Delgado, Koskie, Stairs top Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame class

Former Toronto Blue Jays slugger Carlos Delgado has only foggy memories of his magical four-homer night in 2003.

A nasty cold nearly forced him to skip the game altogether.

Delgado struggled through batting practice before the Sept. 25 game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at SkyDome. He took some medicine and went to lie down on the trainer's table.

"I told the trainer, 'Wake me up at 10 to seven,"' Delgado recalled Wednesday.

Batting cleanup that evening, the Blue Jays first baseman was groggy but soldiered on. Delgado told himself to just try to focus on the basics.

He got things started in his first at-bat by belting a three-run shot off Tampa Bay starter Jorge Sosa.

"I think the medicine really affected me because I saw every pitch right down the middle of the plate," he said. "And when I look at the video, it was a curve ball down and away, it was a change-up down, and then by the time I went to the plate in the fourth at-bat, I kept telling myself, 'Don't try to do too much, don't try to hit another one because it's not going to work."'

After hitting a pair of solo shots, Delgado faced Lance Carter in the eighth inning with nobody on. He worked a 2-2 count and expected the Tampa Bay reliever to follow with a changeup.

Delgado guessed right and pounced, becoming the 15th major leaguer to hit four home runs in one game.

"The boys were giving me a hard time for flipping the bat," he said. "I didn't do it on purpose. I was just in la-la land."

The performance in the 10-8 victory helped cap a tremendous season for Delgado, who finished second to Alex Rodriguez in American League most valuable player award voting that year. Delgado had 42 homers and 145 runs batted in that season, one of the best in his 17-year big-league career.

He was rewarded for his accomplishments Wednesday as the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame named him to its Class of 2015. Delgado will be inducted on June 13 in St. Marys, Ont., along with former Canadian players Corey Koskie and Matt Stairs, longtime Montreal Expos manager Felipe Alou and sportswriter Bob Elliott.

"Each of our 2015 inductees has made significant contributions to the history of baseball in our country and they continue to be great ambassadors for the game," Hall of Fame director of operations Scott Crawford said in a release. "We're proud and excited to celebrate their careers in St. Marys this June."

Delgado had eight straight 30-homer campaigns with Toronto and is the team's all-time leader in home runs (336), RBIs (1,058), doubles (343), runs (889), total bases (2,786), slugging percentage (.556), extra-base hits (690) and walks (827).

Delgado, who also played for the Florida Marlins and New York Mets, finished his 17-year career with 473 home runs and 1,512 RBIs. He was added to the Blue Jays' Level of Excellence in 2013.

"I'm very honoured and humbled to be selected into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame," he said. "This is unbelievable news. I always say that you do not play the game for the awards, but if at the end of the day you get that recognition from your fans and peers, it means a lot. And this is extra special to me because of the relationship that I have with the Toronto Blue Jays and their fans all across Canada."

Koskie, a native of Anola, Man., helped Minnesota reach the playoffs from 2002 through 2004 and had brief stints with the Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers over his nine-year big-league career. He also played for Canada at the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009.

Stairs, a native of Saint John, N.B., hit 265 homers over 19 seasons in the major leagues. He started his career with Montreal, spent parts of two seasons in Toronto and made several appearances on the national team.

Alou was part of the Montreal organization as a player, instructor or manager for 27 years. The three-time all-star had 2,101 career hits and spent parts of 10 seasons as Expos manager, winning the National League manager of the year in 1994.

Elliott, a native of Kingston, Ont., was a regular in the Expos' press box until joining the Toronto Sun as a Blue Jays beat writer in 1987. He is currently the newspaper's baseball columnist.

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Blue Jays president Paul Beeston wants to move forward

Blue Jays president Paul Beeston took the high road in his first public availability since reports surfaced that the franchise was looking for his replacement.

Beeston, who recently signed to return for one last season before retirement, attended a State of the Franchise gathering at Rogers Centre on Thursday night with general manager Alex Anthopoulos and manager John Gibbons. Beeston wasn't asked about the reports or his contract talks during a question-and-answer session with season-ticket holders, but the subjects came up in a brief media scrum afterwards.

"We've moved forward and we did what we had to do," Beeston said. "I'm not going to get into what happened. I'm just happy to be here and happy to be here for the year."

In early December, a number of media outlets reported that the Blue Jays had made overtures to Baltimore Orioles president of baseball operations Dan Duquette and Chicago White Sox executive vice-president Kenny Williams. Duquette acknowledged last week at his team's winter convention that "there was substance" to reports that he was pursued.

Duquette guided the Orioles to a 96-win season last year and is under contract through 2018. The Blue Jays would have had to offer a significant compensation package to complete a deal.

