OTTAWA- Two players, catcher Russell Martin (Montréal, QC) and reliever John Axford (Port Dover, ON), both of the Pittsburgh Pirates, are the lone two Canadians that could see action in the 2014 MLB Postseason that gets underway tonight.
In 2013, five Canadians appeared in the MLB Postseason and in 2004 a record seven Canadian players took part.
The Pirates will play host to the San Francisco Giants tomorrow night in the Wild Card game with the winner earning the right to play the NL East Division winning Washington Nationals in the Division Series.
Martin, generally known as the heart and soul of the Pirates ball club, put together another fine season in Pittsburgh hitting .290 with 11 home runs and 67 RBI’s in 111 games, while providing spectacular defence behind home plate including a 39% (37-for-96) success rate throwing out potential base-stealers.
The regular season did not finish on a high note for Martin or the Pirates as he missed the final two games of the season due to left hamstring soreness - the same hamstring that caused him to spend four weeks on the disabled list in May.
If he plays tomorrow night, it will be Martin’s fourth consecutive appearance in the postseason and the seventh time of his nine-year career.
Axford arrived in Pittsburgh in mid-August after being claimed off waivers from the Cleveland Indians – the team he had signed a one-year contract with during the off-season.
The former closer is no stranger to October baseball having pitched in the postseason in 2011 with the Milwaukee Brewers and just last year in the World Series with the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals.
The 31 year-old had a combined ERA of 3.95 during the regular season through 62 appearances (54.2 innings pitched) that saw him strike out 63 batters and save 10 games.
Another player with ties to Canada has the opportunity to see postseason action, as Dominican-Canadian Oscar Taveras is a member of the NL Central winning St. Louis Cardinals.
