Yesterday was the batter side.. Today is the pitching staff.
I think a couple of these are no-brainers.. This may be the part I get more engagement with.. Who knows?
Fergie Jenkins
It's natural that the Ace of this staff would be the first Hall of Famer. From Chatham, Ontario, Fergie played for the Phillies, Cubs, Red Sox, and Rangers.
He is a member of the Canadian Baseball HOF and Cooperstown. He also has a statue outside Wrigley Field (incidentally, I missed the Topps Now card of that.. I would like a copy)
Ryan Dempster
Second on the staff is fellow former Cub, Ryan Dempster.
From Sechelt, BC, he played for the Marlins, Reds, Cubs, Rangers, and Red Sox. He actually has the second most wins by a Canadian born pitcher. Fergie, obviously, is First.
Russ Ford
Third on the staff is Russ Ford from Brandon, Manitoba. He played for the Yankees and the Federal League Buffalo team.
Rich Harden
Fourth starter is Rich Harden.
He's From Victoria BC and played for the A's, Cubs, and Rangers..
The fifth starter is Kirk McCaskill from Kapuskasing Ontario
He played for the Angels and White Sox. He did bounce between the rotation and bullpen, but for my purposes, he's a starter because of the 380 games he played in, he started 242, not being a full time reliever until the end of his career.
Now... The Bullpen
First reliever is Rheal Cormier from Moncton New Brunswick. One of my favourite error cards is one of his.. 1993 Upper Deck has Moncton in BC..
He played for Philadelphia, Montreal, Boston, St Louis, and Cincinnati.
He's second in games pitched by a Canadian, behind another player on this list
Next is Reggie Cleveland. Born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, he played for the Red Sox, Cardinals, Rangers, and Brewers.
Honestly, it would be twisting my rubber arm is someone was able to argue he should be in the rotation..
Next is Paul Quantrill. He was born in London, Ontario, but lived in Port Hope, ON.
He pitched for the Red Sox, Blue Jays, Phillies, Dodgers, Yankees, Padres, and Marlins.
He holds the record of pitching appearances by a Canadian born player, playing in 841 games.
Some of you may have heard of his son, Cal...
Next out of the pen is Toronto's Jesse Crain
He played for the Twins and White Sox.
Next is Eric Gagne from Montreal, Quebec.
He played for the Dodgers, Rangers, Red Sox, and Brewers.
Obviously remembered for his dominance out of the Bullpen for the Dodgers, (His nickname was Game Over) but injured his knee and then his arm..
He is the all time leader for saves by a Canadian.
Another Toronto, born player, John Hiller pitched for the Tigers from 1965-1980. He did miss two seasons due to a heart attack and the subsequent recovery.
He is third on the list of saves by a Canadian
Now, This one I kind of expect more argument on. I did leave out some good pitchers, like Dick Fowler, Phil Marchildon, John Axford, Ron Taylor (though he could be the team trainer!) and others.
So. What do you think of this list? Good? Bad? I should jump off the nearest tall building? Give me your thoughts. There are a couple I could be swayed on..
I'm dumping McCaskill, using Cleveland as a swing man, and adding Axford to the bullpen.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Any reason you'd dump McCaskill? Axford definitely was an oversight. Second in saves by a Canadian..
DeleteI've heard of all of these hurlers except Ford. Looks like a strong bullpen and a solid rotation anchored by a HOFer.
ReplyDeleteGood to see Ratso aka John Hiller make the cut in the relief Corp.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff. Kudos to you for putting together this all-time team. I don't know enough about any of these guys to make suggestions. I do remember Gagne being the best reliever in the game at one point. And Harden pitched with the Big 3 for a couple of seasons.
ReplyDeleteThank you. It was something that I thought was interesting, so why not
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