Canadian baseball stars on the rise?
Once having been dominated by Americans, Major League Baseball has seen the rise of different ethnic groups, races and countries that are making their mark on the biggest baseball stage on the planet.
The league was occupied mostly by Americans, now there is a rise in Latino players, Japanese players and now Canadian-born stars are starting to make baseball take notice of Canada’s sudden export of major league stars.
Players like Justin Morneau, Jason Bay, Matt Stairs, Ryan Dempster and now even Joey Votto are taking the league by storm and showcasing that Canada has its share of baseball talent.
Morneau chasing Walker's legacy
Larry Walker is still the greatest Canadian to ever play the game to date. Many thought he was the exception and that he would be the only great Canadian to play the game but now we know he was the pioneer and has paved the way for these new Canadian stars to showcase their abilities in the major leagues.
Justin Morneau is the most prolific one and has the best resume to date involving current Canadian players. He has played six full seasons in the MLB and spent two seasons as a call-up for the Minnesota Twins.
He has hit 181 home runs and has 679 runs batted in. He was also named the AL MVP in 2006 edging Derek Jeter to become only the second Canadian to win a major league MVP award. (Larry Walker was the first)
Bay's bat leads
Jason Bay has been a close second to Morneau. Bay is a complete player. He is a great left-fielder and he is a tremendous slugger. He has moved quite a bit in his young career. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos only to be dealt to the New York Mets. The Mets then dealt him to the San Diego Padres one year later. Bay debuted with the Padres in 2003 but was then traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates where he stayed put for five years.
Bay impressed with the Pirates as he was a bright spot in the franchise that has had a dismal decade. Bay was then traded to the Boston Red Sox in 2008 where he made his long-awaited playoff debut and he didn’t disappoint. He was a driving force for the Red Sox as they came within one game of heading back to the World Series.
In 2009, Bay led the Red Sox with a career-high 36 home runs and 119 RBIs. At the end of the season, Bay signed with the New York Mets.
Bay has hit 191 home runs and has 646 RBIs in his young career.
Pitchers also show top-flight talent
Other young Canadian stars have been primarily pitchers in the league. Among them is Scott Richmond of the Toronto Blue Jays who has shown some promise as a young pitcher for the Jays.
Also Eric Bedard of the Seattle Mariners has accomplished some great things in his career. In 2007 while with the Baltimore Orioles, Bedard set a franchise record for strikeouts per nine innings at 10.93. He has accumulated 803 strikeouts and has a 3.71 ERA.
Jeff Francis led the Colorado Rockies to the NL Pennant in 2007 as their ace pitcher and became the first Canadian pitcher to start in a world series.
Rich Harden of the Chicago Cubs at age 28 already has 842 strikeouts as well as a 3.57 ERA.
Perhaps Canada’s greatest pitching export is Ryan Dempster. The Chiacgo Cub closer has amassed 87 saves for the Cubs and is one of the league’s best closers.
Stairs in twilight, Votto in prime
Who can forget Matt Stairs? Stairs has been steady his whole career and remains to be productive in the twilight of his career.
The newest star is Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds who leads the league in home runs and has been selected into his first All Star game. He is in his prime and may be an elite slugger in the league over the next few years.
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