American expatriate baseball players in Canada

Charlie_Rabe

Charles Henry Rabe (born May 6, 1932) is an American former professional baseball player. The left-handed pitcher and native of Boyce, Ellis County, Texas, appeared in 11 games in Major League Baseball for the 1957–1958 Cincinnati Redlegs. He was listed as 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and 185 pounds (84 kg).
Rabe graduated from Waxahachie High School, alma mater of prominent baseball manager and front-office executive Paul Richards, and began his 12-year, ten-season pro career in the Cincinnati organization in 1952. After winning 16 of 26 decisions in 1957 for the top-level Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League, he was recalled in September by the Redlegs and used in two games. In the second, on September 27, he started against the eventual world champion Milwaukee Braves at Milwaukee County Stadium and held them to only five hits and two runs, striking out six, in seven full innings pitched. But the Redlegs could not solve Milwaukee's ace right-hander, Lew Burdette, and went down to defeat, 2–1. He began 1958 with Cincinnati and worked in nine games, including his second and last start, May 25 against the St. Louis Cardinals at Crosley Field; however, he lasted only three innings, gave up eight hits and four runs, and absorbed the 4–2 defeat. He made only one more MLB appearance before returning to the minors for the remainder of his career, which lasted through 1963.
In his 11 games with Cincinnati, Rabe posted an 0–4 won–lost record and 3.67 earned run average, allowing 30 hits and nine bases on balls in 27 innings pitched. He struck out 16.

Bobby_Balcena

Robert Rudolph Balcena (August 1, 1925 – January 5, 1990) was an American professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Redlegs during the 1956 season. He had two at-bats and scored two runs as a pinch runner.
Listed at 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m), 160 pounds (73 kg), Balcena batted right-handed and threw left-handed. He was born in San Pedro, California.
Prior to playing professional baseball, Balcena served in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II with the United States Navy.Balcena became the first player of Asian American and Filipino ancestry to appear in a major league game. He had a long distinguished Triple-A career with the Seattle Rainiers as a center fielder in the 1950s; one paper described him as a "popular miniature dynamo of almost infallible perpetual motion" after his Rainier team won the 1955 Pacific Coast League title.He also played from 1952 through 1962 in the Minor Leagues, including stints with the Leones del Caracas and the Industriales de Valencia in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League.
He batted .284 with 134 home run and 441 runs batted in in 1948 minor league games. In a VPBL two-season career, he posted a .306 average with five homers and 44 RBI in 87 games.
After his baseball career ended, he worked as a longshoreman in Seattle where he had played parts of four seasons in the minor leagues.Despite being the first Filipino-American to play in the major leagues, Balcena kept company with Slavs during his life. His union president told the Los Angeles Times that he was an "honorary Slav. He always r[a]n around with the San Pedro Slavs. He speaks Slav. He sings Slav." Outside of his professional career, he also played baseball with an amateur team of Yugoslav Americans.Balcena died in his hometown of San Pedro, California at the age of 64.

Gil_Blanco

Gilbert Henry Blanco (born December 15, 1945) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. Blanco was signed by the New York Yankees in 1964. He pitched for the Yankees in 1965 and the Kansas City Athletics in 1966. In 28 Major League games, nine as a starting pitcher, had a career record of 3–5, an ERA of 4.45, with 35 strikeouts and 48 bases on balls in 58⅔ innings pitched.

Kirt_Ojala

Kirt Stanley Ojala (born December 24, 1968) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) left-handed pitcher who played for the Florida Marlins from 1997 to 1999, and is remembered for being the pitcher who gave up the 400th career home run to Barry Bonds.

Dennis_Blair_(baseball)

Dennis Herman Blair (born June 5, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Montreal Expos during the 1974–1976 seasons and for the San Diego Padres in 1980. Blair grew up in Rialto, California, and attended Eisenhower High School in Rialto.
After his major league career ended in 1982, he worked and attended California State University San Bernardino. He graduated in 1993 with a Liberal Studies Bachelor of Arts degree and completed his master's degree at Lamar University.He moved to Texas and taught students with special needs in Garland and Mesquite Independent School Districts. He retired from teaching in 2016 and lives in the Phoenix area part of the year. He is married and has two sons, a step-son and three grandchildren.

