We trace the ties between the National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot and the province of Alberta.
A pair of Calgary Cannons and an infielder who helped the Edmonton Trappers win a PCL championship are being considered …
Read More The Long HallHappy birthday Junior Felix!
Err … happy belated birthday?! Or is it tomorrow?
As elusive as he was on the base paths at times during his playing career, the actual date of birth of Junior Francisco Felix Sanchez also proved hard to run down.
His official birthday is listed as October 3rd, 1967, but it was long suspected that the outfielder from Laguna Salada in the Dominican Republic was much older than that date would suggest.
Read More Ageless WonderA new ballpark, a new manager and a fresh crop of prospects made the 1995 Edmonton Trappers a popular part of Alberta’s sports scene.
Learn more in this edition of In The Cards …
Read More In The Cards: 1995 Edmonton TrappersHall-of-Fame manager Tony La Russa’s return this season to the team that gave him his first coaching gig came as a surprise to baseball watchers, and his current performance with the White Sox has not been without its challenges.
La Russa – who made his MLB debut as a player with the Kansas City Athletics on May 10th, 1963 – was a mediocre middle infielder, but he turned himself into an accomplished and recognizable skipper.
In his decades of pulling the strings from the dugout, the three-time World Series champion picked up over 2,850 wins and was named Manager of the Year on four occasions.
The Florida native also made some memorable appearances in Edmonton when he was a part of the major league rosters who came to the provincial capital for exhibition games.
Read More Putting on a ShowHe may have just hit a triple, but Peter Pocklington couldn’t help but dream about crushing a home run.
The ink was still fresh on his acquisition of the Ogden Athletics of the Pacific Coast League when he mused about something much bigger: Major League Baseball.
On the 40th anniversary of the Edmonton Trappers beginning play in the PCL, we take a look back at the efforts made to bring the team to the capital and the legacy left behind.
Read More Setting The TrapIn the 1980s, there was no one cooler than the multi-sport athlete.
Bo knows that, and Deion Sanders packaged it for “Prime Time.”
Kirk McCaskill also had a pretty good idea of what it took to play two sports at the highest level …
Read More Dropping the PuckIt’s not reflected in this set of Line Drive Pre-Rookie Triple-A baseball cards, but 1991 was a special year for the Edmonton Trappers.
That was the season that the top affiliate for the California Angels received an unexpected visit from the hype machine himself, Fernando Valenzuela.
Here’s our latest edition of In The Cards …
Read More In The Cards: 1991 Edmonton TrappersNational Baseball Hall of Fame hopefuls are once again doing their best imitation of expectant fathers, nervously pacing back and forth while awaiting the thumbs up to break out celebratory cigars.
The birth of a baby is not on the line, but a berth among baseball’s immortals is at stake for players on the ballot.
Read More On The BallotThere were few things left for Fernando Valenzuela to achieve in baseball by the time the 1990s rolled around.
His resumé included a Cy Young Award, Rookie of the Year honours, a pair of Silver Slugger nods, a Gold Glove, a couple of World Series rings, and six National League (NL) All-Star selections.
Not bad for the man from little-known Etchohuaquila, Mexico.
Read More Fernandomania NorthOff the field, the 1990 Edmonton Trappers were caught in a rundown as efforts were underway to buy and relocate the team.
On the field, they almost won a Pacific Coast League championship.
Find out more about the team and its players in this edition of In The Cards …
Read More In The Cards: 1990 Edmonton Trappers