May 6, 2021

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

It’s been too long since we played the Name Game.

When Shirley Ellis sang her hit it went like this:

The name game. Shirley! Shirley, Shirley

Bo-ber-ley, bo-na-na fanna

Fo-fer-ley. Fee fi mo-mer-ley, Shirley!

And moving on to new news, now that the 2021 minor league season began Tuesday night after a long COVID-19 delay … but first the original people honoured.

Jim Ridley (Burlington, Ont.) wearing his infamous Australian cowboy hat

Jimmy Jimmy bo-immy

Banana fanna fo-immy

Fee, fy, mo-immy.

Jimmy!

We named the Canadian Baseball Network scout of the year award after the late Jim Ridley who worked for the Toronto Blue Jays and the Minnesota Twins. Ridley (Burlington, Ont.) ran the Blue Jays first try out camp in Utica, N.Y. in 1976 and he was in Utica again in 2002 when the Jays fired him. He worked for the Minnesota Twins until his death in 2008.

The Honourable Mr. Justice Randall Echlin

Randy Randy bo-bandy

Banana fanna fo-fandy

Fee, fy, mo-mandy.

Randy!

We named our Canadian Baseball Network minor league hitter of the year award in memory of The Honourable Mr. Justice Randy Echlin. Echilin (Toronto, Ont.) used to chair the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame election committee and belongs on the Level of Excellence among Blue Jays fans.

The late Wayne Norton, left, with slugger Henry Aaron of the Atlanta Braves

Wayne, Wayne bo-ayne

Banana fanna fo-ayne

Fee, fy, mo-ayne.

Wayne!

Our minor league affiliated pitcher of 2021 will win the Wayne Norton award. Norton (Port Moody, BC) is also a member of the shrine in St. Marys. Norton was Baseball Canada before Greg Hamilton. He came up with the idea of the junior national team, coached the senior team, formed the National Baseball Institute and scouted for the Baltimore Orioles and the Seattle Mariners.

One year M’s scouts called Seattle’s Baseball America top 10 list the Norton list as OF Michael Saunders (Victoria, BC) Italy’s Alex Liddi and Dutch OF Greg Halman all made the top 10. All were Norton signings.

Former San Diego Padres scout Murray Zuk (Souris, Man.

Murray, Murray. Bo-urr-ray

Bo-na-na fanna, fo-urr-ray

Fee fi mo-urr-ray.

Murray!

The Tip O’Neill Award went to Jamie Romak (London, Ont.) in 2020 and from now on, the Canadian Baseball Network award for the best hitter in independent ball or foreign lands will be known as the Murray Zuk award. Romak has won this honour the past four years with SK Wyverns in Korea.

Zuk (Souris, Man.) began scouting in 1969, retiring in 2019 after 50 years. He scouted for the Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves and the San Diego Padres. He was elected to the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999. The top three hitters Zuk saw and put big evaluation numbers on were:

1. Justin Morneau (New Westminster, BC). However, his supervisor didn’t think Morneau would hit. Morneau was a catcher with the North Delta Blue Jays, but Zuk wrote him up as a first baseman, which is where he landed with the Twins.

2. Ontario Blue Jays slugger Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.). His bosses ranked him high and a year later San Diego made a deal to acquire Naylor from the Miami Marlins. Naylor was then moved to Cleveland.

3. Langley Blaze C Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC). Zuk’s scouting director didn’t like him as much.

Zuk also had a high ratings on Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) of the Ontario Blue Jays, as a third baseman mainly because he thought he would have to spend too long in the minors behind the plate. The Padres cross checker and GM went to the Dominican Republic for a final look -- they considered him as the first-round mix -- but ended up choosing a pitcher instead.

FieldHouse Pirates OF Owen Cassie (Burlington, Ont.) was the top Canuck drafted in 2020 selected by new Padres scout Chris Kemlo (Oshawa, Ont.). Zuk had filed reports on Cassie in 2019 and the scouting director contacted him after his signing to tell Zuk he had played a big part in their selecting him.

Claude, Claude bo-lau-de

Bo-na-na, fanna fo-lau-de

Fee fi mo-lau-de.

Claude!

