From Edgar’s Hall of Fame bid to Mike Soroka’s ascent up the Atlanta Braves depth chart to the Western Canadian Baseball League’s rebrand & revamp, there is a lot for Alberta’s baseball fans to be excited for.
We take a look at five of the headlines we will be watching in the coming year.
Read More Five Things We’re Watching in 2019For Edmonton baseball fans, Reggie Jackson really was the straw that stirred the drink.
On May 16, 1983, the man known as Mr. October arrived in Edmonton for an exhibition game between the hometown Trappers of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League (PCL) and their parent club, the California Angels.
It was a nothing game for the Angels – a northerly stop wedged between an 8-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins and a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners – but it was a statement game for fans in Alberta’s capital.
Read More The Straw That Stirred the DrinkEDGAR IS GOOD.
If you went to a Seattle Mariners home game in 2000, that’s what flashed on the big screen in left field when Edgar Martinez stepped to the plate.
It would often flash again right after his at bat, when he ended up either on base or touching home plate.
But is he Hall of Fame good?
Read More Full CountThe ballots have been cast and we’ll soon know who will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Of the 34 candidates, five players spent time playing on Alberta minor-league teams.
Edgar Martinez and Omar Vizquel were teammates on the Triple-A Calgary Cannons in the 1980s, while lefty Johan Santana fine-tuned his game with the Edmonton Trappers before winning two Cy Young Awards in the mid-2000s.
Another Cy Young Award winner, Chris Carpenter, cut his teeth with the Medicine Hat Blue Jays in 1994 and second baseman Orlando Hudson also got his start with the Baby Jays.
Here’s a look at the Alberta hopefuls and their chances of finding immortality in Cooperstown …
It’s a long road from Crowchild Trail in Calgary to Atlantic Street in Seattle.
And for the man who would eventually have a section of that Emerald City street named after him, it was wrought with twists, detours and roadblocks.
Unlike Ken Griffey Jr., who made everything look so easy, including his journey to the big leagues, Edgar Martinez never took the express lane to stardom.
Read More The Long Road to Edgar Martinez Drive