The Matchcover Storyteller

As I write this in March of 2026, the World Baseball Classic is underway, including a Team Canada.  And Canada’s 26-man roster has 15 players who have come out of MLB team spring training to rep their country.  Canadians have been making their mark in major league ball for decades  —  in fact, more Canadians are excelling in more ways across more of the sports that are not necessarily traditionally Canadian, including basketball and baseball, from Steve Nash to Fergie Jenkins.

And Georges Maranda.

George Maranda was born in 1931 in Levis, Quebec.  He was signed by the Boston Braves in 1951 and toiled most of that decade in the minors.  But by 1959 he was one of three Quebec pitchers on the AA Louisville Colonels; in fact he led the minor league American Association in wins and was a 1959 all-star.  And then he was acquired bv the San Francisco Giants, getting ready for only their 3rd season on the west coast.

In 1960, Maranda appeared in 17 games, starting 4 and winning one.  He spent the following year in the Pacific Coast League AAA Tacoma Giants before the Minnesota Twins acquired him.  In Minnesota, he had limited use, winning just one game (that the Twins had to rally from behind to win after Maranda was pulled).  It was his last win  —  his entire MLB record is just 2-7.

The Twins traded Maranda to the Cleveland Indians and he never pitched again in the majors (1 more year in the minors).  Returning to Canada, he coached a year for the Quebec Carnavals in the Eastern League.

There’s little info on him as a restaurateur.  I found some vague references to his restaurant opening in the early 1960s (his baseball career ended in 1963) and closing in the 1980s.   More citations want me to acknowledge the baseball Stade Georges Maranda in Levis.   Today, you can probably find this matchcover, and his baseball cards to make a nice combo.  It’s the only George Maranda  matchcover I have found.

Maranda was elected to the Quebec Baseball Hall of Fame in June of 2000; he died on July 14th that year.   He is the only son of Levis, Quebec to play major league baseball.