November 13, 2021

By Neil Munro

Canadian Baseball Network

The 2021 baseball season almost certainly portends the promise of a memorable decade of outstanding performances by Canadian ball players.

Ranging from Etobicoke, Ont., native Joey Votto’s comeback year to the outstanding breakthrough seasons fashioned by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.), Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, B.C.) and others, the decade from 2021 to 2030 should rival the outstanding 10-year span of remarkable achievements of Canadian MLB stars from 2001 to 2010.

That decade witnessed two MVP awards, one Cy Young Award, a Rookie of the Year winner, a batting crown and numerous Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards along with many All-Star game selections. Players like Maple Ridge, B.C., native Larry Walker (nearing the end of his career but still sporting a potent bat and glove), Justin Morneau (New Westminster, B.C.), Jason Bay (Trail, B.C.), Russell Martin (Montreal, Que.), Votto, Eric Gagne (Mascouche, Que.) and Ryan Dempster (Gibsons, B.C.) were among the very best players in the game. After a bit of a lull in the past 10 years (at least in comparison to the previous decade), it now appears that a number of new emerging Canadian stars are ready for center stage.

In particular, Guerrero Jr.’s fine season is deserving of an article devoted exclusively to his 2021 season, and I will present a fitting piece on him following the announcement of the league MVP winners on November 18. The 22-year-old slugger has been named as one of the three finalists for the American League MVP Award, along with Shohei Ohtani and his teammate, Marcus Semien. While most prognosticators are predicting that Ohtani will take home the hardware, we will wait for the official results to be announced.

Votto had an outstanding comeback season after three seemingly subpar years, at least by his lofty standards. Not only did he connect for 36 home runs while collecting 99 RBI, he accomplished these feats while missing more than a month of playing time. He also captured his first Player of the Month award, for his batting exploits in July, when he blasted 11 home runs and had 25 RBI in 26 games. Of particular note was his seven-game streak of hitting home runs between July 24 and July 30.

O’Neill established himself as a complete player in all facets of the game. While he also missed some 24 games in 2021, he still was able to hit 34 homers and drive in 80 runs this past year in his breakout campaign. O’Neill won his second Gold Glove Award for his outstanding play in left field and also managed to steal 15 bases. He certainly would seem to have the potential to amass more than 30 home runs and 20 stolen bases on a regular basis in the years to come. O’Neill was also named as the National League Player of the Month for September, when he knocked out 11 round-trippers and collected 27 RBI in 29 games. Nicknamed the Canadian Crusher, he was especially hot in the closing weeks of the year as his St. Louis Cardinals pulled away from the field to clinch the second Wild Card spot in the National League. During the Cardinals’ remarkable 17-game winning streak, O’Neill led the way with seven home runsand 21 RBI.

Guerrero Jr., Votto and O’Neill combined to break several “records” for home runs in a season by Canadian batters. Guerrero Jr. and Votto combined for 84 home runs, eclipsing the previous two-man total of 76 collected by Larry Walker and Matt Stairs (Fredericton, N.B.) back in 1997. The three-player combined total of 118 HR by Guerrero, Votto and O’Neill easily beat the previous Canadian standard of 91 home runs set in 2009 by Jason Bay (36), Justin Morneau (30) and Votto (25 HR). Indeed the 118 homers rung up by this trio was actually more than the combined total of home runs hits by all of the Canadian batters playing in any given season. The previous high was 116 home runs collected by the 20 different Canadians playing in the majors in 2003. In 2021, the final home run tally for all of our Canadian batters was 136 homers.

The Hank Aaron Award is presented annually to the best overall offensive performer in both leagues. The award was introduced in 1999 to mark the 25th anniversary of Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's all-time home run record. A panel of Hall of Famers determines the winners along with a fan vote. When Guerrero Jr. took the American League honours for this award following his outstanding batting achievements in 2021, he joined the only other Canadian recipient of this award – Joey Votto for his 2010 MVP campaign.

To further illustrate just how dominant this trio of Canadian sluggers performed this past season, just look at the top seven major league leaders in slugging percentage. Guerrero Jr. placed third (leading the A.L. with a .601 mark), Votto placed sixth (at .563) and O’Neill finished seventh (with a .560 mark). Interestingly enough, the United States just had two players in the top seven (Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos) while Japan (Ohtani of course) and the Dominican Republic (Fernando Tatis Jr.) rounded out the list.

The Silver Slugger Award is presented annually to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. This award was first instituted in 1980. This year, Guerrero Jr., Votto and O’Neill were all named finalists at their respective positions for the award. It comes as no surprise that Guerrero Jr. will now be added to the list of Canadians who have previously been named for this honour: Bay (2009), Morneau (2006 and 2008), Martin (2007) and of course, Walker (1992, 1997 and 1999).

Following the tradition employed by some professions in having initials indicating their title or degrees after their name (such as John Doe, CPA or May Smith MD) let’s apply the same idea to Guerrero Jr. who can now be referred to as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. AG, (check the periodic table of elements) and likely for many years to come. Perhaps Guerrero Jr. might now aspire to match the seven times that his father captured this award.

However, the batting (and pitching) achievements of Canadian ball players certainly extended beyond the accomplishments of these three sluggers.

Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) used his 100 mph fastball to establish his reputation as one of the most dominant closers in baseball. He not only saved 23 games for the Blue Jays but also won 7 games in relief (against just 1 loss) to contribute significantly to 30 of Toronto’s 91 victories in 2021. Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) also enjoyed a breakthrough season, establishing himself as the presumptive ace of the Cleveland mound corps. Quantrill had a record of 8 wins against 3 losses while posting an ERA of just 2.89. He and the Jays’ likely Cy Young Award winner, Robbie Ray and the White Sox Lance Lynn were the only American League pitchers with at least 150 innings of work to fashion an ERA under 3.00. (In reality, Quantrill actually had 149 2/3 innings of work.) Quantrill started the year pitching out of the bullpen, making 18 of his 40 appearances there, before joining the starting rotation on May 31. His best outing may have been the seven shutout innings he pitched against Detroit on August 6, when he struck out 10 batters without allowing a single walk. It’s a pretty safe bet that we can now say that Cal and his dad, Paul, are the best Canadian father-son pitching combo.

It’s quite possible that the Cubs’ Rowan Wick (North Vancouver, B.C.) will join Romano as a top flight closer in 2022. The Cubs have been grooming Wick for that role in the last two years now, but his 2021 season was sidelined by a serious injury. Wick was placed on the 60-day IL on April 26, with an intercostal strain. He didn’t return to the active roster until August 10. After the Cubs dealt their closer Craig Kimbrel to the White Sox at the end of July, Wick eventually assumed that role in the last month of the year, saving five games in eight opportunities.

Another Canadian reliever, rookie pitcher Zach Pop (Brampton, Ont.), pitched in 50 games for the lowly Miami Marlins (they had a record of just 67 wins versus 95 losses). Pop did win his only major league decision on June 30 against the Phillies. He now holds a perfect 1-0 career record and a not quite so perfect 4.12 ERA. Hopefully he will play a significant role in the bullpen for the Marlins’ rebuilding plans.

Abraham Toro had been languishing behind the Astros’ All-Star second sacker Jose Altuve off and on for the last three years, often filling in at other positions in the field. His big break came on July 27 when he was dealt to the Seattle Mariners. Toro certainly made an instant impression with his new teammates by hitting a two-run pinch-hit homer in his first batting appearance, against his former club no less. Abraham immediately assumed the role of the regular second baseman with Seattle and played an important part in the team’s belated push for a wild card spot over the last two months of the year. Toro batted .252 over 60 games with the Mariners, collecting 5 home runs and 26 RBI. His final 2021 tally of 11 home runs in 335 at bats last year indicates that he can be a productive slugger while providing reliable defence at second base for a young and talented Seattle ball club.

Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) had been selected by the Miami Marlins in the first round of the 2015 MLB draft. He was eventually traded to San Diego and then to Cleveland playing a utility role with both ball clubs in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, he became the regular right fielder for Cleveland, where he batted .251 with 7 HR and 21 RBI in just 69 games in the first part of the season. Unfortunately, his season came to a crushing halt on June 27, when he collided with teammate Ernie Clement while trying to catch a pop up in shallow right field. Naylor dislocated and broke his ankle and he required season-ending surgery to repair it. We look forward to his making a full recovery and returning as a regular in the 2022 season.

Nick Pivetta (Victoria, B.C.) made a comeback of sorts with the Boston Red Sox in 2021. He had been a starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies for most of three seasons between 2017 and 2019. He managed to ring up 188 strikeouts in just 164 innings in 2018, but could not compile a winning record in any of those years with the Phillies. His hallmark was inconsistency, frequently posting sparkling outings followed by disappointing appearances. After appearing in just three games in relief for the Phils in the shortened 2020-COVID campaign, he was traded to Boston that September where he had two successful starting assignments with the Red Sox. He posted an ERA of just 1.80 in those two outings, striking out 13 opponents in 10 innings.

After an impressive start to the 2021 season (when he won eight of his first 12 decisions by early July) he tailed off to finish the season with a 9-8 win-loss record and an ERA of 4.53. However, he was outstanding in Boston’s two playoff series, especially in finishing off the Tampa Bay Rays in game three by hurling four scoreless innings while striking out seven batters. He also pitched five strong innings in the ALCS against Houston in game four, only to see the Red Sox lose as they surrendered seven runs in the ninth inning. That turned the tide for the Astros as they would go on to end Boston’s hope for a World Series appearance. Hopefully, Pivetta can build on his postseason heroics and become a dominant starting pitcher working for the Red Sox with their explosive batting order supporting him.

There were some major disappointments last year, as comeback attempts by John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.) and Andrew Albers (North Battleford, Sask.) ended without much success. James Paxton (Ladner, B.C.) was able to pitch in just one inning with his old club, the Seattle Mariners. Paxton underwent Tommy John surgery in April and missed the rest of the season. Mike Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) missed the entire 2021 campaign recovering from surgery on his Achilles tendon after the 2020 season. Unfortunately, he suffered a complete re-tear of his Achilles on June 24, 2021, effectively ending his season before it began. Hopefully the 2022 season will see him regain the effectiveness that he demonstrated in his fine rookie season of 2019.

So, there is much to look forward to in the 2022 baseball season and the years to follow, both with the anticipation of more outstanding performances but also with trepidation in rooting for a return to health on the part of some other ball players.