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How a pair of ex-Blue Jays got into the Hall of Fame with questionable cases

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This year’s Baseball Hall of Fame class has a Blue Jays flavour.

Scott Rolen, a slick-fielding third baseman who played for Toronto in 2008 and ’09, was the only candidate to receive the required 75 per cent support from baseball writers when the results of their Hall of Fame voting were announced last night. Only 10 per cent of voters considered Rolen worthy of the Hall in 2018, his first year on the ballot. But his support rose steadily each year since then, and the sixth time was the charm.

Rolen will be enshrined in Cooperstown on July 23 alongside Fred McGriff, a slugging first baseman who spent his first five big-league seasons with the Blue Jays from 1986-90 and is much more readily associated with the team than Rolen. The Crime Dog was a Jays fan favourite, particularly in 1989 when he bashed an American League-high 36 home runs and led the AL in on-base-plus-slugging percentage. He placed sixth in AL MVP voting that year and helped Toronto win the AL East title alongside the likes of George Bell, Tony Fernandez, Kelly Gruber, Ernie Whitt, Dave Stieb, Jimmy Key and Tom Henke. A year later, McGriff and Fernandez were traded to San Diego in the franchise-altering blockbuster that netted Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter, stars of the Jays’ back-to-back World Series championships in 1992 and ’93.

McGriff remained a remarkably consistent, if unspectacular, hitter after he left Toronto, becoming the first player to hit at least 30 homers for five different teams and one of only four to win home-run titles in both the American and National Leagues. After stops with Atlanta (where he won the World Series in 1995), Tampa Bay, the Cubs and the Dodgers, McGriff retired after the 2004 season with 493 home runs — tied with Lou Gehrig for 29th all-time. Every single player ahead of McGriff on the all-time home run list is either already in the Hall of Fame, not yet eligible because they’re still active or too recently retired, or linked to steroids.

But McGriff’s steadiness failed to wow the writers. He never reached even 40 per cent in their Hall of Fame voting before falling off the ballot after the maximum 10 years. McGriff got in last month via the Contemporary Baseball Era committee — one of the rotating groups that reconsider candidates from a certain time period after they’ve exhausted their eligibility with the writers (a job previously handled by the old Veterans Committee).

These 16-person panels are far more lenient, admitting such questionable candidates as Harold Baines, Jack Morris and Jim Kaat in recent years. One reason for that might be familiarity. The committee that elected McGriff, for instance, included former teammates Greg Maddux and Kenny Williams and former Blue Jays executive Paul Beeston. Baseball writers are certainly not immune to biases, but those tend to come out in the wash when nearly 400 ballots are cast.

Rolen got into the Hall of Fame the old-fashioned way, but not without a few raised eyebrows. After being rejected on his first five tries, the former Phillie, Cardinal, Blue Jay and Red was named on 76.3 per cent of the writers’ ballots this year, clearing the bar for induction by just six votes. His 10.2 per cent debut in 2018 is by far the lowest first-ballot percentage by any player to later be elected. The previous record was 17 per cent, by Dodgers great Duke Snider.

Rolen likely benefited from weak competition this year. The only even semi-strong candidate joining the ballot was Carlos Beltran, a 435-homer man somewhat tainted by his role in the Astros cheating scandal. Holdovers Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez certainly have the numbers to get in, and Gary Sheffield and Andy Pettitte are probably deserving as well, but all four are disqualified in the eyes of some voters because of their links to steroids. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa fell off the ballot last year for the same reason. The top vote-getters behind Rolen this year were Todd Helton, a first baseman with Coors Field-inflated batting stats; and Billy Wagner, a great closer but, still, a closer.

Having said all that, Rolen was an excellent player. Much of the skepticism about his Hall of Fame worthiness might stem from the fact that his skills were more subtle than others’. Rolen was a lifetime .281 hitter who reached 30 homers in a season only three times and topped out at 34 in 2004, when he placed fourth in NL MVP voting for St. Louis. Apart from that year, Rolen never cracked the top 13 in MVP voting, though he did win the 1997 NL rookie of the year award with Philly.

