Canadian MLB playoff news and notes - October 11
National Team alum Stubby Clapp (Windsor, Ont.) will coach first base for the St. Louis Cardinals as they take on the Washington Nationals in the National League Championship Series that begins tonight at Busch Stadium.
October 11, 2019
By Kevin Glew
Canadian Baseball Network
- St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt told reporters on Thursday that he doesn’t expect any changes to his club’s 25-man roster heading in to the National League Championship Series which begins tonight against the Washington Nationals at Busch Stadium. That means that Canadian outfielder Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC) will not be on the roster. The Cards, of course, have gold medal-winning Canadian national team member Stubby Clapp (Windsor, Ont.) coaching first base.
- Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch piloted his club to an American League Division Series win over the Tampa Bay Rays, largely thanks to right-hander Gerrit Cole who struck out 10 in eight innings last night in his club’s 6-1 win over the Rays. It was Cole’s second win of the series. As a Canadian baseball history buff, when I think of Hinch, I think of his two stints playing in Canada. In parts of seven major league seasons, Hinch batted only .219, but during his two short tenures in triple-A north of the border, he looked like a potential batting champion. With the triple-A Edmonton Trappers in 1997, Hinch hit .376 with four home runs in 39 games. Two years later in 15 contests with the triple-A Vancouver Canadians, he batted .377 in 15 games.
- The Philadelphia Phillies announced on Thursday that manager Gabe Kapler will not be returning for the 2020 season. It’s uncertain what this means for 2019 Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Rob Thomson (Corunna, Ont.) who served as Kapler’s bench coach. The Phillies also fired their pitching coach Chris Young. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported on Tuesday that the Phillies “have reached agreements or exercised contract options” for all of the other remaining coaches for next season. This would include Thomson. There are a few ways this could go. Thomson could be interviewed for the vacant managerial position (his resume certainly makes him worthy). The veteran Canadian coach could remain as the bench coach or the Phillies could go outside the organization to hire a new manager who would most likely bring in his own bench coach.
- Four years ago today, with the Toronto Blue Jays down 2-0 to the Texas Rangers in their best-of-five American League Division Series, right-hander Marco Estrada put together one of the best clutch pitching performances in Blue Jays history. He limited the Rangers to just one run in 6 1/3 innings, while Troy Tulowitzki belted a three-run home run in the sixth inning to lead the Blue Jays to a 5-1 win at Globe Life Park in Arlington.