Written By: Jovan Popovic
Edited By: Cameron Schoffro
As of Feb. 3, former first baseman Justin Morneau, and starting pitcher Jeff Francis, were officially elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. The pair of BC natives will be inducted on Jun. 18.
Jeff Francis
Jeff Francis is an interesting case for a lot of Canadian baseball fans. His career 4.97 ERA with a win-loss of 72-82 doesn't exactly scream “hall of fame”, or pop out to fans, although the impact he had on Canadian baseball history was much bigger than most recognize.
Francis was drafted back in 2002 where he went ninth overall to the Rockies. He and Adam Loewen, the fourth overall pick of the Orioles were the talk of the town in Canada’s baseball community. Two Canadians drafted in the top 10 was unheard of, and they became the two highest drafted Canadians of all time.
Despite being the latter of the two come draft day, it was Francis who would pump out the better career, having played 11 years with six different teams, eight years of which would be spent with the Rockies. Francis had many ups and downs with the organization, some seasons with an ERA as high as 6.27, and others where he would place in ROY and Cy Young voting. He was a staple in Colorado’s rotation for many years.
One of Francis’ most interesting Canadian feats came as a member of the Blue Jays in 2015. Entering the game as a reliever, Francis would pair up with catcher Russell Martin to form the Blue Jays' first ever all-Canadian battery. He would play 14 games with the organization as a long man before his major league career came to a close.
Alongside his time in the MLB, Francis was frequently found representing Canada in international competition. He represented the country in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, and in the 2015 Pan American Games, where the team would take home the gold medal.
Francis may not have had a legendary major league career, but he always held Canada close to his heart and was long a significant piece of Canadian baseball history.
Justin Morneau
It was long before Morneau retired that Canadian baseball fans knew he was bound for the Hall. Up there with Larry Walker, Fergie Jenkins, Joey Votto, Jason Bay and others, Morneau is one of Canada’s all-time greats. The 2006 MVP award recipient finished his career as a 4x all-star, 2x silver slugger winner, the 2014 batting title holder, and a home run derby champion. His 247 career home runs rank fourth all-time among Canadians as well.
As incredible a career he had, fans often reflect with bitterness, wondering what might have been. Nearly all of his major accolades had come by his age 29 season. It was in that year that everything would change.
In a 2010 series against the Blue Jays Morneau’s career would come to a sudden halt. In attempting to break up a double play, Morneau would slide hard into second, a play he had likely completed tens of dozens of times in his career. This time, however, his head would collide with the knee of infielder John McDonald. He would finish the rest of the season on the injured list, abruptly cutting off what was arguably the best season of his career after just 81 games played.
From that point on, Morneau would never be the same player. He still found success - he was a solid contributor - but the future HOFer that everyone once saw was gone.
Although his career didn’t pan out the way many had envisioned, he still had an unbelievable career. 1603 total hits, 247 home runs, 985 RBI, and a career OPS of .828. He was, and still is, a major Canadian icon in baseball. He played for the Canadian national team five times, he wore number 33 in honour of his childhood idol Patrick Roy, and he always embraced his Canadian roots.
His place in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame is rightfully deserved, not only for the wonderful career he had but for the impact he had on the countless Canadian fans that looked up to him for years.
Congratulations Jeff Francis and Justin Morneau on this long-awaited achievement.
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