Baseball aficionados, however, recognize Rolen as a very good hitter and, above all, a superb defensive third baseman — perhaps the best of his era. He won eight Gold Gloves, and his rare combination of defensive and offensive ability is reflected in his 70.1 Wins Above Replacement, which tops seven of the 15 Hall of Famers who were primarily third baseman. That Rolen’s WAR likely played a significant role in his election speaks to the changing demographics of baseball writers, who as a group are getting younger and more statistically savvy with each passing year.

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Alouettes receiver Philpot announces he’ll be out for the rest of season

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Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.

The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.

“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.

Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.

The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.

Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

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David Lipsky shoots 65 to take 1st-round lead at Silverado in FedEx Cup Fall opener

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NAPA, Calif. (AP) — David Lipsky shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday at Silverado Country Club to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Procore Championship.

Winless in 104 events since joining the PGA Tour in 2022, Lipsky went out with the early groups and had eight birdies with one bogey to kick off the FedEx Cup Fall series at the picturesque course in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.

After missing the cut in his three previous tournaments, Lipsky flew from Las Vegas to Arizona to reunite with his college coach at Northwestern to get his focus back. He also spent time playing with some of the Northwestern players, which helped him relax.

“Just being around those guys and seeing how carefree they are, not knowing what’s coming for them yet, it’s sort of nice to see that,” Lipsky said. “I was almost energized by their youthfulness.”

Patton Kizzire and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back. Kizzire started on the back nine and made a late run with three consecutive birdies to move into a tie for first. A bogey on No. 8 dropped him back.

“There was a lot of good stuff out there today,” Kizzire said. “I stayed patient and just went through my routines and played well, one shot at a time. I’ve really bee working hard on my mental game and I think that allowed me to rinse and repeat and reset and keep playing.”

Mark Hubbard was at 67. He had nine birdies but fell off the pace with a bogey and triple bogey on back-to-back holes.

Kevin Dougherty also was in the group at 67. He had two eagles and ended his afternoon by holing out from 41 yards on the 383-yard, par-4 18th.

Defending champion Sahith Theegala had to scramble for much of his round of 69.

Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023 and the AT&T at Pebble Beach in February, had a 70.

Max Homa shot 71. The two-time tournament champion and a captain’s pick for the President’s Cup in two weeks had two birdies and overcame a bogey on the par-4 first.

Stewart Cink, the 2020 winner, also opened with a 71. He won The Ally Challenge last month for his first PGA Tour Champions title.

Three players from the Presidents Cup International team had mix results. Min Woo Lee shot 68, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., 69 and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., 73. International team captain Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., also had a 69.

Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., had a 68, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot 70 and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a 71.

Lipsky was a little shaky off the tee for much of the afternoon but made up for it with steady iron play that left him in great shape on the greens. He had one-putts on 11 holes and was in position for a bigger day but left five putts short.

Lipsky’s only real problem came on the par-4 ninth when his approach sailed into a bunker just shy of the green. He bounced back nicely with five birdies on his back nine. After missing a 19-foot putt for birdie on No. 17, Lipsky ended his day with a 12-foot par putt.

That was a big change from last year when Lipsky tied for 30th at Silverado when he drove the ball well but had uneven success on the greens.

“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun, and I think I sort of forgot that along the way as I’m grinding it out,” Lipsky said. “You’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that and it seems like it’s working out.”

Laird stayed close after beginning his day with a bogey on the par-4 10th. The Scot got out of the sand nicely but pushed his par putt past the hole.

Homa continued to have issues off the tee and missed birdie putts on his final four holes.

___

AP golf:

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Canada’s Marina Stakusic advances to quarterfinals at Guadalajara Open

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GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic is moving on to the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open.

The Mississauga, Ont., native defeated the tournament top seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) in the round of 16 on Thursday.

Stakusic faced a 0-4 deficit in the third and final set before marching back into the match.

The 19-year-old won five of the next six games to even it up before exchanging games to force a tiebreaker, where Stakusic took complete control to win the match.

Stakusic had five aces with 17 double faults in the three-hour, four-minute match.

However, she converted eight of her 18 break-point opportunities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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