Olerud, Morneau headline 2020 Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame class

ST. MARYS, Ont. — Former Toronto Blue Jays first baseman and two-time World Series champion John Olerud headlines the four-man class that will be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame this summer.

Olerud, along with New Westminster, B.C., native Justin Morneau, former Blue Jays pitcher Duane Ward and Montreal sportscaster Jacques Doucet will be enshrined in a ceremony in St. Marys, Ont., on June 20.

The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame announced its 2020 class Tuesday.

Olerud, who suffered a near-fatal brain aneurysm in college in 1989, went on to play 17 seasons in the major leagues, including eight years in Toronto, and famously wore his batting helmet at all times during games.

He was an integral part of both of Toronto’s World Series championships in 1992 and 1993 and won the American League batting title in ’93, when he hit .363 with 24 homers and a league-high 54 doubles.

The 51-year-old from Seattle, who also played for the New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox before retiring in 2005, is a career .295 hitter with an .863 on-base plus slugging percentage. He hit 255 homers and had 1,230 runs batted in over 2,234 games, 920 of them with Toronto.

“When I heard that I was going to be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, I was very surprised. It was so unexpected,” Olerud said in a statement. “I am very honoured to be selected.”

Morneau, a former third-round draft pick by the Twins in 1999, played 14 seasons in the major leagues, including 11 with Minnesota. He won the AL MVP award in 2006 and was the NL batting champ with the Colorado Rockies in 2014, hitting .319 over 135 games.

Morneau is a career .281 hitter and four-time all-star. He also manned first base for Canada at each of the World Baseball Classics in 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2017.

The 38-year-old retired in 2018 and now serves as a special assistant to baseball operations with the Twins.

“When I learned of fellow inductees, John Olerud, Duane Ward and Jacques Doucet, I was at a loss for words. To think that I would be joining these distinguished members that had such a lasting impact on baseball in Canada is truly humbling,” Morneau said.

Ward, a right-handed reliever, appeared in 462 major-league games — all but 10 of those with the Blue Jays — from 1986-1995.

The 55-year-old, also a two-time World Series champion with Toronto, earned 121 career saves and struck out 679 over 666 2/3 innings.   

“When I was informed about my induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, the only thing I felt at the time was, completely overwhelmed, a flood of feelings and emotions came after a few minutes of reflection and thought,” said Ward.

Doucet, a 79-year-old from Montreal, served as the Expos’ play-by-play voice from their inaugural season in 1969 to 2004 when the team moved to become the Washington Nationals.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2020.

The Canadian Press