Former slugger Jason Bay (Trail, B.C.), versatile ex-pitcher Ryan Dempster (Sechelt, B.C.), esteemed coach Rob Thomson (Sarnia, Ont.) and long-time executive Gord Ash (Toronto, Ont.) will be inducted into the Canadian ball shrine in a ceremony to take place on June 15 at the Hall of Fame grounds in St. Marys, Ont.Dempster pitched in nine seasons with the Cubs and not only did he have success as a closer, he transitioned back into a starting pitcher in 2008, and finished sixth in Cy Young voting after recording a 2.96 ERA in 206.2 innings that season. Overall with the Cubs, Dempster notched 87 saves, won 67 games and recorded a 3.74 ERA in 1,182.2 innings, while being named an all-star in 2008.
Dempster finished his 16-year major league career near the top of most all-time Canadian pitching categories, including second in wins (132), strikeouts (2,075), starts (351) and innings pitched (2,387). He also ranks fourth in games (579), saves (87) and WAR (22.5).Congrats to Ryan Dempster!
Oh, and we can't talk about Dempster without mentioning his trade in 2012, because as good as he was with Chicago and all the things he accomplished in nine years, the best thing Dempster did for the Cubs was veto a trade to the Braves and eventually accept one to the Rangers. The return was Christian Villanueva and another pitcher named Kyle Hendricks. No, but seriously, this is a great honor for Dempster. I just wonder if he's going to do his speech as himself, or Harry Caray.

Comments
Join the discussion below. Keep it civil and focused on the content.








Loading comments...