August 25, 2024

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Some Canadian baseball news and notes:

-It was Joey Votto‘s Toronto Blue Jays childhood hero, Devon White, who was the first to know he was going to retire. White, a Bisons’ coach, was sitting next to Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) on the triple-A Buffalo Bisons’ bench on Wednesday afternoon when Votto realized he was done. Listen to Votto tell the story on the Dan Patrick Show here or click on the following link (start at the 5:29 mark of the interview):

-I’ve probably been asked a dozen times since Wednesday, if I think Votto is worthy of a plaque in Cooperstown? The short answer is yes. I’ll write a more detailed column highlighting his Hall of Fame credentials in the future. But in the meantime, here’s one graphic I saw online that definitely supports his case:

-Chicago White Sox right-hander Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.), who has been on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder strain since July 19, threw a bullpen session on Friday and will start a rehab assignment with the triple-A Charlotte Knights this week, according to James Fegan of Baseball America. To say Soroka has had a challenging season is an understatement. His record is 0-10, but for the most part, he had been excellent out of the bullpen for the Sox after beginning the season in the rotation. As a reliever, Soroka owns a 3.49 ERA in 12 relief appearances and has 47 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings. A graduate of the Calgary Redbirds and Junior National Team, Soroka was a first-round pick (28th overall) of the Atlanta Braves in 2015. He has pitched in parts of five major league seasons.

-The Toronto Blue Jays plan to have Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) back in their bullpen before the end of the season, according to Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling. Zwelling reported on Saturday that the Blue Jays closer, who underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair an impingement in his right elbow on July 3, is expected to begin “a throwing progression” this week. The Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team grad has been on the injured list since May 31 with elbow inflammation. It had been a rocky start to the 2024 season for the 31-year-old. In 15 appearances, he posted a 6.59 ERA and allowed 10 runs on 16 hits in 13 2/3 innings.

-On Wednesday, Minnesota Twins infielder Edouard Julien (Quebec City, Que.) enjoyed the second, four-hit game of his major league career. Batting seventh, he had a double and three singles and scored three runs for the Twins in their 11-4 win over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Since being recalled from the triple-A St. Paul Saints on August 16, Julien has going 6-for-21 (.286 batting average) with two walks in eight games. In total, in 71 games with the Twins this season, the Junior National Team grad is hitting .213 with seven home runs and 17 RBIs. With St. Paul, he had registered a .395 on-base percentage (OBP) with seven home runs in 49 contests. Since returning to the big leagues, Julien has looked more like the player that was one of the American League’s top rookies in 2023. In 109 regular season contests with the Twins last year, Julien set a record for most home runs by a Canadian second baseman in a major league season with 16.

-It was one year ago today that Cleveland Guardians catcher Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) became the first Canadian to homer in their first at bat in a Canadian major league stadium when he went deep in the third inning of the Guardians’ 5-2 win over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. His home run was a solo shot off Blue Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt. With that round-tripper, Naylor became the 16th Canadian to hit a home run at Rogers Centre. The 24-year-old Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team alum finished 2023 with 11 big league home runs. He has 10 this year.

-Miami Marlins infielder Otto Lopez, who spent part of his youth in Montreal, had his seven-game hitting streak snapped on Saturday in the Marlins’ 14-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs. For the month of August, he is hitting .273 with six stolen bases in 20 games for the Marlins. On February 13, Lopez, who has played for the Canadian national team, had his contract sold to the San Francisco Giants by the Blue Jays. He spent spring training with the Giants before he was designated for assignment and claimed on waivers by the Marlins. Born in Santo Domingo, D.R., Lopez was signed as an international free agent by the Blue Jays on July 4, 2016.

-Twenty years ago today, with his enthusiastic mom, Joanne, in the crowd, Jeff Francis (North Delta, B.C.) made his MLB debut with the Colorado Rockies. He struck out eight batters in five innings in the Rockies’ 8-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. Francis reflected on his mom’s cheers during his big-league debut in his Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction speech in St. Marys, Ont., in 2022. “The world got to know the legend [referring to his mom] too when in my major league debut in Atlanta, her cheers after every strikeout could be heard on the Rockies’ broadcast,” recalled Francis. “And also at the pitcher’s mound. The cheers were so prominent that they brought her up into the booth and named her ‘Fan of the Game.’ Only a sixth-inning, three-run, go-ahead home run by Chipper Jones could drowned her out and also knock me out of the game.”

-Happy 85th Birthday to legendary Montreal Expos broadcaster Dave Van Horne! Behind the mike for the Expos’ inaugural 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!” Fittingly, Van Horne was on hand on September 29, 2004, as part of the Marlins’ broadcast team, to call the final home game in Expos history from the visiting radio booth. In 1996, Van Horne received the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Jack Graney Award for broadcasting excellence and 15 years later, he was the recipient of the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s equivalent honour, the Ford C. Frick Award. He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.

-Thirty-two years ago today, Dodgers left-hander Steve Wilson (Victoria, B.C.) tied an MLB record for most assists in an inning by a pitcher when he recorded three assists in the sixth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the inning, Wilson successfully fielded ground balls hit back to him by Orlando Merced, John Wehner and Jose Lind.

-Detroit Tigers assistant pitching coach Robin Lund (Peace River, Alta.) recently met Mississauga Tigers player Sammy Cruz when Cruz was standing above the bullpen at Comerica Park. It was the first time that Sammy and his father, Ronny, had taken in a big-league game in Detroit. When talking with Lund, Lund mentioned that he was Canadian, too, and he told Sammy he liked his Mississauga Tigers hat. Ronny Cruz recently shared the photo below.