It’s Dr. Fergie Jenkins now, thanks to an honorary degree bestowed upon the baseball great by Brock University last week. Canadian Baseball Network writer J.P. Antonacci has the story.
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“Thirty teams passed on Bryce Arnold during June’s MLB draft, before the Toronto Blue Jays signed the middle infielder from Grimsby, Ont., to a free agent contract and sent him to Low-A Dunedin.
Jimmy Richardson, VP and director of baseball operations with Arnold’s alma mater, the Fieldhouse Pirates, has every confidence Arnold will rise far above Dunedin before his playing days are done.
“After Bryce signed, I said, ‘That guy’s going to be a big leaguer,’” Richardson told Canadian Baseball Network.”
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Canadian Baseball Network writer J.P. Antonacci was at the Rogers Centre on Friday night for the Toronto Blue Jays’ thrilling 10-8 comeback win over the Texas Rangers. He shares his reflections on that unforgettable game.
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Fieldhouse Pirates and Junior National Team alum Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) has reportedly been traded to the Chicago Cubs by the San Diego Padres as part of a package for right-hander Yu Darvish.
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J.D. Martinez. Shohei Ohtani. Andrew Benintendi. Ronald Acuña Jr., Mike Trout. They’re some of the best hitters in the game, and they also share the distinction of being among Toronto Blue Jays rookie reliever Jordan Romano’s strikeout victims. The Markham, Ont., native has impressed as a reliever with the big league club this season. Canadian Baseball Network contributor J.P. Antonacci recently caught up with Romano to talk about the hard-throwing right-hander’s first big league season and what it’s like playing professionally in his hometown.
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Canadian Baseball Network writer J.P. Antonacci recently caught up with Houston Astros rookie third baseman Abraham Toro (Longueuil, Que.) to talk about his road to the big leagues. Antonacci was also able to speak with Leaside, Ont., native Jim Stevenson, the Canadian scout that signed Toro for the Astros.
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PBF Redbirds and Junior National Team alum Mike Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) allowed just two runs in six innings against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Tuesday, but his Atlanta Braves could only muster one run and the young Canuck was saddled with a tough-luck loss.
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From Nova Scotia to New York, Jake Sanford (Cole Harbour, N.S.) has defied long odds to not only enjoy a history-making collegiate career, but be drafted by and then sign a lucrative contract with the New York Yankees. Canadian Baseball Network writer J.P. Antonacci recently caught up with Sanford to talk about his inspiring baseball odyssey.
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Jordan Romano knows that baseball is a game of inches. Over the weekend, he was reminded that it’s a numbers game too. A slight adjustment to his mechanics helped the relief pitcher from Markham, Ont. add several miles per hour to his fastball, ushering in a dominant stretch at triple-A Buffalo that led to his promotion to the major leagues on June 12. And it was a roster crunch that resulted in Romano’s demotion 11 days later, despite impressing his manager and the Blue Jays front office during his brief but memorable stint with Toronto.
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Jordan Romano’s grandmother had only seen him pitch once, and never professionally. On Wednesday night in Toronto, she saw him strike out the best hitter in the game. Pitching on home soil for the first time, the big righthander from Markham, Ont. got Mike Trout looking on a night that the Angels star otherwise had his way with Blue Jays pitching.
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It’s a promise Adam Stephens is ecstatic to have finally kept. For years, the chair of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame board of directors had opened the annual induction ceremony in St. Marys, Ont. by promising attendees that the museum would soon get a much-needed facelift. On Saturday, Stephens could finally say it has happened. Earlier this spring, the Hall opened its “beautiful, brand new museum” and hundreds had the opportunity to tour through it before and after Saturday’s 2019 induction ceremony which honoured an all-Canadian class consisting of Gord Ash, Jason Bay, Ryan Dempster, and Rob Thomson.
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A pair of gopher balls served up by Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman proved to be the difference as Toronto’s anemic offence mounted little challenge against the Los Angeles Angels Tuesday night. The punchless Jays mustered just three hits, falling to the Halos 3-1 at Rogers Centre.
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As a major league coach, Rob Thomson is used to working behind the scenes, quietly sharing words of wisdom with managers and imparting advice to young players. But for one day, the baseball lifer from the blue collar town of Corunna, Ont. was in the spotlight as a 2019 inductee into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Canadian Baseball Network writer J.P. Antonacci spoke with Thomson prior to his induction on Saturday.
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The last time Ryan Dempster (Gibsons, BC) appeared in a competitive baseball game, he wore the Maple Leaf across his chest as a member of Team Canada at the 2017 World Baseball Classic. On Saturday in St Marys, Ont., one of the best Canadian pitchers of all time wore the Maple Leaf once again, this time on a blazer announcing him as a newly minted member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Canadian Baseball Network writer J.P. Antonacci spoke with Dempster prior to the ceremony.
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When he was eight years old, Canadian Baseball Network writer J.P. Antonacci tried to stump Toronto Blue Jays legendary broadcaster Jerry Howarth with some baseball trivia questions. He couldn’t do it. But that first interaction has led to long bond between the two that Antonacci is very grateful for.
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