James Alston Paxton (born November 6, 1988), nicknamed "The Big Maple", is a Canadian professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He 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. University of Kentucky After graduating from high school in 2006, Paxton attended the University of Kentucky, where he played college baseball for the Kentucky Wildcats baseball team in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). As a freshman, he led the Wildcats in appearances with 25 and had a 2–0 record in relief with one save. In 2008 as a sophomore, Paxton worked his way into the starting rotation midway through the season and earned 11 starts while making 17 appearances. He finished the year 4–2 with a 2.92 ERA. That same year Paxton pitched a complete-game shutout over Ole Miss to win the SEC Tournament earning him SEC Pitcher of the Week. Due to injury, he did not participate in the NCAA Tournament. That summer Paxton was invited to play collegiate summer baseball in the Alaska Baseball League where he pitched in four games with three starts, finishing with a 1–0 record and a 2.25 ERA in 16 innings. He struck out 12 batters and allowed opponents to hit just .179