Not many scouts have signed a Cy Young award winner. As a Los Angeles Dodgers scout Claude Pelletier (Ste-Lezare, Que.) convinced the brass to come and have a second look at Eric Gagne (Mascouche, Que.), who had pitched at Seminole State in Oklahoma.

Pelletier called scouting director Terry Reynolds for a second opinion. Eddie Bane, assistant to Dodgers GM Fred Claire, headed north. Gagne had a solid outing on the way to the Olympic qualifier in Edmonton in 1995.

“The first thing Claude did was identifying Eric Gagne,” said Bane this week from Las Vegas. “The second thing was locking Gagne in a closet so other teams couldn’t make him an offer.”

Gagne received 28 of 32 first-place votes to win the 2003 National League Cy Young award with 55 saves in the midst of converting 84 consecutive saves. In 2003, he had a 1.20 ERA walking 20 and striking out 137 in 82 1/3 innings. Gagne belongs in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys.

Pelletier worked for the New York Mets until the end of the 2020 season. The best arm in either independent ball or foreign lands will now win the Canadian Baseball Network’s Claude Pelletier award.

Canadian Baseball Network Scout Of The Year

Re-Named Jim Ridley Award In 2009

Year Winner Hometown Club

1994 Bill Scherrer, Buffalo, NY, Florida Marlins

1995 Bill MacKenzie, Ottawa, Ont., Colorado Rockies

1996 Tim Harkness, Hampton, Ont., San Diego Padres

1997 Ed Heather, Cambridge, Ont., Toronto Blue Jays

1998 Wayne Norton, Port Moody, BC, Baltimore Orioles

1999 Walt Jefferies, Paris, Ont., Toronto Blue Jays

2000 Claude Pelletier, Ste-Lezare, Que., New York Mets

2001 Jim Kane, Brampton, Ont., Atlanta Braves

2002 Ken Lenihan, Bedford, N.S., MLB Scouting Bureau

2003 Dick (The Legend) Groch, St. Clair, Mich. Milwaukee Brewers

2004 Jim Ridley, Burlington, Ont., Minnesota Twins

2005 Walt Burrows, Brentwood Bay, BC, MLB Scouting Bureau

2006 Alex Agostino, Montreal, Que., Philadelphia Phillies

2007 Howie Norsetter, Sydney, Australia, Minnesota Twins

2008 Greg Hamilton, Ottawa, Ont., Baseball Canada

2009 Jim Ridley, Burlington, Ont., Minnesota Twins

2010 Jay Lapp, London, Ont., Milwaukee Brewers

2011 Doug Mathieson, Langley, BC, Arizona Diamondbacks

2012 Andrew Tinnish, Burlington, Ont., Blue Jays

2013 Murray Zuk, Souris, Man., San Diego Padres

2014 Wayne Norton, Port Moody, BC, Seattle Mariners

2015 Jim Stevenson, Tulsa, Oak., Houston Astros

2016 Doug Mathieson, Langley, BC, Arizona Diamondbacks

2017 Chris Reitsma, Calgary, Alta., Baltimore Orioles

2018 Bill Byckowski, Georgetown, Ont., Cincinnati Reds

2019 Matt Higginson, Grimsby, Ont, Oakland A’s.

2020 Lonnie Goldberg, Overland Park, Kan., Kansas City Royals.

Honour Roll

Affiliated Players

Offensive Player Of The Year

(Starting in 2011 the award was named after the The Honourable Mr. Justice Randall Echlin, former head of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame selection committee and a man with a baseball-shaped heart the size of a box of new Rawlings.)

2008 _ Tim Smith (Toronto, Ont.) Rangers.

2009 _ Tyson Gillies (Langley, BC) Mariners.

2010 _ Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC) Brewers.

2011 _ Taylor Green (Comox, BC) Brewers and Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC) Jays.

2012 _ Oscar Taveras (Montreal, Que.) Cardinals.

2013 _ Sean Jamieson (Simcoe, Ont.) Diamondbacks.

2014 _ Dalton Pompey (Mississauga, Ont.) Blue Jays.

2015 _ Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC) Mariners.

2016 _ Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC) Mariners.

