James Paxton

James Alston Paxton (born November 6, 1988), nicknamed "Big Maple", is a Canadian professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees. Paxton played college baseball for the Kentucky Wildcats. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2010 MLB draft by the Mariners and made his MLB debut for them in 2013. On May 8, 2018, Paxton pitched a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays, becoming the first Canadian major league pitcher to throw a no-hitter in Canada. Following the 2018 season, Paxton was traded to the Yankees. Amateur career North Delta Blue Jays Paxton attended Delta Secondary School in Ladner, British Columbia. He played for the North Delta Blue Jays of the British Columbia Premier Baseball League (PBL) and for Team Canada at the Junior National level. In his junior year, Paxton won 10 games and had a 1.51 earned run average (ERA) to go along with 100 strikeouts in 78 innings pitched. This led to him being named the top pitcher of the PBL and a first-team All-Star. After starting his senior year injured, Paxton finished the year with a 7–1 win–loss record and 65 strikeouts and 32 walks in 50 innings pitched. Both years Paxton and the Blue Jays won the league title and the B.C.'s Best Tournament.