Baseball is one of the most beloved sports among Canadians. Fans of this sport discipline in Canada exceed several thousands. And it is not surprising, because the process of the game is very exciting. If you love baseball, you definitely know the rules of the game, its features, and are familiar with many of the teams currently playing. But, have you ever wondered, who the best baseball players of all time are? Here, you can add to your baggage of knowledge concerning this subject, and we’ll be glad to help you with this. So, here are the Top 5 best MLB players of all time!
Top 5 best MLB players of all time
MLB is a league that has given the world many big names from Canada. These include baseball legends, record breakers, and even Canadians in baseball hall of fame. You probably can’t wait to learn more about Canadian MLB players, who could be called the greatest of all time in baseball. Let’s not keep you waiting!
Larry Walker
Today, the former right fielder is 56 years old. He was born on December 1, 1966. He was in MLB for 17 years, where he played with the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals. He was the only player in MLB history to have the highest hitting percentage in 1997, namely 0.700 (SLG). In addition, Larry Walker was the player with 30 stolen bases in a single season. Between 1997 and 1999, he was the player whose three-season batting average was 0.360. And that figure is still the highest to this day. Walker also has three NL Championship wins to his credit, where he earned batting average. Vatin is the title a MLB player wins for the highest average. Not surprisingly, Larry Walker was inducted into the Canadian baseball hall of fame for his high performance in baseball.
Larry Walker is truly unique, as he possesses a number of qualities that only true champions possess. He boasts his terrific athleticism, strikeout rate, speed, throwing accuracy, defense and much more. It is for such talent in the game that Walker has been able to win many titles and awards. Larry Walker’s awards include: 7 Gold Glove Award, 3 Silver Slugger Award, 9 Tip O’Neill Awards. Also, he won the Lou Marsh Trophy and was a five-time MLB All-Star Game participant. His baseball career, Canadian player Larry Walker ended in 2005 after playing 6 series in the National League Championship. After his career ended, Walker coached the Canadian national team, which under his leadership was able to win gold medals in 2011 and 2015.
For all his merits and high performance in baseball, Larry Walker can definitely be ranked as one of the best Canadian baseball players.
Justin Morneau
Justin Morneau was born in 1981 in British Columbia, Canada. To date, he is a former first baseman. During his MLB career, he played for teams such as the Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox. Of course, like many baseball players he suffered many different injuries. However, that didn’t stop him from becoming one of the best baseball players. And he’s won a lot of big awards under his belt. For example, he became an All-Star four times. In 2006, he was named Most Valuable Player of the American League. In addition, he was the 2014 New Zealand batting champion and is in the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame. In addition to these awards, Justin Morneau won the 2008 Home Run Derby and won the 2014 National League title. Also, he has won an award such as the Silver Slugger Award twice.
In 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2017, Morneau represented Canada internationally in the World Baseball Classic. Morneau’s average over 14 seasons was 0.281. During his baseball career, playing first base, his fielding percentage was 0.996. The player’s last MLB appearance was in 2016 for the Chicago White Sox, after which he ended his career. His numbers and the number of accolades he has won, despite injuries, place him among the canadian baseball players, who can be called the best in history.
Ferguson Jenkins
Ferguson Jenkins is a former Canadian baseball pitcher. He was born in 1942 in Chatham, Ontario. Throughout his MLB career, he played on teams such as the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox.
His baseball career began in 1962, when he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. However, he did not stay there long. Ferguson Jenkins spent most of his professional career with the Chicago Cubs.
The man is still called the best pitcher in baseball history. Along with other famous baseball players, Jenkins also has a fair amount of awards, titles and participation in professional leagues. He was the leader in wins and complete games in the National League for several seasons, as well as in the American League. He also has the most outs in his career, over three thousand. He set an MLB record with 284 wins among black pitchers. He also holds the Cy Young Award, the Lou Marsh Trophy, a three-time All-Star Game appearance, and has been named Athlete of the Year several times.
Also, his candidacy is in several different Halls of Fame. In 1987, Jenkins was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame of Canada. Since 1991, Ferguson Jenkins has been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and he became the first Canadian to be so honored. In 1995, he was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. In 2001, he was inducted into the Canadian Walk of Fame. In 2004, to the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame. Moreover, for all of Jenkins’ service to the world of baseball, the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame established the Ferguson Jenkins Legacy Award in his honor in 2011.
Ferguson’s last MLB appearance was in 1983, where he played for the Chicago Cubs, along with other equally talented MLB players.
