By Melissa Couto
Colorado Rockies first baseman Justin Morneau is in a pretty good spot heading into the last day of MLB’s Final Vote balloting.
He’s the only one with an entire country behind him.
As a native of New Westminster, B.C., Morneau is the sole non-American among five finalists vying for the last spot on the National League’s all-star team ahead of next week’s game at Minnesota’s Target Field.
And the Rockies, in hopes of bringing in more votes for Morneau, have been using their player’s unique situation to his advantage before polls close on Thursday.
“With Canada, we want to use the fact that Justin could be the only Canadian-born player in the All-Star Game and that he’s proud of his Canadian heritage,” said Rockies manager of communications Matt Whewell, who along with two colleagues has been asking various well-known Canadians — Justin Bieber, Drake, Wayne Gretzky — to show their support for Morneau via Twitter.
“The random reach-outs to celebrities are a shot in the dark, but Justin has been able to get a lot of support from his NHL buddies and other people he knows from up north.”
One of those hockey players is Florida Panthers defenceman Willie Mitchell of Port McNeil, B.C., whom Morneau met years ago when both athletes played their respective sports in Minnesota — Mitchell with the Wild and Morneau with the Twins. The two were reunited in Los Angeles last month when Mitchell, then with the L.A. Kings, brought the Stanley Cup to Dodger Stadium where Morneau’s Rockies were visiting.
“Vote my bud Justin #Morneau back to Minny for the all star game!” Mitchell tweeted, along with a photo of Morneau and himself holding the prestigious trophy, from his verified account on Sunday.
Morneau, a third round draft pick of the Twins in 1999, had spent his entire career in Minnesota — save for a one-month stint in Pittsburgh following a September trade to the Pirates last year — before signing with Colorado as a free-agent in the off-season.
A four-time all-star and former Home Run Derby champion (at Yankee Stadium in 2008), the Canadian is up against Miami’s Casey McGehee, Washington’s Anthony Rendon, Chicago’s Anthony Rizzo, and Atlanta’s Justin Upton for a chance to play in his first all-star game since 2009.
Though Morneau was voted into the 2010 installment of the game, he couldn’t partake due to the concussion he suffered that July when he crashed into John McDonald’s knee sliding into second base during a game in Toronto.
Morneau was hitting .345 when he endured the concussion that cut his 2010 and 2011 seasons short, and until now, he’s struggled to regain his pre-injury form, hitting .227, .267 and .259 over the previous three campaigns. This year, the 33-year-old is hitting .313 with 13 home runs and 59 RBIs through the first half of the season.
At least one of his former teammates isn’t surprised to see Morneau back on track.
Fellow Canadian Scott Diamond played alongside Morneau in Minnesota from 2011-2013, and represented Canada with the B.C. native at the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
“Even through the injuries that were reported, there were more that weren’t and it just demonstrates the type of character Justin has,” said the left-hander from Guelph, Ont., who’s currently pitching for the Twins triple-A squad in Rochester, N.Y. “He always competed. He never took a pitch off and always wanted to win. And that’s why I am so happy to see him feeling comfortable and healthy again.”
Diamond says he’s been online, “repeatedly voting” for Morneau to take the last NL roster spot for days, as have plenty of other Canadian ballplayers such as Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie, Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Russell Martin and Yomiuri Giants pitcher Scott Mathieson, thanks in part to the Twitter efforts of Baseball Canada.
Mathieson, a Vancouver-born right-hander who played with Morneau in the 2006 and 2013 WBCs, says those efforts speak to the strength of the Canadian baseball brotherhood.
“For sure it does,” Mathieson said from Japan. “All of us that have played with him and know him, we know how good of a guy he is and we know he deserves to be at the all-star game. Even players who don’t know him, they still look up to him. He’s a great role model.”
But there’s another reason for wanting to see Morneau at next week’s game. If nothing else, Diamond says he would love for his former teammate to enjoy a homecoming at Target Field, where he was a fan favourite for 11 years.
“He was an integral part of the community for so long that I’m sure it’s been quite a difference without him there,” Diamond said. “From hosting the headline event for Hope Week (a series of surprise events put on by the Twins to help out several local charities), to matching donations for local flood victims (in 2012), the entire Morneau family was such an invaluable piece of the Minnesota community.”
Whewell pointed to Morneau’s past in Minneapolis as well, saying his prospective return to Target Field has become a “good story that everyone has been able to support.” And it’s helped get him more votes too.
Also working in the first basemen’s favour is the Rockies partnership with Cleveland. Colorado teamed up with the Indians, linking Morneau to their representative, pitcher Corey Kluber, in hopes that fans voting for one would throw their support behind the other at the same time.
But as Whewell sees it, Morneau’s Canadian citizenship could prove to be a huge asset.
“I think it definitely helps that Justin has the backing of the entire nation,” he said. “If the situation was reversed — and this is my own opinion as a sports fan — I would easily back the athlete that could be the only representative for my country or even my state. I would imagine many others have similar sentiments with Justin.”
– Follow Melissa Couto on Twitter @throwinsmoke
This article was originally published by the Canadian Baseball Network.
