July 4, 2023

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Growing up in a athletic, competitive family and covering the Montreal Expos and the Toronto Blue Jays I was competitive.

The athletic gene? I had it for maybe one year on the diamond. You see they started throwing curveballs in Kingscourt Little League bantam division. But my father was competitive and passed it on, whether was betting an imaginary 25 cents or the NBC Saturday Game of the Week or each College Bowl games.

When I began working, finding out news was a thrill.

Hearing “according to ...” and mention of a story I’d written on The FAN, before being banned, was fun. TV never really gave any credit -- save for CBC’s Brian Williams.

Same for forming a relationship with a player who would tell me something off the record (”you can use it ... just don’t use my name”), which would lead to a story or being able to confirm with a scout.

Friends ask how is it possible to replace friendships, the camaraderie and the “natural highs,” the newspaper business provided for roughly 50 years, including nine seasons covering the Expos and 29 1/2 covering the Blue Jays. We miss seeing pals, but we don’t miss deadlines or lining up for early flights.

We still get excited, the heart begins to beat quickly (although not too, too quickly) and the chest sticks out proudly.

Even more so than the newspaper days. What has replaced the rush of nailing a trade, having the hiring of a new GM or manager? Or receiving compliments on step-by-step breakdowns of the exits of Shawn Green, Carlos Delgado and Roy Halladay.

The most recent personal buzz came at the Canadian Hall of Fame ceremonies in St. Marys. Standing outside the tent I heard chair of the board of directors Jeremy Diamond say ...

“Kevin Glew has volunteered with the museum since the late 1990’s first helping with the golf tournament and communications committee. An exceptional writer by trait Kevin took over writing all major press releases and communication pieces for the Hall of Fame in early 2000 and has spent over 20 years supporting the Hall of Fame with his words of wisdom. His personal blog Cooperstowners in Canada show his depth of knowledge and writing skills. If we don’t know the answer to a baseball question we ask Kevin.

“Kevin also lends his time by chairing the Selection Committee for the Jack Graney award which is presented annually by the Hall of Fame to a representative of the media who has made a significant contribution to the game of baseball in Canada through their life’s work, or for a singular outstanding achievement.

“In recognition of his many contributions to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, we are delighted to present Kevin Glew with the 2023 Randy Echlin Lifetime Volunteer Award. Thank you and congratulations.”

Then the applause began and outside of Kevin’s parents I’d wager a Diet Coke no one was clapping louder than I was. I used to be able to whistle but I lost that attribute about eight years ago.

Glew is the backbone of our Canadian Baseball Network. He is our conscience. A self starter. A walking-talking encyclopedia on Canadian ball. He knows what happened 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago today.

His Coooperstowners in Canada blog is a must read according to Blue Jays president emeritus Paul Beeston. When Glew won the Baseball Canada media award Beeston phoned to say “they picked the right man ... he’s 30 times better than you are.”

For Glew (Dorchester, Ont.) to earn the Randal Echlin award is high praise, long over due and so fitting. Judge Echlin was a dear friend of anyone whomever set foot in St. Marys, the SkyDome or the Rogers Centre. Echlin had a pure love of the game. Glew is the same. In the early days of the Jays, each spring Echlin would spend the morning at the Bobby Mattick Complex getting pictures of players along with his friend Judge Ted Minden. Then, they would head to a mall and get them developed.

The next day they would arrive before the players with each picture inserted inside a folder. Echlin would recognize a player’s car as soon as it pulled into the lot: “Here’s Jim Clancy ... there’s Dave Stieb ... here’s Joe Carter.”

He’d get the pictures signed and then start all over again. They would stay for the first game at Grant Field and then head home the next day. That was the spring ritual for the two.

Glew has volunteered at the Hall longer than he has helped us at the Canadian Baseball Network. We first spoke in 2005 when he interviewed me for an article he wrote for MLB.com about a book I wrote “The Northern Game.”

We met in person the following year at St. Marys inside the museum on induction weekend. We tried to hire Glew in a high-level meeting at the St. Louis Bar & Grill in August 2015. He said no, but did contribute articles before that.

We did not give up and he began as editor of the Canadian Baseball Network in April 2017.

Now, he’s a man I phone for advice oh three or four times a week.

* * *

Diamond on 2022 Volunteer of the Year … Christine Douglas

Christine Douglas starting volunteering at the Hall of Fame in our early days here in St. Marys. Her main responsibility was the co-ordinator of our largest fundraiser, the Celebrity Golf Classic and Banquet. Christine was the key organizer and the feet on the ground day of the tournament since our very first golf tournament in 1997 and she finally retired 23 golf tournaments later after the very successful 2019 tournament.

