Canadian Baseball Hall-of-Fame adds four

Barfield completes Jays OF of the '80s at St. Marys; Boucher and Harden honoured

Canadian Baseball Hall-of-Fame Announces 2023 Inductees

It seems like a long time coming, but former Blue Jays right fielder Jesse Barfield has finally been invited to the party, joining ‘80s teammates Lloyd Moseby and George Bell as honoured members at the Canadian Baseball Hall-of-Fame. The ceremony with Barfield and three other ‘23 inductees, will be staged June 17 at the always sublime, Canadian Baseball Hall in St. Marys, Ontario.

The 63-year-old Barfield will be joined as members of this year’s class by Canadian lefthander Denis Boucher, who pitched for both the Jays and the Montreal Expos, and by Victoria, B.C. righthander Rich Harden, whose oft-starry career was cut short by injuries. That playing trio will be accompanied by long-time Manitoba volunteer and amateur coach, Joe Wiwchar.  

Make no mistake, St. Marys is not Cooperstown, the location of a more renowned National Baseball Hall-of-Fame and Museum, but there are remarkable similarities in the dual experiences of the two quaint villages and the classy celebration that takes place each summer on separate but similar fields near each museums, where fans are invited to see their childhood heroes up close. Baseball has forever been a sport built on and for families, intent on celebrating its history.

Best AL Outfield of the ‘80s to reunite at St. Marys

For many of the early years after retiring as a Yankee, in 1992, Barfield remained out of the spotlight, at least to fans north of the border, but over the past decade, the strong-armed outfielder, has thrown himself back into the arms of the Blue Jays family, participating in several key, off-field promotional activities and, simply by his presence among them, reminding fans how good a player he had been in Canada, from 1981-89. During that final Jays, ’89 season, he was traded to the Yankees for Al Leiter, finishing his career in pinstripes.

A native of Joliet, Illinois, Barfield was drafted by the Jays as part of the club’s first draft in 1977. The strong-armed outfielder recorded 162 assists in 11 seasons, with a strong and accurate cannon that was compared to the best of his era, in the ‘80s, a short list that included Ellis Valentine, Dave Parker, Bo Jackson and Andre Dawson. Barfield earned two career Gold Gloves. And, hey, once you’re a Hall-of-Famer, nobody asks how long it took to arrive.

Boucher’s Expos Debut Hall Worthy on its own

Boucher is one of the many over the years that played for both Canadian teams, the Jays and Expos. He was signed out of Montreal by the Jays in ’87, before Canadians were included in the draft. The native of Lachine, Quebec, has remained a classy representative of baseball in Canada throughout his years as a player, broadcaster, national team pitching coach and scout. He clearly has studied and learned from Claude Raymond, emulating a man who, ever since he was acquired by the fledgling Expos in 1969, has been a face of Canadian baseball, especially in the province of his birth, carrying himself with grace and dignity. Boucher has seemingly taken over that mantle for the sport and the country.

Every time I think back to the events of Sept. 6, 1993, a game played in the heat of a pennant race at Olympic Stadium vs. the Rockies, I can’t help but smile. As a P.R. guy, I felt like a ringmaster to a three-ring circus. It became Denis’s biggest moment as a major-league pitcher, returning to Montreal as a conquering ti-gar-de-chez-nous.     

The 25-year-old Lachine native had been obtained from the Padres in a minor-league trade in July, but was a September call-up and was making his home debut as the Expos attempted to catch the Phillies in the NL East. The city had been in a lather for Boucher since the rotation for the series was announced. At Olympic Stadium that night, returning from a long road trip, was a crowd of 40,066 to see their local hero. Compare that to the next night for Dennis Martinez when the attendance was 18,988. Clearly it was La Premiere over El. Presidente.

How unusual was the Denis debut? Boucher had spent the day at home in Lachine with the media who had asked him if they could record his entire journey. He said yes. Understand that never happens on a start day…but it did. Photographers accompanied him on his trip via Metro to the ballpark and when he finally made his way down the right field line to the bullpen, on-field, in foul territory, accompanied by a phalanx of photographers, the fan reaction was comparable to 22 years later in August 2015, when David Price made his Rogers Centre debut and the fans stood and cheered every step of his pre-game stroll to warm up. Memories of both events still produce goosebumps.

There’s more Hall-worthy memories attached to this day. Historically, Boucher, with fellow Canadians, right fielder Larry Walker (Maple Ridge, B.C.) and catcher Joe Siddall (Windsor, ON), it was the first time in the 20^th Century that three Canadians were in the same starting lineup. Boucher allowed one run in six innings, with no decision in a 4-3 win over Colorado. Walker homered and stole a base, while Siddall doubled in the eighth to tie the game 3-3.

The Expos were 30-9 from Aug. 21 on, falling three games shy of catching the Phillies who, of course, went on to lose the World Series to Cito Gaston’s Blue Jays. Boucher was a key member of the starting rotation down the stretch.

Hard-Luck Harden had Hall-of-Fame stuff

Drafted and signed by the A’s in 2000, Harden had a solid four-pitch repertoire that served him exceptionally well when healthy. His pro debut was in Vancouver and he quickly advanced to the majors. His career was akin to a Canadian comet racing across the night sky, cut down to parts of nine MLB seasons due to a series of largely unconnected injuries. His only losing season was 2007, reduyced to seven appearances for the A’s due to injury. In his best seasons, 2004-05, Harden shared a feared A’s rotation with Barry Zito, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Dan Haren among others. Moneyball was built on the foundation of starting pitching.

Joining that group in St. Marys in June, will be 2020 inductee John Olerud, who was unable to make it back in his year because of the pandemic.