Blue Jay from the beginning

Beeston, 69, was the first employee hired by the Blue Jays in May 1976 and saw the team through its glory years over two decades ago. He was named team president in 1989, three years before Toronto won the first of two straight World Series titles.

He left the team in 1997 to serve as chief operating officer in Major League Baseball's commissioner's office. He later returned to the Blue Jays and was named president and CEO in October 2009.

The team has been mediocre at best in recent years and settled for an 83-79 record last season, good for a third-place finish in the AL East.

Anthopoulos made some big moves early in the off-season by signing catcher Russell Martin and acquiring third baseman Josh Donaldson and outfielder Michael Saunders via trades. But Beeston's position has been a talking point over the last two months.

Anthopoulos said he reached out to his boss when he first heard about the reports.

"His instructions to me were just, 'Do your job, worry about what you can control and don't concern yourself with that.' And that was fair," Anthopoulos said. "So I really didn't try to pay any attention to it. Stability is always a good thing. I think that goes without saying.

"But I'm glad it's all behind us and we can move forward."

Contract extended

The Blue Jays announced Beeston's extension on Jan. 26. In a news release, chairman Edward Rogers said that the team had been in discussions about Beeston's future since his contract ended and that it would have been inappropriate to comment on rumours.

"Make no mistake — we are elated to have Paul continue to lead the team for this season," Rogers said in the statement.

Beeston appeared to be in great spirits during Thursday night's address. He chatted with fans, posed for photos and signed autographs.

"Knowing that this is going to be his last year, we'd love to send him out on top," Gibbons said. "That would be the dream, (the) ideal way to send him off. I'm glad all that's settled. We need him, we need him to lead this team this year, that's for sure."

"I'm just glad it's over with — for his sake and for everybody's sake."

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Delgado, Koskie, Stairs top Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame class

Former Toronto Blue Jays slugger Carlos Delgado has only foggy memories of his magical four-homer night in 2003.

A nasty cold nearly forced him to skip the game altogether.

Delgado struggled through batting practice before the Sept. 25 game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at SkyDome. He took some medicine and went to lie down on the trainer's table.

"I told the trainer, 'Wake me up at 10 to seven,"' Delgado recalled Wednesday.

Batting cleanup that evening, the Blue Jays first baseman was groggy but soldiered on. Delgado told himself to just try to focus on the basics.

He got things started in his first at-bat by belting a three-run shot off Tampa Bay starter Jorge Sosa.

"I think the medicine really affected me because I saw every pitch right down the middle of the plate," he said. "And when I look at the video, it was a curve ball down and away, it was a change-up down, and then by the time I went to the plate in the fourth at-bat, I kept telling myself, 'Don't try to do too much, don't try to hit another one because it's not going to work."'

After hitting a pair of solo shots, Delgado faced Lance Carter in the eighth inning with nobody on. He worked a 2-2 count and expected the Tampa Bay reliever to follow with a changeup.

Delgado guessed right and pounced, becoming the 15th major leaguer to hit four home runs in one game.

"The boys were giving me a hard time for flipping the bat," he said. "I didn't do it on purpose. I was just in la-la land."

The performance in the 10-8 victory helped cap a tremendous season for Delgado, who finished second to Alex Rodriguez in American League most valuable player award voting that year. Delgado had 42 homers and 145 runs batted in that season, one of the best in his 17-year big-league career.

He was rewarded for his accomplishments Wednesday as the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame named him to its Class of 2015. Delgado will be inducted on June 13 in St. Marys, Ont., along with former Canadian players Corey Koskie and Matt Stairs, longtime Montreal Expos manager Felipe Alou and sportswriter Bob Elliott.

"Each of our 2015 inductees has made significant contributions to the history of baseball in our country and they continue to be great ambassadors for the game," Hall of Fame director of operations Scott Crawford said in a release. "We're proud and excited to celebrate their careers in St. Marys this June."

Delgado had eight straight 30-homer campaigns with Toronto and is the team's all-time leader in home runs (336), RBIs (1,058), doubles (343), runs (889), total bases (2,786), slugging percentage (.556), extra-base hits (690) and walks (827).

Delgado, who also played for the Florida Marlins and New York Mets, finished his 17-year career with 473 home runs and 1,512 RBIs. He was added to the Blue Jays' Level of Excellence in 2013.

"I'm very honoured and humbled to be selected into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame," he said. "This is unbelievable news. I always say that you do not play the game for the awards, but if at the end of the day you get that recognition from your fans and peers, it means a lot. And this is extra special to me because of the relationship that I have with the Toronto Blue Jays and their fans all across Canada."

Koskie, a native of Anola, Man., helped Minnesota reach the playoffs from 2002 through 2004 and had brief stints with the Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers over his nine-year big-league career. He also played for Canada at the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009.

