St. Marys – Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Jason Bay may be the front runner to win his second consecutive Tip O'Neill Award, but the rest of the candidates aren't far behind. The Tip O'Neill Award is presented annually by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum to the Canadian player judged to have excelled in individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to the highest ideals of the game of baseball.
The Ball Hall is conducting a web poll to assist the Selection Committee in determining the winner. You may visit the website http://www.baseballhalloffame.ca or email your opinion directly to baseball@baseballhalloffame.ca
Voters will be allowed to name from one to five players, in order of preference, whereby six points will be awarded to the first choice, four points to second, three points to third, two points to fourth and one point to the fifth.
Details and complete statistics can be found on the Hall's website, but briefly, in alphabetical order, here are some Canadians whose light shone brightly in 2005:
Jason Bay, the NL All-Star outfielder from Trail, British Columbia, played in all 162 Pirates games, batting .306 and slugging .559 for the season (both 8th best in the NL, 14th best in MLB), amassing 32 homeruns and 101 RBI while tying the major league record for 21 consecutive successful stolen bases to begin a season. The outfielder made several highlight reel catches, had four assists, and made only four errors in 330 total chances defensively.
Navan, Ontario's Erik Bedard put up big numbers (5-1, 2.08 ERA in nine starts) for the Baltimore Orioles before a mid-season injury set him back almost two months. He finished with a 6-8 record, 4.00 ERA, striking out 125 and allowing only 139 hits in 142 innings.
Moncton, New Brunswicker Rheal Cormier sported a 4-2 record in 57 relief appearances for the Philadelphia Phillies, striking out 34 hitters in 47 innings.
Toronto's Jesse Crain racked up 12 wins and a 2.73 ERA with the Minnesota Twins, finishing seventh in major league winning percentage and leading the Twins with 75 appearances. Crain finished eighth in AL Rookie of the Year voting.
Gibsons, BC native Ryan Dempster converted 33 out of 35 save opportunities for the Chicago Cubs, striking out 89 batters in 92 innings and compiling a 3.13 ERA. He was MLB's Relief Pitcher of the Month for September.
Vancouver's Jeff Francis notched 14 wins with the Colorado Rockies, who have one of the most hitter-friendly parks in baseball in Coors Field. He led the Rockies staff, all NL rookie pitchers, as well as all Canadian pitchers in wins, starts (33), innings pitched (183.2) and strikeouts (128). Francis finished sixth in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
Montreal's Eric Gagné managed eight saves in eight save opportunities, striking out 22 batters in just 13 innings, and also chalked up a win and a 2.70 ERA before yet another promising season was shelved due to an arm injury in mid-June. Gagné is the only other player besides Larry Walker to win more than one Tip, as he was awarded it in both 2002 and 2003.
Prior to getting called up for the final 33 games of the season and batting .294 with the Kansas City Royals, Aaron Gueil crushed 30 homeruns and 95 RBI in 128 Triple-A games, and was named Omaha Royals Player of the Year.
Victoria's Rich Harden, who's season was cut short due to injury, won ten and led all Canadian major league pitchers with a 2.53 ERA while striking out 121 hitters in 128 innings.
Leamington, Ontario's Danny Klassen socked 15 homers and batted .319 in just 88 Triple-A games. His slugging percentage was .535 and he was named to the PCL All-Star team.
Anola, Manitoba native Corey Koskie, who missed almost half the season due to injury, hit 11 homers, 20 doubles and had 36 RBI in just 97 games with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Pete Laforest, from Hull, Quebec was called up in August by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and saw action in 24 games where he compiled 11 hits, 3 doubles and a homerun. Prior to being called back to The Show, Laforest smacked 21 homeruns, 18 doubles, and 52 RBI in just 70 games for a .578 slugging percentage with Triple-A Durham.
New Westminster, BC's Justin Morneau had an impressive sophomore year, belting 22 homers, 23 doubles. He was the team leader with 79 RBI for the Twins.
Second baseman Pete Orr, from Richmond Hill, Ontario, batted an even .300 while appearing in 112 games during his rookie season with the Atlanta Braves. Orr wears uniform number four, in honour of Canadian hockey legend Bobby Orr.
Port Hope, Ontario's Paul Quantrill had 50 relief appearances and a 2-2 mark for a season where he was shipped from New York Yankees to the San Diego Padres, and then finished with the Florida Marlins. Quantrill had appeared in a major league record 80-plus games for four consecutive seasons heading into 2005. His 841 career appearances ranks 27th all-time in major league history.
Calgary's Chris Reitsma chalked up 15 saves and a 3.93 ERA with the NL East winning Braves. He led the Braves in saves and appearances (76).
St. John, New Brunswick native Matt Stairs ripped 13 homers and 66 RBI in just 127 games, and led the Royals with his .373 on-base percentage.
Mississauga's Ashley Stephenson is widely regarded as the best female third basemen in the world. She batted .450 for the Canadian National Women's Team in their 2005 campaign and was named MVP.
Adam Stern, of London, Ontario, made the leap to the major leagues and appeared in 36 games for the Boston Red Sox in his rookie season, mainly as a defensive specialist. Stern had two stints on the disabled list, limiting him to a total of 15 at bats in the major leagues and 81 in the minor leagues.
St. Marys, Ontario's Mark Teahen became the Royals full-time third baseman as a 23-year-old, batting .246 with 110 hits, 55 RBI and seven homers in his rookie season.
Toronto native Joey Votto whacked five homeruns and a tournament-leading 16 RBI in eight games at the 2005 World Cup of Baseball in The Netherlands. Votto, a Cincinnati Reds minor leaguer who hit 17 homers and knocked in 83 over 124 games with Sarasota in A-ball, was named to the World Cup All-Star Team.
Despite appearing in just 100 games due to injuries, Maple Ridge, BC star Larry Walker hammered 15 homeruns and batted .333 for the second half of the season in helping the St. Louis Cardinals reach the playoffs. Walker has won the Tip O'Neill Award a record nine times.