She never hesitates to provide input and thoughts towards all aspects of the Hall of Fame and was one of the first financial donors as well

In recognition of his many contributions to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, we are delighted to present Christine Douglas with the 2022 Randy Echlin Lifetime Volunteer Award.  Thank you and congratulations!

* * *

Some background ... for context ...

Shooting the breeze with players reminded me of being the scorekeeper for my father’s junior and senior teams in the 1960s. In those every player had to sign a yellow lineup card and it then had to be mailed to Ron Pegg (Flesherton, Ont.). To prevent ringers from showing up, I guess.

Guy White my father’s first baseman. He had this habit of rather than signing his own name he would scribble Eic Nesterenko, Eddie Litzenberger, Gordie Howe or some NHLer. Eventually, I learned to ask him to sign the lineup card first, or else I’d have to start over. Talking led to forming relationships.

One day in the Blue Jays clubhouse I remember talking to Drew Hutchison trying to find a common ground. Finally, he looked at me and said “You have been talking to me for five minutes without asking a question.” Before I could answer Mark Buerhle, who had the locker next door, said “that’s the way it used to be when I broke in, and then WHAM! They come with a question.”

Covering the Expos I enjoyed talking to the likes of (alphabetical order): Larry Bearnarth, Galen Cisco, Andre Dawson, Jim Fanning, Woodrow Fryman, Tim Raines, Buck Rodgers, Steve Rogers, Pete Rose, Larry Parrish, Dave Van Horne, Tim Wallach, Jerry White and Dick Williams (well, it took a while for Dick after some early sessions of foot-in-mouth disease by the green reporter).

With the Jays the longest relationships would have been with: Jose Bautista, George Bell, John Buck, Danny Cox, Carlos Delgado, Jim Fregosi (after he left to work for the Braves), Cito Gaston, John Gibbons, Shawn Green, Alfredo Griffin, Jim Fregosi, Tony Fernandez, Roy Halladay, Tom Henke, Paul Molitor, Todd Stottlemyre and Devon White.

And upstairs in the press boxes around the leagues: Tom Cheek, Ken Fidlin, Gerry Fraley, Richard Griffin (in both cities), Paul Hagen, Jerry Howarth, George King, Martin Noble, Jackie O’Connell, Dave Perkins, Phil Rogers, Ray Ratto, Patrick Reusse, Tracy Ringolsby, Ken Rosenthal, Mike Rutsey, Allan Ryan, Claire Smith, Serge Touchette and Mark Whicker.

I had laughs with one and all. Now, the best conversations I’ve had in the last two years have been with Matt Chapman, Kevin Gausman, Don Mattingly and future Hall of Famer Dusty Baker.

* * *

We’ve had some similar proud grandpa, father-like moments (two send Happy Father’s Day wishes) seeing our writers move on ... and good for them ...

_ Neve Van Pelt, who played hockey at Providence College, was promoted to the majors after writing for us. And 81 nights a season you can see her on the Jumbotron at the Rogers Centre as an in-game host.

_ Michael Distefano moved to TSN1050 becoming Toronto Leafs game night producer.

_ Elisabeth Rositsan left us to work at Rogers Sports and Media.

_ Alexis Brudnicki departed for MLB.com and is now attending law school at University of Missouri. Brudnicki won SABR’s Contemporary Baseball Commentary award for her piece “I’m Different. I’m the Same” in 2016. It appeared in The Hardball Times. Alexis also won the Baseball Canada award.

_ Nick Ashbourne joined Yahoo Canada Sports and is now with Sportsnet.

_ Melissa Couto left to cover the Blue Jays for Canadian Press.

_ Mike Cormack, who became Sportsnet’s MLB editor; managing editor, for Sportsnet Digital; senior producer, Multi-Platform NHL and now head of content & integrations for NorthStar Gaming (owned by The Star).

_ Todd Devlin, now runs the website Gameday London.

_ April Whitzman joined the Toronto Blue Jays as a digital marketing manager late in the 2016 season and is now senior manager, sports marketing at Judo.

_ Liam Mcguire wrote for VICE Media, Awful Announcing and is now with Screen Rant.

_ Alykhan Ravjiani does a great job as the social media in-game coordinator for the Toronto Blue Jays.

_ Chicco Nacion worked at CBC Sports and is now the NBA editor at The Score.

_ Chris Toman was sports editor at VICE Sports Canada and is now managing editor, betting content at NorthStar Gaming.

_ Dustin Saracini worked at The Score, the Okotoks Dawgs and is now senior betting analyst for the London, England-based Oddspedia.

* * *

Seven honorees, one personal memory each:

Inductee Jesse Barfield _ I don’t remember the year, but one morning in Anaheim Lloyd Moseby was teasing Barfield that George Bell had more assists that Barfield, despite the difference in arm velocity and accuracy. Third base coach Jimy Williams looked at me and said “You realize everyone is afraid to run on Barfield don’t you?”