Stairs, a native of Saint John, N.B., hit 265 homers over 19 seasons in the major leagues. He started his career with Montreal, spent parts of two seasons in Toronto and made several appearances on the national team.

Alou was part of the Montreal organization as a player, instructor or manager for 27 years. The three-time all-star had 2,101 career hits and spent parts of 10 seasons as Expos manager, winning the National League manager of the year in 1994.

Elliott, a native of Kingston, Ont., was a regular in the Expos' press box until joining the Toronto Sun as a Blue Jays beat writer in 1987. He is currently the newspaper's baseball columnist.

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Angels' Josh Hamilton needs shoulder surgery

Los Angeles Angels slugger Josh Hamilton could be out for two months after surgery on his right shoulder, putting in doubt his availability for opening day.

Hamilton will have surgery to repair his acromioclavicular (AC) joint on Wednesday, the Angels announced. The AC joint is located at the tip of the shoulder where the acromion part of the shoulder blade (scapula) and collarbone (clavicle) join.

The 2010 American League MVP needs surgery to fix a shoulder that has been bothering him since last September. The Angels open April 6 at Seattle and it's uncertain whether the left fielder will be ready.

Hamilton felt renewed pain in his shoulder last week after increasing the intensity of his off-season workouts, and the club decided on surgery at the Texas Metroplex Institute for Sports Medicine and Orthopedics.

Full recovery will take six to eight weeks, but Hamilton could resume baseball activities in one month.

The 33-year-old Hamilton hasn't played at an MVP level since joining the Angels on a $125 million US, five-year contract as a free agent before the 2013 season.

In two seasons, he has 31 homers and 123 runs batted in for Los Angeles, and was booed regularly by his home fans late last season.

The shoulder injury, along with pain in his ribs and back, likely contributed to Hamilton's 0-for-13 post-season performance. The Angels, who were swept out of the division series by Kansas City after finishing the regular season with the majors' best record.

Hamilton also tore a ligament in his thumb last April after sliding headfirst into a base, missing more than seven weeks.

He had planned to begin spring training workouts with the Angels' pitchers and catchers on Feb. 20 in Tempe, Arizona. He missed much of last season's spring training while recovering from an injured calf.

Hamilton usually plays left field for the Angels, but newly acquired Matt Joyce and returnee Collin Cowgill are likely to replace him.

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Blue Jays: What's their biggest concern?

Poll

Starting rotation, closer among team's question marks

CBC Sports Posted: Feb 02, 2015 10:22 PM ET Last Updated: Feb 03, 2015 12:20 AM ET

With the NFL season officially complete after Super Bowl XLIX, many are quickly turning to the upcoming baseball campaign with spring training mere weeks away.

Naturally, the focus north of the border will be on the Toronto Blue Jays. Last season, the Jays got off to a quick start and stayed in playoff contention throughout the summer and into early September.

To help out the team in the off-season, general manager Alex Anthopoulos made some impactful moves by signing Canadian catcher Russell Martin to a five-year, $82-million US deal.

He then went out and traded Canadian infielder Brett Lawrie, plus three minor-league prospects for A's all-star third baseman Josh Donaldson.

Anthopoulos hopes the moves he's made will boost the team's chances of making the playoffs for the first time since 1993 — the longest post-season drought of any MLB franchise.

But the Jays still have some questions as the team heads to spring training later this month.

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Russell Wilson visiting baseball Rangers' training camp

Seattle's Super Bowl quarterback to repeat camp experience

The Associated Press Posted: Feb 03, 2015 6:05 PM ET Last Updated: Feb 03, 2015 6:05 PM ET

Two-time Super Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson will again visit the Texas Rangers during spring training.

Details were still being worked out, but the Seattle Seahawks' quarterback is likely to have a similar experience as last year.

Weeks after Seattle won the Super Bowl last year, Wilson spent a day in Surprise, Arizona. He went through a morning workout with the Rangers, took the lineup card to umpires before a spring training game and sat in the dugout without playing. He also addressed Rangers minor leaguers.

Texas selected Wilson from the Colorado Rockies in the Triple-A portion of baseball's December draft in 2013. Wilson was a minor league second baseman for parts of two seasons (2010-11) before going back to college to play football. He just finished his third NFL season.

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Casey Janssen finalizes 1-year deal with Nationals

Former Blue Jays closer guaranteed $5M US

The Associated Press Posted: Feb 02, 2015 4:13 PM ET Last Updated: Feb 02, 2015 4:53 PM ET

Casey Janssen and the Washington Nationals have finalized a one-year contract that includes a mutual option for 2016 and guarantees the reliever $5 million US.

Janssen had spent his entire big league career with the Toronto Blue Jays, going 29-24 with 90 saves and a 3.52 earned-run average since 2006.