2017 _ Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC) Mariners/Cardinals and Vladimir Guerrero (Montreal, Que.) Blue Jays.

2018 _ Vladimir Guerrero (Montreal, Que.) Blue Jays.

2019 _ Abraham Toro (Longueuil, Que.) Astros.

2020 _ Minor league seasons cancelled, virus.

Pitcher Of The Year

(Renamed the Wayne Norton award for 2021 season)

2008 _ Scott Diamond (Guelph, Ont.) Braves.

2009 _ James Henderson (Calgary, Alta.) Brewers and John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.) Brewers.

2010 _ Scott Mathieson (Langley, BC) Phillies.

2011 _ Mark Hardy (Campbell River, BC) Padres.

2012 _ James Henderson (Calgary, Alta.) Brewers.

2013 _ Andrew Albers (North Battleford, Sask.) Twins

2014 _ Nick Pivetta (Victoria, BC) Nationals.

2015 _ Adam Loewen (Surrey, BC) Phillies and Shane Dawson (Drayton Valley, Alta.) Jays.

2016 _ Jameson Taillon (The Woodlands, Tex.) Pirates and Nick Pivetta (Victoria, BC) Phillies.

2017 _ Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) Braves.

2018 _ Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) Jays.

2019 _ Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.) Twins.

2020 _ Minor league seasons cancelled, virus.

Affliated award winners

By organization: Blue Jays 6, Brewers 5, Mariners 4, Phillies 3, Braves 2, Twins 2, Astros, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Padres, Pirates, Rangers, Nationals one each.

By provinces: BC 12, Ontario 7, Alberta 4, Quebec 4 and Saskatchewan one.

Independent/Foreign Leagues

Top Offensive Player Of The Year

(Renamed the Murray Zuk award for 2021 season)

2008 — Drew Miller (Medicine Hat, Alta.) Calgary Vipers.

2009 — Pete LaForest (Hull, Que.) Quebec Capitales and Colin Moro (Calgary, Alta.) Calgary Vipers.

2010 - Drew Miller (Medicine Hat, Alta.) Calgary Vipers.

2011 – Matt Rogelstad (Port Moody, BC) Edmonton Capitals.

2012 – Sebastien Boucher (Ottawa, Ont.) Quebec Capitales.

2013 – Jonathan Malo (Laval, Que.) Quebec Capitales.

2014 - Sebastien Boucher (Ottawa, Ont.) Quebec Capitales.

2015 - Jim Adduci (Burnaby, BC) Lotte Giants, Korea.

2016 - Carter Bell, (Courtenay, BC) Joliet Slammers.

2017 - Jamie Romak (London, Ont.) SK Wyverns/triple-A El Paso.

2018 _ Jamie Romak (London, Ont.) SK Wyverns, Korea

2019 _ Jamie Romak (London, Ont.) SK Wyverns, Korea

2020 _ Jamie Romak (London, Ont.) SK Wyverns, Korea

Pitcher Of The Year

(Renamed the Claude Pelletier award for 2021 season)

2008 — Michel Simard (Charlesbourg, Que.) Quebec Capitales.

2009 — Aaron Wideman (Mississauga, Ont.) New Jersey Jackals.

2010 – Aaron Cotter (Kitimat, BC) Sioux Falls Pheasants.

2011 – John Mariotti (Toronto, Ont.) Quebec Capitales

2012 – Jeff Duda (Surrey, BC) Quebec Capitales.

2013 – Karl Gelinas (Iberville, Que.) Quebec Capitales.

2014 – Karl Gelinas (Iberville, Que.) Quebec Capitales.

2015 – Karl Gelinas (Iberville, Que.) Quebec Capitales.

2016 – Karl Gelinas (Iberville, Que.) Quebec Capitales.

2017 - Scott Mathieson (Aldergrove, BC) Yomiuri Giants.

2018 _ Andrew Albers (North Battleford, Sask.). Orix Buffaloes

2019 _ Phillippe Aumont (Gatineau, Que.) Ottawa Champions.

2020 _ Andrew Albers (North Battleford, Sask.). Orix Buffaloes

Indy/foreign lands winners from

Provinces: Quebec 9, BC 6, Alberta 2, Ontario 2, Saskatchewan 2.