Inductee Denis Boucher (Laval, Que.) _ One spring I headed to Port Charlotte to interview Texas Rangers co-owner George Bush. This was before he was the Texas governor and long before he was in the White House. I sat the first three innings alongside the future President. It was a tough assignment. You are supposed to look the person you are interviewing in the eye. Yet to my right sat Bush and to my left were the Blue Jays right-handed hitters facing a grunting Nolan Ryan in Game I of the spring. No one was pulling the ball.

Boucher was pitching for the Blue Jays. Bush said to the person on his right “This is Jimmy Key, pretty good left-hander.” Do I correct the owner? After he mentioned Key’s name again I said “Sir, that’s Denis Boucher, a good Canadian kid ... when coaches see Key and Boucher running in the outfield they always get it wrong.” Boucher walked lead-off man Julio Franco. I turned to Bush and said “You know this kid has a better pick-off move than Key ... Franco is off too far.” Two pitches later Boucher picked Franco and Bush yelled across the way to Paul Beeston behind the other dugout “this guy knows his stuff.”

Inductee Jacques Doucet (Montreal, Que.) _ When I started covering the Expos Doucet welcomed me with open arms. For a suburban guy -- whose paper was seldom seen -- that was not always the case. But he had more of a newspaper background than radio. One spring the Expos were in Vero Beach and the skies opened the same time as first pitch. We remember running for cover and seeing Jacques sitting atop the Holman Stadium press box unprotected from the elements.

Jack Graney winner, Richard Milo (Montreal, Que.) _ Downtown Milo was a good travelling partner. For as much as Le Journal de Montreal’s Serge Touchette and Montreal Matin’s J.P. Sarault were pranksters, trickers and jokers, Milo was the voice of reason working for La Presse Canadienne.

Inductee Rich Harden (Victoria, BC) _ How good was Harden? Well when the A’s had the Big Three Barry Zito, Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson -- they were so good someone should have written a book about them -- three straight winter meetings A’s GM Billy Beane told me that he would “not be surprised to see Harden win a Cy Young award,” that season. Injuries often cut Harden’s season short. Only in 2004, did he make more than 30 starts (31) and he threw his highest innings (189 2/3).

Inductee John Olerud _ In 1990, the Blue Jays were in Milwaukee and it was an ugly game. The Brewers pitchers -- Jaime Navarro, Tom Edens. Paul Mirabella and Randy Veres -- threw 183 pitches. They walked nine, and allowed 13 runs (nine earned) as the Jays scored 10 times in the fourth inning for a 12-0 lead. Navarro balked twice. Catcher B.J. Surhoff had a passed ball.

And while I remember about three or four Brewers errors, only one shows in the box (Edgar Diaz). Toronto won 13-5 as David Wells picked up the win with Junior Felix and George Bell each knocking in two runs. After the game I asked Olerud if the game reminded him of anything.

“Last time we played Gonzaga,” said Olerud.

The next day Olerud approached and asked if I had written that he compared the Brewers to a college team. I said “of course ... it was a great line.” John countered with “but Bob ... now the Brewers won’t like me.” I said “John they already don’t like you.” He looked at me quizzically and I answered “you had three hits against them in that ugly game.”

Inductee Joe Wiwchar (Morden, Man.) _ In June of 2016, I mumbled at the Manitoba Hall of Fame banquet. Former NHLer Morris Mott drove me from Winnipeg to the Hall of Fame. It was amazingly organized. One great exhibit after another. It was like they had brought in 10 people from Cooperstowners. Instead, it was just Joe. And you walked outside the museum and there was Joe Wiwchar field. Humm baby.

* * *

Top comments fans made to me in St. Marys ...

1. Why are the Blue Jays tickets going up so much next year?

2. I miss hearing you on the radio with Bob McCown. (Thoughts and prayers are with Robert).

3. Fergie Jenkins looks like he could still pitch.

4. What’s wrong with Alek Manoah?

5. Is Myles Naylor the final Naylor in the family or does he have any younger brothers?

* * *

Past Echlin award winners

2023 – Kevin Glew
2022 – Christine Douglas
2021 Doug Goudy and Rod Betteridge
2020 Tammy Adkin
2019 Tony Little and Bob Stephens

2018  John Starzynski
2017  Andrew North
2016  not awarded
2015  Ben Waghorn
2014  Charlie Hammond

2013  Nelda Oliver
2012  Randy Echlin
2011  Ron Marriott
2010  Greg Sorbara
2009  Rose McCoomb, John Harlton, Greg Valcke, Ron Plaquet

2008  Dick MacPherson
2007  Al Hart
2006  Georgina Smith, Carl McCoomb