Seven Canadians in the Major League Baseball Playoffs

Freddie Freeman (Eric Enfermero, Wikimedia Commons)

As the Major League Baseball playoffs begin on Tuesday, there are seven Canadians that could play in the opening round of the postseason. They are Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero of Montreal, Quebec; Cleveland Indians first baseman Josh Naylor of Mississauga, Ontario; St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Tyler O’Neill of Maple Ridge, British Columbia; Indians relief pitcher Cal Quantrill of Port Hope, Ontario; Houston Astros third baseman Abraham Toro of Longueuil, Quebec; Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto of Toronto, Ontario and first baseman Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves.

Even though he spent the majority of his life in the Dominican Republic, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was born in Quebec while his father was with the Montreal Expos. Guerrero Jr. batted .262 with nine home runs and 33 runs batted in. Freeman has Canadian citizenship as his parents were from Ontario. He batted .341 with 13 home runs and 53 runs batted in. Votto batted .226 with 11 home runs and 22 runs batted in. Naylor meanwhile batted .247 with one home run and six runs batted in with the San Diego Padres and Indians.

On the mound, Quantrill had a record of two wins and zero losses with an earned run average of 2.25 with the Padres and Indians. He gave up eight earned runs in 32 innings, and had 31 strikeouts compared to eight walks.

The Toronto Blue Jays meanwhile lost their first game of the postseason on Tuesday by a score of 3-1 to the Tampa Bay Rays. They are now in a do-or-die situation with game two of the best of three opening round series on Wednesday.

 

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