Russell Martin makes Canadian baseball history in Game 5 of Pirates-Cardinals NLDS

Russell Martin is keeping with the Pittsburgh Pirates' theme this season of breaking lengthy streaks or records after the Pirates finally ended their 21 year playoff drought.

Martin is about to eclipse a Canadian baseball record that's over a century old.

Wednesday night's elimination game in St. Louis will be Martin's 39th career postseason game, surpassing James "Tip" O'Neill for the most ever by a Canadian-born player after he tied the mark in Pittsburgh's 2-1 loss in Game 4 of their NLDS on Monday.

O'Neill appeared in 38 postseason games for the American Association's St. Louis Browns (the predecessor to the Cardinals) in the 1880's, including a championship win over the National League's Chicago White Stockings in 1886.

All playoff games before 1903, when the modern-era of the World Series began, aren't officially recognized by Major League Baseball but games dating all the way back to 1857 have been documented.

O'Neill's postseason play may not be recognized by MLB but his impact on baseball in Canada certainly is.

The Tip O'Neill Award is presented annually by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame to the country's best player. Cincinnati's Joey Votto is the most recent recipient and Martin was honoured in 2007.

Canadians finding success after the regular season has been rare but Martin has had the good fortune of playing for competitive teams. He was with the Dodgers in the mid-to-late 2000's when Los Angeles made three playoff appearances in four years, getting to the NLCS in 2008 and 2009 and twice losing to the Phillies. Martin signed with the Yankees in 2011 and returned to October baseball in 2011 and 2012.

Brought in this past offseason as a free agent to be the Pirates' starting catcher, Martin's strong defence behind the plate has played a major role in bringing the postseason back to Pittsburgh.

Larry Walker, Canada's all-time leader in regular season games played with 1988 (Martin is 10th with 1052), was on the field for 28 playoff games during his 17 year career. Among active players, Jason Bay is second behind Martin with 14. His Pittsburgh teammate Justin Morneau is at 12 and would pass Bay if the Pirates move onto the NLCS.

The addition of the wild card in 1995 has allowed more players to compete in the postseason, yet Canada's most experienced playoff veteran starred before the inception of the American League and the modern-day World Series, until now.

To stay alive on Wednesday night, Martin and the Pirates will have to win in the city where Tip O'Neill won a championship over 125 years ago and fans in Pittsburgh hope that there will be more than Canadian baseball history to celebrate.