Once again this season, several Canadian players who have excelled in the world of baseball can lay claim to winning the James “Tip” O’Neill Award, including some familiar names here.
The Quebecer Édouard Julien is one of those who can hope to add his name to the trophy “awarded annually to the Canadian player who has distinguished himself individually and made a great contribution to his club, while at the same time living up to the greatest ideals of baseball.”
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The Minnesota Twins player hit 16 home runs in his first season in the majors, setting a record for the most long balls hit in a season by a Canadian athlete at second base.
The Quebec native not only maintained a .263 batting average, but also finished near the top of his team with 64 and a .381 on-base average.
He also became the first Canadian rookie to hit a long ball in the playoffs when he achieved the feat in his team’s fourth meeting with the Houston Astros in the American League Section Series.
Other applicants
In addition to the Quebecer, several other players can dream of getting this honor from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
Among them is another player who was born in La Belle Province: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He is now 24 years old and completed his fifth season with the Toronto Blue Jays. The son of former Montreal Expos fame finished the 2023 season leading Canadian-born athletes in hits, walks, home runs and runs scored.
His performance earned him selection into the majors’ All-Star Game, where he won the home run contest for the first time in his career.
Quebecer Abraham Toro, Seattle Mariners reliever Matt Brash, Cleveland Guardians outfielder and first baseman Josh Naylor and last season’s award winner Jordan Romano are also in the running. The winner’s identity will be determined, among other things, by a public vote and announced on December 7th. In the province of La Belle, Éric Gagné and Russell Martin have already received the reward.