By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
Ernie Clement admits this wait for his Major League Baseball playoff debut has already lasted way too long.
The Toronto Blue Jays clinched the American League East Division title on Sunday and, in doing so, avoided the wild-card playoff round. But that also means waiting until Saturday to play Game 1 of the ALDS against the New York Yankees.
“It’s too much time off,” the 2014 Brighton High School graduate said. “I’m really ready to go.”
Ernie Banks said, “let’s play two.” Ernie Clement is pretty much saying, let’s just play. Who can blame him? After the season he had, it’s understandable why he’s eager to get a taste of the playoffs.
The 29-year-old Clement hit .277 with 35 doubles (second-most on the Blue Jays), 9 home runs, 50 RBI and 83 runs (third-most). He played in 157 of the 162 games, best on the Jays. That included manager John Schneider writing Clement’s name in the starting lineup 140 times.
His 61 strikeouts were fourth-fewest in the AL and seventh-fewest in MLB. That, of course, has been a Clement trait. He makes contact. Always. As freshman at the University of Virigina, he fanned just 12 times in 260 plate appearances in helping the Cavaliers win the NCAA title. As a junior, he struck out only seven times in 285 trips to the plate.
But he said part of his ability to contribute to the Jays’ division championship has been altering his mindset in the batter’s box. It’s also part of the reason he been a full-time major-leaguer the past two years after two teams – the Cleveland Indians and Oakland Athletics – told him he wasn’t good enough.
“I’ve had to work on my approach since college and high school,” Clement said. “I’ve always been a guy who put the ball in play. But sometimes that’s not what’s best for the team.
“It’s been really, really important for my career. It’s not always about hitting a home run. I can live with a strikeout on a perfect pitch as long as I don’t let mistakes by the pitcher go by.”
There is, of course, far more to his game than just hitting. Defensively, Clement was Mr. Versatility, playing all four infield positions. He spent parts of 89 games at third base, 60 at second, 29 at shortstop and 15 at first.
Baseball metrics also say he saved 22 runs from being scored by opponents, which was tied with Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan for the highest rating in the majors.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and Bo Bichette get a lot of the headlines, and deservedly so, but Clement played a significant role in Jays’ 94-victory season. That’s why, in a Toronto Star poll of players, coaches and support staff, Clement was voted the team’s unsung hero.
“He seems to be the one person who’s at the center of it all,” Jays right fielder Nathan Lukes told the Star.
Not bad for a guy who the Indians and Athletics both cut ties with in 2022, which was just his fifth season in pro ball. Maybe it is true that things do happen for a reason.
He signed a minor league deal with the Toronto organization in 2023 and ended up playing 30 games for the Jays that summer. A year later, he was a regular in the Toronto lineup.
“It’s crazy where this baseball journey has taken me,” said Clement, who was an All-Greater Rochester baseball and hockey player at Brighton. “But I’ve always believed in myself. I love the game of baseball so much, so when you’re told you’re not good enough, it’s a good opportunity to look in the mirror and decide if they’re right.”
He has proven they were definitely wrong, and Toronto was the perfect landing spot.
“The organization itself is really, really special and filled with amazing human beings,” Clement said. “It’s just a big part of the culture, everybody doing their job, pulling their weight and working toward a common goal.”
When Clement takes the field at Rogers Centre on Saturday, he’ll become the first Section V position player to appear in an MLB post-season game in 80 years.
Ken O’Dea of Lima, a catcher, helped the St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series in 1945, his last of five post-season appearances. Outfielder George Selkirk, who attended Rochester Technical High School, was a member of five New York Yankees World Series championship teams.
The last Section V product to appear in the postseason was Pittsford’s Mike Jones, who pitched for the Kansas City Royals in 1981 and 1984.
“That’s amazing,” Clement said. “I’m honored.”
This ALDS against the Yankees will be a little weird for Clement. His father, Peter, was a Yankees fan, so Ernie followed suit.
“I was a big Yankees guy, a (Derek) Jeter guy,” he said. “It was easy to root for those guys.”
Considering his perseverance, determination and love for the game, it’s also pretty easy to root for Clement.
****Front-page photo: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.
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