<p>On June 7th,<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/canadian-baseball-hall-of-fame-announces-class-of-2025-headlined-by-jose-bautista-and-erik-bedard"> six new members</a> will be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ontario, bringing the total number of inductees to 167.</p>
<p>Canadian citizenship is not required to be inducted <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/canadian-baseball-hall-of-fame-2025-inductees-jose-bautista">into the hall,</a> as the list of inductees includes men and women who have made an impact on baseball in or for this country, from various aspects, including playing, coaching, volunteering, umpiring, writing, and everything in between. To be inducted, one must be nominated and then receive enough votes from the selection committee.</p>
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<h3>Erik Bedard &#8211; Navan, Ontario</h3>
<p>Bedard is set to be enshrined in the hall following his 11-year big league career in which he played for six different teams, most notably for the Baltimore Orioles. Born in Navan but growing up in Orleans, Ontario, the left-hander was originally drafted in the sixth round out of Norwalk Community College in Connecticut, a school that he walked on at after undergoing a massive growth spurt after high school. He would go on to make his big league debut with the Orioles in 2002.</p>
<p>The former starter&#8217;s best season came in 2007, when he went 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA while leading the major leagues in both H/9 (7.0) and K/9 (10.9), finishing fifth in Cy Young voting. Although injuries would prevent him from being quite as productive over his next six seasons, he remained a quality starting pitcher until his final season in 2014.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Canadian-born pitchers to record at least 900 career strikeouts in the American League (1901-present):<br />James Paxton (906 via posting 7 Ks in an 8-6 <a href="https://twitter.com/RedSox?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RedSox</a> victory against the Mets earlier tonight)<br />Erik Bedard (1128)<br />Kirk McCaskill (1008)<br />Fergie Jenkins (1142)<br />John Hiller (1036) <a href="https://t.co/adbO07wHXD">pic.twitter.com/adbO07wHXD</a></p>
<p>&mdash; StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) <a href="https://twitter.com/StatsCentre/status/1682943381440454657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 23, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Enshrining Bedard this year was likely an easy choice for the Hall of Fame voters, as his career stacks up against some of the best Canadian pitchers of all time. He currently ranks third in strikeouts (1246) by a Canadian-born player, following National Baseball Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins and Ryan Dempster. He also places fourth in games started (230), sixth in innings pitched (1303.2), and 9th in wins (71). Among left-handers, he ranks 1st in each of the aforementioned statistical categories.</p>
<p>Fueling Bedard&#8217;s high strikeout numbers was his curveball, regarded as one of the best in the sport during his career. In addition to his four-seam fastball, he mixed in a sinker, changeup, sinker, and cutter to keep hitters off balance.</p>
<p>Bedard made one start for Canada on the international stage when he participated in the inaugural World Baseball Classic tournament in 2006. Canada did not advance passed the group stage, but he fired four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and two walks while punching out six batters.</p>
<p>The 6-foot-1 pitcher was a no-brainer to be inducted this year, as he may just hold the claim as the greatest Canadian lefthander of all time.</p>
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On June 7th,<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/canadian-baseball-hall-of-fame-announces-class-of-2025-headlined-by-jose-bautista-and-erik-bedard"> six new members</a> will be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ontario, bringing the total number of inductees to 167.

Canadian citizenship is not required to be inducted <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/canadian-baseball-hall-of-fame-2025-inductees-jose-bautista">into the hall,</a> as the list of inductees includes men and women who have made an impact on baseball in or for this country, from various aspects, including playing, coaching, volunteering, umpiring, writing, and everything in between. To be inducted, one must be nominated and then receive enough votes from the selection committee.
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<h3>Erik Bedard - Navan, Ontario</h3>
Bedard is set to be enshrined in the hall following his 11-year big league career in which he played for six different teams, most notably for the Baltimore Orioles. Born in Navan but growing up in Orleans, Ontario, the left-hander was originally drafted in the sixth round out of Norwalk Community College in Connecticut, a school that he walked on at after undergoing a massive growth spurt after high school. He would go on to make his big league debut with the Orioles in 2002.

The former starter's best season came in 2007, when he went 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA while leading the major leagues in both H/9 (7.0) and K/9 (10.9), finishing fifth in Cy Young voting. Although injuries would prevent him from being quite as productive over his next six seasons, he remained a quality starting pitcher until his final season in 2014.

https://twitter.com/StatsCentre/status/1682943381440454657

Enshrining Bedard this year was likely an easy choice for the Hall of Fame voters, as his career stacks up against some of the best Canadian pitchers of all time. He currently ranks third in strikeouts (1246) by a Canadian-born player, following National Baseball Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins and Ryan Dempster. He also places fourth in games started (230), sixth in innings pitched (1303.2), and 9th in wins (71). Among left-handers, he ranks 1st in each of the aforementioned statistical categories.

Fueling Bedard's high strikeout numbers was his curveball, regarded as one of the best in the sport during his career. In addition to his four-seam fastball, he mixed in a sinker, changeup, sinker, and cutter to keep hitters off balance.

Bedard made one start for Canada on the international stage when he participated in the inaugural World Baseball Classic tournament in 2006. Canada did not advance passed the group stage, but he fired four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and two walks while punching out six batters.

The 6-foot-1 pitcher was a no-brainer to be inducted this year, as he may just hold the claim as the greatest Canadian lefthander of all time.

<hr />

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