Gallagher: Canadian ball hall close to picking inductees

Canadian Baseball Network writer Danny Gallagher believes that former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Vernon Wells (above) should be a solid candidate for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

By Danny Gallagher
Canadian Baseball Network

On Feb. 5, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame will announce its latest inductees so it will be interesting to see who gets enshrined in St. Marys, Ont.

At least one person has already been picked to be part of the 2019 cast to be inducted. That person was elected a year ago but he told the hall's director of operations Scott Crawford that he couldn't be present at the induction ceremony in June of 2018.

Is that you, Ryan Dempster? Or you, Jason Bay? Vernon Wells? Maybe someone else. It wasn't Pedro Martinez, who cancelled out of the 2018 ceremony at the last minute because of a medical issue, causing embarrassment to the hall to no end but also disappointment to so many Expos fans, who rarely, rarely ever see Martinez in person.

So who will get elected this year? I'm thinking Dempster and Bay, both B.C. natives. Maybe Rich Harden, another B.C. native, who was 59-38 during a pretty decent MLB career. How about Wells? Oh, yeah, he’s a prime candidate.

Remember that Bay was a signed Expos pick, who was exemplary in 2001 in the minor leagues for Montreal in a combined season in Burlington, Vermont and Clinton, Iowa. He hits 14 homers and drove in 71 runs. He never did play for the Expos in the majors.

But it's time for the hall to get more big-name Canadian natives elected. It's great that former Expos and Blue Jays are elected but there is a need to look at more Canadians. There has not been a big-name Canadian elected since Corey Koskie and Matt Stairs in 2015. Here’s hoping that cycle ends this year.
I'm sure Crawford and selection-committee chair Allan Simpson brought this 'Canadian' scenario to the attention of voters.

For three consecutive years from 2016-18, a Blue Jay and an Expo were elected each year. Now it's time to put guys like Dempster and Bay into the hall. But who is to say the hall voters don't always look at former Expos and Jays, especially if they bring large crowds to St. Marys induction weekend?

We know Wells was a solid player with the Jays but I didn't realize his impact until the other day that he was more than exemplary. When I looked him up, I was surprised that he played nearly 10 seasons with Toronto, batting .280 with 339 doubles, 223 homers and 813 RBI. He most definitely is a lock for the Canadian hall. His three-year wait for St. Marys eligibility concluded following the 2016 season.

Rich Griffin of the Toronto Star didn't vote for Wells to go into Cooperstown this year because he isn't a worthwhile candidate but Griffin most likely would have voted for Wells to go into St. Marys. Two different halls of thinking.

The Canadian hall doesn't let the public know in advance of any possibilities for induction. I was told long ago that in any scenario in life any publicity is better than no publicity. Pre-publicity gets people talking. So when the hall declines to mention any names, it's left up to people to think and guess about possible inductees with help from a Twitter post from Wells.

And there are many others, who are deserving of a place in St. Marys. There is a long list of people banging on the door. What about former Jays such as Jimmy Key and Jesse Barfield? Two-thirds of that long-ago, much-ballyhooed Toronto outfield of Barfield, Lloyd Moseby and George Bell are in the Canadian hall so it's time the other one-third gets in there.

To beat the Dec. 1, 2018 deadline for 2019 possibilities, legendary Expos pitcher and quasi-Canadian Bill Lee was nominated by yours truly, David Morneau, Perry Giannias, Colin Greer and Annakin Slayd. We made a great case for his election. It will be interesting to see how the estimated 15 voters look at him in his first shot at induction.

Several years ago, I also nominated former Expos pitchers Bryn Smith and Steve Renko, two savvy poormen's versions of Steve Rogers, Dave Stieb and Jack Morris.

Smitty was 81-71 lifetime with the Expos in a Montreal career lasting more than eight seasons. His service time puts him behind only fellow Expos teammates Tim Wallach, Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Tim Raines and Rogers, all CBHOF inductees.

Renko was a good pitcher on some bad Expos teams in the early rough years of the franchise. Then you think of Jeff Reardon, the all-time Expos leader in saves, former Expos player/administrator Bill Stoneman and Darrin Fletcher, who toiled close to 11 seasons in Canada, six with the Expos, almost five with the Jays.

My thinking about the hall voting is that at least one scout or amateur executive should be voted in each and every year. You know, a real underdog, a lesser light, who gets very little recognition. Yes, one of these people should be voted in every year. That should be a priority on every ballot.

I also have nominated former Expos scout Bill MacKenzie, Jays scouting legend Wayne Morgan and long-time Baseball Canada president Cas Pielak, who was also prominent outside Canada as a vice-president with the International Amateur Baseball Federation.

Danny Gallagher's recently released book about the '81 Expos is called Blue Monday. He’s also coming out this April with an exposé book on Rick Mauran, the reclusive founder of Swiss Chalet and Harvey’s, two iconic restaurant chains in Canada.