Canada Baseball

Although baseball will always play second-string to hockey, baseball has a long tradition and strong following in Canada. In fact, some historians have claimed that the first documented baseball game was played in Beachville, Ontario, when the home team took on neighboring Zorra Township on June 4, 1838—a year before Abner Doubleday purportedly organized the first baseball game in Cooperstown, New York.

Starting with Bill Phillips who played with the Cleveland Blues in 1879, over 200 Canadian-born players have played in the Major Leagues, including Eric Bedard, Eric Gagne, and Larry Walker. In 1887, Canadian Tip O’Neil, won the Triple Crown with the St. Louis Browns, hitting .435, with 14 HRs, and 106 RBIs. Born in Chatham, Ontario, Ferguson Jenkins, the only Canadian-born Hall of Famer, won 284 games and had 49 shutouts from 1965-83 with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, and Boston Red Sox. Today, baseball is particularly popular in British Colombia, home of current Major Leaguers Justin Morneau, Rich Harden, and Jason Bay.

Montreal, Quebec has a long history of professional baseball, hosting minor league teams as early as the 1890s. One year before he became the first African-American to play in the Major Leagues by debuting with the Dodgers in 1947, Jackie Robinson led the Montreal Royals to a 100-54 record and a 4 games to 1 win over Syracuse in the International League Championship. On opening day of the 1946 season, Robinson turned in a memorable performance for the Royals, going 4-5 with a 3-run homer, 4 runs, 4 RBIs, and 2 SBs. Batting .349 with 40 SBs in 1946, Robinson was beloved by Montreal fans where he experienced little of the harassment that he did in the United States in the following year.

In 1969, Montreal became the home of the first Major League Baseball team outside of the United States. In their 35 years, the Expos largely disappointed, winning only one division title in 1981, and missing their best chance in 1994 when the Expos had the best record in baseball, 74-40, before a strike ended the season. With declining attendance, the Expos played their last game in Montreal in 2004, before relocating and becoming the Washington Nationals. Founded in 1977, Toronto became the second Canadian Major League city. The Blue Jays had more success winning back-to-back World Series in 1992 and 1993.

Hear Blue Jays’ announcer Tom Creek’s historic “Touch em’ all, Joe” call of Joe Carter’s 3-run homer off of Phillies’ closer Mitch Williams in the bottom of the 9th inning off of game 6 to win the 1993 World Series.

In the 2004 Olympic Games, the Canadian National team narrowly missed out on a medal, with a fourth place finish. On March 8, 2006, Canada, led by Pittsburgh Pirates star Jason Bay, upset the United States 8-6 in the first round of the World Baseball Classic, but were eliminated before advancing to the next round.

Available for Sale
Jason Bay (Pittsburgh Pirates) autographed 2006 Canada World Baseball Classic cap

Players Born in Canada