BWDIK: Gaston, O'Neill, Sabrowski, Smith, Stairs, Thomson

Junior National Team alum and Cleveland Guardians reliever Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.) struck out 12 batters in the American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers. That set a record for most strikeouts by a reliever in a division series. Photo: MLB.com

October 13, 2024

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Some Canadian baseball news and notes:

-If major league baseball fans outside of Cleveland didn’t know about Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.) before this American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, they do now. The right-handed reliever struck out 12 batters in the Division Series which, per Zach Worden of Sportsnet, set a major league record for most strikeouts in a division series. The previous record of 11 was held by fellow Canadian Nick Pivetta (Victoria, B.C.) who fanned that number for the Red Sox in their American League Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays in 2021 (per Sarah Langs on Twitter). Smith appeared in all five games of the Division Series and allowed just two hits and one run in 6 1/3 innings. This comes on the heels of a dominant regular season in which the Junior National Team alum went 6-1 with a 1.91 ERA and fanned 103 batters in 75 1/3 innings. As I’ve written before, Smith should be in the conversation for both the American League Rookie of the Year award and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Tip O’Neill Award, which is presented annually to the top Canuck player.

-And if you want an official Cade Smith rookie card, you’ll be able to get one on Wednesday when Topps releases its 2024 Update set. Smith is on the set’s checklist, along with Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.), who will be featured on a “Rookie Debut” card after he saw his first big league action with the Milwaukee Brewers this season. Other Canadians in the set will include Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.), pictured with the Toronto Blue Jays, James Paxton (Ladner, B.C.), highlighted with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, B.C.) with the Red Sox.

-Guardians reliever Erik Sabrowski (St. Albert, Alta.) did not allow a run in his two appearances in the Division Series against the Detroit Tigers. That means the 26-year-old lefty still hasn’t permitted a run during his big-league career. Sabrowski had eight scoreless outings, striking out 19 in 12 2/3 innings, during the regular season for the Guardians after his call-up on August 28.

–ESPN Baseball insider Kiley McDaniel reported on Thursday that the qualifying offer for free agents this off-season will be $21.05 million. That figure is calculated as the average of the top 125 salaries in MLB, explained McDaniel. The qualifying offer last off-season was $20.325 million. Teams have until five days after the last game of the World Series to extend an offer to their free agents. Teams can make an offer to a player only if they have never received a qualifying offer before and only if they spent the entire season on their roster. Among the prominent Canadian free agents are O’Neill and right-handers Pivetta and Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.), of the Colorado Rockies. While Pivetta and Quantrill are both solid starting pitchers, it’s unlikely they will receive an offer. But the Red Sox could make one to O’Neill who enjoyed a strong comeback season in 2024, belting 31 home runs and posting an .847 OPS in 113 games.

-Two-time World Series-winning manager Cito Gaston is returning to the Toronto baseball scene. Mark Colley, of the Toronto Star, reported on Thursday that Gaston will serve as a special adviser for the Intercounty Baseball League’s Toronto Maple Leafs in 2025. In this role, Gaston will share his insight with Leafs manager Rob Butler, who played for Gaston on the Blue Jays’ World Series-winning team in 1993. Gaston, 80, who had served as an adviser with the Blue Jays until 2015, told the Toronto Star he plans to be at seven to 10 Leafs games at Christie Pits next summer.

-Sixteen years ago today, Philadelphia Phillies slugger Matt Stairs (Fredericton, N.B.) clubbed a pinch-hit two-run home run with two outs in the eighth inning off Los Angeles Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton to break a 5-5 tie in Game 4 of the 2008 National League Championship Series and propel the Phillies to a 7-5 win. The Phillies went on to win the NLCS and the World Series over the Tampa Bay Rays. Stairs hasn’t had to buy a beer in Philadelphia since.

-As you know, the Phillies were eliminated by the New York Mets in their National League Division Series on Wednesday. After the Phillies handily won the National League East, the expectations were high for them in the playoffs. The team’s fans are notoriously vocal and demanding and many of them are calling for manager Rob Thomson (Corunna, Ont.) to be fired. It’s hard for me to stomach that. Thomson has piloted the Phillies to post-season appearances in each of his first three seasons as skipper. Only two other managers in major league history have done that – Ralph Houk with the Yankees (1961 to 1963) and Dave Roberts with the Dodgers (2015 to 2017).

-On the flip side, Bud Black will return as manager of the Colorado Rockies in 2025, despite leading the team to a 61-101 record in 2024. The Rockies made the announcement on Tuesday. The 67-year-old Black, whose parents were born in Canada, has a record of 537-657 in eight seasons as Rockies manager. Under Black, the Rockies made back-to-back playoff appearances in 2017 and 2018. In total, counting his eight-plus seasons as manager of the San Diego Padres (2007 to 2015), Black has 1,186 managerial wins, which are the 48th most in big league history.

-Happy 76th Birthday to former Blue Jays reliever, and the younger brother of Billie Jean King, Randy Moffitt! After 10 seasons with the San Francisco Giants and one with the Houston Astros, the then 34-year-old Moffitt signed a minor league contract with the Blue Jays on February 16, 1983. The Blue Jays were desperate for help in their bullpen, especially at the closer’s position. Moffitt made the club out of spring training and for the first month-and-a-half, it looked like the Blue Jays had found their closer. In his first nine relief appearances, Moffitt went 3-0 with four saves and did not allow an earned run. Things went less smoothly from there, but he did finish with a 6-2 record and a 3.77 ERA with a team-leading 10 saves in 45 appearances. That would be his last major league season.

-If you’re a Canadian baseball history buff (like me), mark November 2nd and 3rd on your calendar. Longtime Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame volunteer and co-founder of the Centre for Canadian Baseball Research Andrew North has announced that the seventh annual Canadian Baseball History Conference will take place at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ont., on those dates. This year’s event, which will again be organized by Andrew, will include two days of fascinating presentations on Canadian baseball history. For more information and for a complete list of the presentations, you can click on this link. There is limited seating, so please email Andrew at mavrix247@gmail.com to check if there are still spots available. The registration fee is $50.