By Mark Schadenberg
Tip O'Neill was a professional baseball star from Woodstock and among the inaugural inductees in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 1983, along with George Selkirk and three others.
James O'Neill had two nicknames -- Tip and the Woodstock Wonder. In 1887, with the St Louis Browns he batted .435, which is the second best average ever for one season. That year was notorious though as walks were counted as hits, so some archives list O'Neill with a .495 average that year with the Browns. He is considered the first Triple Crown winner in MLB, and also led the league in doubles and slugging percentage that year.
The Woodstock Wonder could certainly fit the description as he made his pro debut in 1883 as a pitcher, but arm injuries soon transformed O'Neill into an outfielder. His lifetime batting average was .326 in more than 1,000 games.
In Woodstock, the baseball diamond in Southside Park is called the Tip O'Neill Sportsfield.
JUSTIN MORNEAU
Today (Dec. 3), the Canadian ball shrine, which is a non-profit organization and certainly seeks donations from baseball fans to keep it successful -- based in St Marys -- announced Justin Morneau as this year's recipient. Morneau won the National League batting title (.319) with the Colorado Rockies, and will be recognized at a Rockies home game early in the 2015 campaign.
Morneau, who also won the award in 2006 (AL MVP with the Twins with 34 home runs and 130 RBIs and .321 average) and 2008, has recovered from a concussion in 2010 and a neck operation as well to relieve pinched nerves. In 2011 with the Minnesota Twins he played in just 69 games, hitting only .227 with 4 home runs.
Baseball is a game that certainly relies on reflexes and Morneau lost his quick step and bat speed. Read this diagnosis from a Sports Illustrated story:
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"What's most likely to happen in baseball is a concussion that goes onto post-concussion syndrome," say Dr. Robert Cantu, a sports concussion expert at the Boston University School of Medicine. "The symptoms don't clear up quickly....When you have post-concussion syndrome, when you're still symptomatic and still haven't completely healed, very commonly reaction times are slow [and] your eyes do not track with the same coordination and speed."
()()()()()()By reading the Canadian ball hall press release, it's terrific to see that Morneau gives back to the community in so many ways as well and has been nominated three times for the Roberto Clemente award for charitable efforts.
A great rejuvenated career from a great Canadian baseball player -- now with 1,438 career games, 238 homers, 945 RBIs and a lifetime .281 batting average.
LINKS:
http://baseballhalloffame.ca/news/feature/justin-morneau-wins-canadian-baseball-hall-of-fames-tip-oneill-award-2/
http://www.si.com/mlb/2014/06/02/justin-morneau-colorado-rockies
A full-time Realtor; part-time baseball fan
Mark Schadenberg, sales representative
Royal LePage Triland Realty
Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter: markroyallepage
Phone: (519) 537-1553
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