated transactions Pat Gillick made as Jays GM.