In the sports world, it used to be that Canada was known only for its bizarre football rules and excessive love for hockey. Things are starting to change however—and a closer look reveals that Canada is making strides in another sport, one traditionally known for being "America's National Pastime."
That's right: Canada is becoming a legitimate force in Major League Baseball.
In fact, this phenomenon has been slowly gathering steam—and while the past few years have shown signs of progress, 2007 was really the year where Canadians began making headlines.
Yes, the Blue Jays won two World Series' back in '92, and '93, and it was a big deal to a lot of Canadians. Larry Walker won the NL MVP award in 1997, after having a career year with the Rockies.
But there simply has never been a season when so many Canadians made such an impact throughout the league like in 2007.
Here's a breakdown of how the year looked for Canadians in the MLB:
Pitching
About half of the Canadians currently in MLB are pitchers. Many are used like any average pitcher, such as in bullpens or as fifth starters.
There are however, some Canadian pitchers with real star power, that have become the "Aces" for their respective teams. The two most well known are probably Baltimore's Erik Berard, and Colorado's Jeff Francis, the latter of which helped carry the Rockies on their magical run to the World Series.
Bedard led a stacked American League in strikeouts until he was forced to miss the last month of the season with an injury. He still managed to finish third in that category however with 221 K's, and an astounding 1.09 WHIP on the season.
Francis, on the other hand, had a solid 17-9 record, and struck out a substantial 165 batters. He was also one of the few Canadians to pitch in a World Series game, let alone be a starter for one.
Slugging
The big bats of 2007 looked solid for a pair of B.C. boys named Justin Morneau and Jason Bay.
Morneau, fresh off his AL MVP season, kept pace by going deep 31 times and driving in 111 runs. By his previous standards, Bay had an off year—but still managed to hit 21 long balls and drive in 84 runs. Matt Stairs even proved that he might be more than a bench playerm, after he posted a .368 OBP and 21 home runs in only 357 at bats. Furthermore, Jays fans will be the first to tell you that all of Stairs' handy work was being done in very clutch situations.
Young Guns
The future also looks promising for young Canadian talen, with the likes of Joey Votto, Adam Loewen, and Scott Thorman chomping at the bit. The two first base prospects looked strong when Votto cracked the Reds' lineup towards the end of the year, hitting for a .321 average. Thorman meanwhile hit eleven home runs, despite being limited to 287 AB's. Loewen had a tough year because of injuries, but in his six games he was able to significantly improve his ERA, bringing it down to 3.56.
All Around Best
1 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Zander Freund about 1 year ago
Excellent read Nick.
It really was a big year for all of you up north, and for baseball fans in general—as its a fitting tribute to the American pastime that the sport is picking up steam internationally, and people from all over the world are beginning to play the game on the elite levels.
The story of the year for Canadian fans surely was Russell Martin, but as you point out, there were a lot of other Canadian talents who really had great seasons (Bedard, Francis, Stairs, etc.) I think you're also right that this was probably the best year for Canada on a league wide scale, as one guy didn't steal all the highlights for the country at large (the way Morneau did last year or Larry Walker did in 07').
Here's hoping that the Canadians will continue to flourish in MLB next season. With the Mitchell Report just being released, lord knows we need some positive things to look forward too...
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