Glew - BWDIK - Baker, Balazovic, Black, Clapp, Whitt, Zastryzny

Butler Prospects and Toronto Mets alum Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.) has a shot at cracking the Milwaukee Brewers’ Opening Day roster, according to Matt Arnold, the team’s GM.

December 17, 2023

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Some Canadian baseball news and notes from the past week:

-Milwaukee Brewers general manager Matt Arnold recently told MLB.com reporter Adam McCalvy that Canadian infield prospect Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.) is “absolutely” in the mix for an Opening Day roster spot on the big league club in 2024. The 23-year-old Black is coming off an outstanding minor league campaign that earned him the organization’s co-Minor League Player of the Year Award. The Butler Prospects and Toronto Mets alum split 2023 between the double-A Biloxi Shuckers and the triple-A Nashville Sounds, batting a combined .284 with a .417 on-base percentage (OBP) in 123 games. He had 25 doubles, 12 triples, 18 home runs, 73 RBIs, 105 runs and 55 stolen bases. His combined 12 triples were the most in the entire affiliated minor league ranks and he also topped Brewers’ minor leaguers in runs, stolen bases and extra-base hits (55). For his efforts, he was named a Southern League All-Star and the third baseman on the Brewers’ Organization All-Star Team by MILB.com. “He can do a lot of things,” Arnold told McCalvy about Black in early December. “His ability to play third, first, outfield if needed, DH. He’s so athletic. He’s really talented and we’re really excited about him wherever he winds up . . . He’s a really good hitter. It’s fun to watch.”

-Speaking of the Brewers, they signed left-hander Rob Zastryzny (Edmonton, Alta.) to a minor league contract on Tuesday. The 31-year-old southpaw posted a 4.79 ERA in a career-high 21 big league appearances for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023. Zastryzny recorded a win in relief on Opening Day and on August 24, he made his first major league start since September 29, 2016. The 6-foot-3 Zastryzny was a second-round pick of the Chicago Cubs in 2013. He recorded a 4.41 ERA in 18 relief appearances with the Cubs from 2016 to 2018 and earned a World Series ring in 2016. From 2019 to 2022, he pitched in the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, Miami Marlins, New York Mets and Los Angeles Angels organizations. He also started for Canada against Mexico in the World Baseball Classic this past March.

-On Monday, the St. Louis Cardinals announced that Stubby Clapp (Windsor, Ont.) and Jamie Pogue (Guelph, Ont.) will be returning to their coaching staff in 2024. Clapp has served as the Cardinals’ first base coach for the past five seasons. Prior to that, he managed the triple-A Memphis Redbirds to back-to-back Pacific Coast League championships in 2017 and 2018. He was also a key contributor to the Junior National Team that won gold at the World Youth Baseball Championships in Brandon, Man., in 1991 and he was later a coach on both of Canada’s Senior National Teams that captured gold at the Pan Am Games (2011, 2015). Pogue returns as the bullpen catcher/assistant coach for his 13th season with the organization. Prior to joining the Cardinals, Pogue coached with the Ontario Blue Jays. This came on the heels of a nine-year professional playing career that including a stop with the independent Frontier League’s London Werewolves in 1999.

Cleats worn by Minnesota Twins right-hander Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.) in 2023 with the Minnesota Twins. Photo: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

-The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame has added a pair of cleats worn by Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.) in his rookie season with the Minnesota Twins to their collection. After pitching 3 2/3 scoreless innings in his major league debut for the Twins against the Detroit Tigers on June 18, Balazovic proceeded to make 17 more big league appearances in 2023. In all, the Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team alum posted a 4.44 ERA and struck out 17 batters in 24 innings. The 25-year-old righty also fanned 54 batters in 45 2/3 innings in 22 appearances for the triple-A St. Paul Saints. Selected in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB draft by the Twins, the 6-foot-5 right-hander has pitched in parts of seven seasons in the Twins’ system.

The Toronto Blue Jays traded Ernie Whitt to the Atlanta Braves 34 years ago today. This 1990 O-Pee-Chee baseball card has the date of the transaction wrong.

-On this date, 34 years ago, the Toronto Blue Jays dealt fan favourite catcher Ernie Whitt and outfield prospect Kevin Batiste to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for right-hander Ricky Trlicek. Whitt had requested a trade after being informed that the Blue Jays were going to replace him with Greg Myers as the left-handed hitting part of their platoon (Pat Borders hit right) at catcher. ”I haven’t lost the desire to play,” Whitt told the Canadian Press after the trade. “I don’t want to just hang on and if I’d stayed with Toronto, that’s what I would have been doing.” The 37-year-old Whitt was reunited with former Blue Jays manager Bobby Cox in Atlanta. He played 67 games for the Braves in 1990 before finishing his career with 35 contests with the Baltimore Orioles in 1991.

-Please take a moment to remember former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) star Mary Bonnie Baker (Omega, Sask.) who passed away 20 years ago today at the age of 85. She was the first Canadian woman signed by the AAGPBL. She was a catcher who is believed to have inspired Geena Davis’s character in A League of Their Own. In total, she played nine seasons in the AAGPBL, including seven with the South Bend Blue Sox from 1943 to 1949 and two with the Kalamazoo Lassies (1950, 1952). A two-time All-Star, she played a league record 930 games. She was one of 68 Canadian AAGPBL players who were elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. A Canadian Heritage Minute was produced about Baker that was released this year. You can watch it here.

-Thirty-one years ago today, Dave Winfield signed a two-year, $5.2-million contract with the Minnesota Twins after he had helped the Blue Jays to their first World Series title. In his sole season with the Blue Jays, Winfield batted .290 with 26 home runs and 108 RBIs in 156 games. Most believed Winfield would return to Toronto in 1993, but when the Blue Jays signed Paul Molitor 10 days earlier, Winfield moved on. The veteran slugger would bat .271 with 21 home runs in 143 games for the Twins in 1993 and then hit .252 with 10 homers in 77 contests for the Twins in 1994 prior to finishing his career with Cleveland in 1995.

-I wanted to extend my condolences to the family of Canadian baseball historian, author and collector Bill Rayner who passed away on Friday at the age of 88. The St. Thomas, Ont., resident was a key part of what has become known as “The Graney Gang.” It’s a determined group of historians that have been instrumental in raising the profile of legendary Cleveland outfielder and broadcaster Jack Graney, who hailed from St. Thomas. Rayner wrote a book about Graney, called Three and Two Jack, that was published last year. He was also the driving force behind getting the 68 women that played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. You can read Bill’s obituary and leave online condolences for him here.