Collections Year in Review
Lineup Card: Blue Jays vs. Guardians | June 14, 2024 | Donated by the Toronto Blue Jays
On June 14 of this year, the Cleveland Guardians were in town to play the Blue Jays. Between the two teams five Canadian-born players entered the game, an MLB record for the most Canadians to play in the same game. For the Guardians, Naylor brothers Josh and Bo (Mississauga, ON) started at first base and DH respectively. Cade Smith (Abbotsford, BC) came on to pitch in relief in the bottom of the sixth inning. Meanwhile on the Blue Jays side, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, QC) started the game at first base. When Zach Pop (Brampton, ON) came in to pitch in the top of the ninth, the record of five Canadians playing in one MLB game was established. The two teams repeated the feat just over a week later on June 23, this time with the added rarity of a Canadian battery (a Canadian-born pitcher and catcher) when Cade Smith came on in the top of the eighth to face one batter while pitching to Bo Naylor behind the plate. This is the lineup card which was used in the Blue Jays dugout during the record-breaking game.
Boston Red Sox Baseball Cap | May, 2024 | Donated by Nick Pivetta & The Boston Red Sox
On May 14 this year, Nick Pivetta (Victoria, BC) appeared in the 200th game of his career while pitching with the Boston Red Sox, becoming the 19th Canadian-born player in MLB history to reach that mark. Then on May 25, he hit another career milestone. Pivetta started the Saturday game against the Milwaukee Brewers sitting at 997 career strikeouts. Pivetta struck out two in the first before notching his 1,000th K in the top of the third when William Contreras went down swinging. The feat made Nick Pivetta the 6th Canadian-born pitcher to reach the mark, joining the ranks of Fergie Jenkins, Ryan Dempster, Erik Bedard, John Hiller and Kirk McCaskill. This cap was worn by Pivetta during the first half of the 2024 season when he reached both milestones.
Blue Jays Jacket worn at Exhibition Stadium | 1977-1989 | Gifted by Michael "Mick" Bazinet, Devoted Toronto Blue Jays' staff member, fan and friend
Exhibition Stadium was the original home of the Blue Jays when the expansion team arrived in Toronto in 1977. The stadium was only meant to be a temporary home, but the team stayed there for 12 years while a new stadium was planned and built. Exhibition Stadium had been constructed along Toronto’s waterfront in 1959 to house the Toronto Argonauts (CFL), and it was adapted in 1975 for baseball. The stadium was famously chilly, open as it was to the elements and the winds blowing directly off Lake Ontario. In Toronto’s first inaugural game on April 7, 1977, the brand new Jays defeated the Chicago White Sox after a blanketing of snow was scraped off the baselines. With a reputation for freezing temperatures at the bookends of the season, a way to keep players warm in the dugouts between innings was needed. This was one of the Exhibition Stadium jackets that was provided to the team to keep them warm while they waited to return to the field. The puffy, oversized jacket would fit over a player’s uniform, reaching down to his knees with thick pockets to keep his hands warm. It would have been an essential piece of equipment for the team in the colder months. On May 28, 1989 the Toronto Blue Jays played their last game at Exhibition Stadium before moving into the brand new SkyDome on June 5.
Joey Votto’s Blue Jays Spring Training Jersey | 2024 | Donated by the Toronto Blue Jays
On August 21, 2024, Joey Votto announced his retirement. Votto had been drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 2002, and played his entire big league career in the Great American Ballpark from 2007-2023. When Votto’s contract with the Reds ended following the 2023 season, he was picked up by the Toronto Blue Jays organization and invited to Spring Training. Over the coming months, Votto battled injury, but continued to climb his way through the Jays’ minor leagues, joining AAA Buffalo in July. While many hoped to be able to see Votto in the uniform of his hometown MLB team, he announced his retirement before he ever officially got the call. With an MVP win in 2010, 6 All-Star game invites, and a Gold Glove, Votto’s retirement comes at the end of one of the most impressive professional baseball careers in Canadian history. This jersey was worn by Votto when he joined the Blue Jays at Spring Training in March, 2024.
Dylan O’Rae’s Batting Gloves | 2024 | Donated by Dylan O’Rae
There are several Canadian-born players who have been making a name for themselves in the Minor Leagues, and one of the stand-outs is Dylan O’Rae. O’Rae, who plays in the Milwaukee Brewers’ system, began the season with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest League before moving up to the AA Biloxi Shuckers of the Southern League. The talented centerfielder from Sarnia, ON is particularly recognized for his speed on the basepaths. Between Wisconsin and Biloxi this season, O’Rae successfully stole an astonishing 62 bases (and was caught only 12 times). These were the gloves that he wore throughout the 2024 season. The right glove has several holes worn through from so much sliding!
Printing Plate Announcing the Blue Jays’ World Series Win in the Sunday Star | 1993 | Donated by Sue Wight
Stepping back in time to one of the greatest moments in Canadian Baseball history, the last highlighted artifact is a printing plate from the Sunday Star that was used to print the news that the Toronto Blue Jays were back-to-back World Series champions. The donor’s stepfather had worked for the newspaper making the aluminum plates used in the printing process. The front page ran on October 24, 1993 in the hours following Joe Carter’s walk-off homerun, declaring “Okay! Blue Jays: Two in a row on Joltin’ Joe’s big home run.” It is a unique piece of memorabilia from the 1993 World Series which announced to the world that the Blue Jays were champions.
We are so grateful to everyone who donated an artifact to our collection this year. Sharing your treasures with us is what enables the CBHFM collection to grow, creating a more representative assortment of artifacts with each new acquisition. We couldn’t tell the history of Canadian baseball without your generous donations, and so from all of us at CBHFM, thank you!