The right-hander had 25 saves in 30 chances with a 3.94 ERA last year but struggled following a stomach illness during the second half of the season, believed to be caused by food poisoning or a virus.

Washington, which announced the agreement Monday, was in the market for a late-inning arm after trading Tyler Clippard and trading Ross Detwiler to Texas and allowing Rafael Soriano to become a free agent. Drew Storen is expected to be the closer.

Janssen gets a $3.5 million salary this year, and the option is for $7 million with a $1.5 million buyout. He can earn $500,000 annually in performance bonuses based on games: $100,000 each for 40 and each additional five through 60.

Right-hander Eric Fornataro was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot.

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

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Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.

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Blue Jays: What's their biggest concern?

Poll

Starting rotation, closer among team's question marks

CBC Sports Posted: Feb 02, 2015 10:22 PM ET Last Updated: Feb 03, 2015 12:20 AM ET

With the NFL season officially complete after Super Bowl XLIX, many are quickly turning to the upcoming baseball campaign with spring training mere weeks away.

Naturally, the focus north of the border will be on the Toronto Blue Jays. Last season, the Jays got off to a quick start and stayed in playoff contention throughout the summer and into early September.

To help out the team in the off-season, general manager Alex Anthopoulos made some impactful moves by signing Canadian catcher Russell Martin to a five-year, $82-million US deal.

He then went out and traded Canadian infielder Brett Lawrie, plus three minor-league prospects for A's all-star third baseman Josh Donaldson.

Anthopoulos hopes the moves he's made will boost the team's chances of making the playoffs for the first time since 1993 — the longest post-season drought of any MLB franchise.

But the Jays still have some questions as the team heads to spring training later this month.

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

Submission Policy

Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.

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Blue Jays sign infielder Ramon Santiago

Veteran played with Cincinnati last year

The Canadian Press Posted: Jan 30, 2015 12:21 PM ET Last Updated: Jan 30, 2015 12:21 PM ET

The Toronto Blue Jays signed veteran infielder Ramon Santiago to a minor-league contract Friday with an invite to major-league spring training.

Santiago, 35, played in 75 games for the Cincinnati Reds last season. He had a .246 batting average with two homers and 17 RBIs.

He has also played for the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners over his 13-year career.

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

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Dan Duquette's singular focus is helping Orioles improve

Dan Duquette's job description includes making trades that will help improve the Baltimore Orioles.

This off-season, Duquette was in the middle of a potential blockbuster deal.

Duquette, the Orioles president of baseball operations, acknowledged Saturday "there was substance" to reports that the Toronto Blue Jays were in pursuit of him to be club president.

"A lot of times, players will be a trade rumour and sometimes managers get traded," Duquette said. "It's even more rare that executives get traded, but occasionally it happens. It's a unique experience. I think when you have a good team and you do well, people take notice."

'It's inevitable as an organization that, as you get better, people are going to be coveted more.'- Orioles manager Buck Showalter on president of baseball ops Dan Duquette

Under Duquette's guidance, the Orioles won 96 games last season, captured the American League East for the first time since 1997 and advanced to the AL Championship Series.

That piqued Toronto's interest.

"As you get better as an organization, things that you're doing are trying to be either emulated or acquired," Orioles manager Buck Showalter noted. "It's inevitable as an organization that, as you get better, people are going to be coveted more."

Because Duquette is under contract with Baltimore through 2018, the Blue Jays had to offer Baltimore ample compensation to secure his services.

No deal was made, so Duquette was talking about Orioles baseball on Saturday at FanFest, the team's annual winter convention.

He insisted that Toronto's advances did not distract him from seeking to put a better club on the field in 2015.

"It's important for the Orioles fans to know that my focus – and my singular focus -- is on improving the team," he said. "We do that day by day, trade by trade, addition by addition. We did that this year in the off-season like we've done it in the past."

With the exception of Duquette's potential departure, it's been a quiet off-season for Baltimore. The losses include free agent outfielders Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis, along with reliever Andrew Miller.

The most notable addition is outfielder Travis Snider, obtained in a trade with Pittsburgh.

But that's typical of Duquette, who followed a quiet winter in 2014 by adding Cruz and Ubaldo Jimenez during spring training.

"While it's important to improve your ball club in off-season, we're not really trying to win the off-season," Duquette said. "We're trying to put together a team that can compete and get to the off-season and prevail. That's different from making headlines in the winter time."

Showalter had absolutely no complaint about the team's off-season activity.

"As we get into spring and there comes a need, we'll be able to do it," he said.

The Orioles played much of the 2014 season without injured stars Manny Machado and Matt Wieters. Having them in the lineup will make more of a difference than any trade or free agent addition.

"The biggest and most powerful improvement we have to our ball club this year is Machado coming back and Wieters coming back," Duquette said. 

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