Joey Votto
Compared to the baseball players mentioned above, Joey Votto is a relatively young player. He is currently 38 years old and was born on September 10, 1983 in Toronto, Canada. The left-handed first baseman has played his entire MLB baseball career for the Cincinnati Reds. His first debut was in 2007.
Despite his relatively young age, Joey Votto has achieved a tremendous amount of accomplishments and received many awards for it. He has several Tip O’Neill Awards to his credit. Six times he has participated in the National League All-Star Game. Twice he won the Lou Marsh Trophy. He also won the National League Most Valuable Player and Player of the Week. In addition to these awards and accomplishments in MLB, he also received minor league awards. Specifically, the Hank Aaron Award, the Gold Glove Award, the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, the 2010 Syl Apps Athlete of the Year Award, the Ernie Lombardi Award. And today, Joey Votto is the first Canadian MLB baseball player to hit 300 home runs since Larry Walker.
He’s not done with his career yet, so he’s still playing for the Cincinnati Reds to this day.
James Edward Tip O’Neill
Let’s delve a little farther back in history. We’re going to tell you about a baseball player whose name is on one of the awards. And that’s Tip O’Neill. He was born way back in 1860. He began his baseball career around 1875 and made his MLB debut in 1883. Throughout his playing career, O’Neill managed to play for four teams: the New York Gothams, Chicago Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, and St. Louis Browns. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder as well as a pitcher.
This Canadian baseball player repeatedly set new records. For example, in MLB, he was a record holder in at least 8 categories for 124 games played. Also, he has an incredible number of wins, awards, titles and prizes to his credit. In 1887, for example, he won the Triple Crown of the American Association. He came to victory because of his 0.435 average, 14 home runs, and 123 RBI. Until 1894, this was considered a record in Major League history, until that record was broken by Hugh Duffy. In all, Tip O’Neill played 10 MLB game seasons for a total of 1,052 games. In all that time, he showed a great game, for which he won many awards. In addition to the American Association TRoy Crown, he also has an American batting title and, in 1886, was the American Association RBI Champion.
Tip O’Neill finished his career in 1892, playing for the Cincinnati Reds. Although he was not honored as part of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame or the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame during his lifetime, he was inducted there posthumously. The Tip O’Neill Award was created in his honor and is still given to the best Canadian baseball player.
Conclusion
We have brought you the stories of five of the best Canadian MLB baseball players of all time. These men have made tremendous contributions to the world of baseball. Their talent, determination, and results have made them world famous. And in honor of some of them, special awards were created that are still given to baseball players today. One of these awards is the Tip O’Neill Award.
Even though many of the players in our Top 5 have already finished their careers, baseball does not end there. Today, there are also many young and talented baseball players from Canada participating in MLB. The only Canadian baseball team, the Toronto Blue Jays, has very capable and great players. All fans of this team hope and expect that in the future, MLB players in olympics will show what they can do and set new records!
FAQ
Which Canadian players are still among the best of all time?
In fact, a fair number of Canadian players have shown and are showing their talent and ability. In addition to those featured in our article, the outstanding and best Canadian players can also include:
- Jason Bay;
- Ryan Dempster;
- Russell Martin;
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr;
- George Selkirk;
- John “Jeff” Heath;
- John Frederick Hiller;
- Matthew Stairs;
- Ryan Dempster;
- Claude Raymond;
- John Axford and others.
What is the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame?
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame is a museum that commemorates many great players and Canadian teams. In addition, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame annually awards the Tip O’Neill Award to baseball players, who are considered outstanding in both personal achievement and team contributions.
Have Canadian MLB players participated in olympics?
Unfortunately, not yet. When qualifying for the Olympics, Canada finished fourth, and thus did not get the opportunity to participate in the Olympics. However, the only Canadian team, the Toronto Blue Jays, strongly believe that they will have that opportunity.
What is the Gold Glove Award?
The Gold Glove is an award given annually to MLB baseball players for their personal best performance at each position. Both in the National League and the American League. The highest number of this award has gone to:
- Greg Maddux – pitcher – 18 gloves;
- Brooks Robinson – position player – 16 gloves;
- Ivan Rodriguez – catcher – 13 gloves;
- Ozzie Smith – shortstop – 13 gloves;
- Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays – outfielders – 12 gold gloves.
This is only a small fraction of the baseball players who have received such an award. Keith Hernandez, Roberto Alomar, Omar Whisquel, Johnny Bench, Mike Schmidt, Ken Griffey Jr.
How long ago was Major League Baseball founded?
MLB was founded in 1903. During its existence, the New York Yankees have won the most titles, namely 27. And the most recent champion is the Atlanta Braves.