Ron_Woods

Ronald Lawrence Woods (born February 1, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player who appeared in all or part of six seasons in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1974, primarily as an outfielder, for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Montreal Expos. He also played two seasons in Japan for the Chunichi Dragons in 1975–1976. Born in Hamilton, Ohio, Woods threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 168 pounds (76 kg).
Woods graduated from Compton High School in Southern California, and entered pro baseball in the Pittsburgh Pirates' organization in June 1961. However, after five years in the Pittsburgh farm system, he had risen only as high as the Double-A level. Early in 1966, the Detroit Tigers acquired his contract. After a strong 1968 season with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, Woods made the 1969 roster of the defending World Series champion Tigers out of spring training. He appeared in 17 early-season games for Detroit, largely as a pinch hitter, pinch runner and defensive replacement, before being traded June 14 to the New York Yankees for veteran outfielder Tom Tresh.
Although he struggled offensively, Woods was able to solidify his hold on a major league job with the Yankees, appearing in 192 games (starting 147) from June 1969 to June 1971. On June 25 of the latter year, the Yankees sent Woods to the Montreal Expos for former New York Mets outfielder Ron Swoboda. Despite a brief detour to Triple-A Winnipeg in 1971, Woods spent the next 31⁄2 years on the Expo roster, appearing in 373 games and batting a cumulative .245. In 1973, he was Montreal's most-used center fielder, starting 72 games and platooning with left-handed hitters Boots Day and Jim Lyttle, as the Expos, a fifth-year expansion team, battled for the National League East Division title before falling short by 31⁄2 games.
That off-season, however, the Expos traded for veteran center fielder Willie Davis of the Los Angeles Dodgers, relegating Woods to part-time status in 1974. He started 21 games all season, batted .205 in 127 at bats, and departed for the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball. He played the 1975 and 1976 seasons in Japan, appearing in 192 total games and hitting .263 with 160 hits and 19 home runs.
Doing Woods' six seasons in the major leagues, Woods batted .233. His 290 hits in 1,247 at bats included 34 doubles, 12 triples, and 26 career home runs. He compiled 130 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases.

Dave_Tobik

David Vance Tobik (born March 2, 1953) is an American former right-handed professional baseball relief pitcher. After attending Ohio University, Tobik played eight seasons in the Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers (1978–1982), Texas Rangers (1983–1984), and Seattle Mariners (1985).

Fred_Scherman

Frederick John Scherman, Jr. (born July 25, 1944) is a former left-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1976. He compiled a 33-26 record in eight major league seasons with a 3.66 earned run average (ERA), 39 saves, and 297 strikeouts.
A native of Dayton, Ohio, Scherman signed with the Minnesota Twins in 1963, but was traded to the Detroit Tigers in 1964. After five years in the Tigers' farm system, Scherman made his major league debut in 1969 and spent five years with the club from 1969 to 1973. His best season was 1971 when he set a Detroit Tigers record with 69 pitching appearances (second most in the American League during the 1971 season) and compiled an 11-6 record with a 2.71 ERA, 20 saves, and 40 games finished.
Scherman was traded to the Houston Astros in December 1973 and compiled a 2-6 record and 4.29 ERA for the Astros during the 1974 and 1975 seasons. He was sold to the Montreal Expos in June 1975 and compiled a 6-5 record and 4.02 ERA for Montreal in 1975 and 1976. Scherman concluded his career pitching in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system in 1977 and in Japan during the 1978 season.

Dale_Mohorcic

Dale Robert Mohorcic (born January 25, 1956) is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1986 to 1990. Mohorcic was a star at Cleveland State University. After playing on farm teams for the Toronto Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates, Mohorcic signed with the Texas Rangers in 1985. His first two years, Mohorcic pitched well, having an ERA under 3.00. He holds a major league baseball record of 13 consecutive team games with a relief appearance, which he set from August 6–20, 1986. He was traded on August 30, 1988, to the New York Yankees for Cecilio Guante. His last year was with the Montreal Expos in 1990. He shares the Major League record for most consecutive games pitched at 13 with Mike Marshall.
In a 1987 game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Mohorcic was accused of doctoring the baseball. Umpires found no evidence of wrongdoing at the time, but after the game Mohorcic complained of a sore throat, and was admitted to a hospital where it was discovered that he was suffering internal bleeding as a result of having Crohn's disease and taking the pain reliever naproxen. It was erroneously reported by Peter Gammons that Mohorcic's bleeding was caused by swallowing sandpaper. He lives in Maple Heights, Ohio.