"Crushing dingers out of the park at Rogers Centre isn’t your average after school activity.
Nor is having scouts inquire and colleges texting.
But life flows a bit differently as a high school student when you’re Kieran Cutler, one of the best young baseball players in the country.
Cutler was one of 161 - but the only one from Newfoundland - selected to perform at the Canadian Futures Showcase earlier this month, which displays the best amateur talent in Canada. "
Read MoreThe Toronto Blue Jays have unveiled their 2025 spring training schedule.
Read More“The San Diego Padres roll through life with a truckload of talent.
Behind them are 29 other ballclubs, hoping to gather what falls off.
You’ve noticed Xavier Edwards, the Marlins’ shortstop who has already hit for the cycle. He’s a Padre alum. So are Trea Turner, Emmanuel Clase, Anthony Rizzo, Max Fried, Josh Naylor, C.J. Abrams, MacKenzie Gore and David Bednar.
There’s another reason to follow the Padres on their path. They appear destined for the playoffs and maybe even the National League West title. In recent years, the teams that get hotter as the days get shorter are the ones to watch in the postseason. San Diego’s win over Pittsburgh Tuesday night was its 31st in its past 44 games. It is tied with Arizona, three and a half games behind the Dodgers in a microwaving division race.
And, with each victory, the Padres make sure that rookie outfielder Jackson Merrill is tied down and tightly secured. Despite the gyrations of general manager A.J. Preller, Merrill is not going anywhere. At least not until October.”
Read More“The most fascinating matchup in baseball is, unfortunately, a board game. And, since the cards and dice can’t be measured for motivation, it isn’t even that.
If the 1919 White Sox played the 2024 White Sox, who would win?
This series would have it all. Call it Eight Men Out vs. Thirty-Nine-And-A-Half Games Out. The Black Sox against the Bleak Sox. And it would have the potential for legitimate mayhem that only Chicago can provide.”
Read MoreCanadian Baseball Network editor-in-chief Bob Elliott unveils the most influential Canadians in baseball in 2023. The list contains most influential Canadians, those we lost last year and our honorable mentions.
Did you make it?
Read MoreCanadian Baseball Network editor-in-chief Bob Elliott remembers his late friend and recipient of the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s 2024 BBWAA Excellence Award Gerry Fraley, who was honoured posthumously this past weekend in Cooperstown.
Read More“Chase Tucker will be representing Newfoundland in the Western Canadian Baseball League All-Star Game this Saturday at Seaman Stadium.
And the Okotoks Dawgs right-hander is proud to do it.
“I’m a proud Newfie until I die,” Tucker said with a chuckle in a phone interview. “I’m super proud to be from Newfoundland.”
How proud?
Well, his mound song is “Heave Away” by The Fables, a Celtic Rock band from St. John’s, Nfld.
Read MoreBob Elliott’s blog from Day 1 of the 2024 MLB draft.
Read More“The head coach of Missouri State started out as a passionate Canadian kid, playing catch with his dad in the summers and watching the Toronto Blue Jays.
On the baseball fields of Whitby, Ont., Joey Hawkins learned the fundamentals of the game, and a spark was ignited that never went out.”
Read MoreHappy Canada Day!
We celebrate the day with Bob Elliott’s 24th annual All-Canadian Canada Day lineup.
Read MoreThe Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame will celebrate its 39th annual induction on Aug. 17, 2024 in Battleford, Sask. Heading the class of 2024 are former major leaguers Andrew Albers (North Battleford, Sask.) and Dustin Molleken (Regina, Sask).
Read More“Greg Cranker has a very large family. Most of its members are not relatives.
Cranker, 66 and widely known as “Cranks,” is the long-time coach, administrator, groundskeeper and “father figure” of the Erindale Cardinals community in Mississauga, Ont.
He can appear to be gruff and straightforward at times, quiet and reserved, comfortable in the background at other times and fun-loving and respectful of baseball and ball players all the time. But it is his actions, more than his words, that create a positive example for his players to follow on the field and off.”
Read More“Now that sandlots are jammed from coast to coast, it is time to pass on some advice.
No, not from some old goat like me.
We asked some of the best high school players in the country a few questions at the Canadian Futures Showcase staged at Rogers Centre last fall:
What’s the most important life lesson you’ve learned playing ball?”
Read MoreVeteran catcher Salvador Perez, the only member of the Kansas City Royals’ 2015 World Series-winning squad that is still with the team, is off to a hot start and at 34, he remains a key player on a young Royals’ club that finds itself in contention in the American League Central division.
Read MoreCanadian Baseball Network columnist Mark Whicker remembers Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog who died on Tuesday at the age of 92.
Read MoreOn Jackie Robinson Day, we remember the courageous trailblazer that Jackie Robinson was and how his season with the Montreal Royals in 1946 before he broke Major League Baseball’s colour barrier was so important to him.
Read MoreCanadian Baseball Network columnist Mark Whicker believes veteran slugger Justin Turner will make the Toronto Blue Jays a better team on the field and in the clubhouse.
Read MoreFormer Ontario Blue Jays coach Kyle MacKinnon (Cheltenham, Ont.) has been hired by the Kansas City Royals to serve as assistant hitting coach for their class-A Columbia Fireflies.
Read MoreSteve Staggs, who batted leadoff for the Toronto Blue Jays more than any other player in the franchise’s first season, died on Sunday at age of 72.
Read MoreWe shine the spotlight on Deborah Steciuk, proud aunt of former Okotoks Dawgs and UBC left-hander Jared Spearing, in the fifth profile in our loyal subscriber series.
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