by TYLER HATHAWAY
Toronto infielder and former Brighton standout Ernie Clement had a four-game stretch to remember in the American League Divisional Series against the New York Yankees. After going hitless in Game 1, Clement picked up nine hits over the course of the next three games and finished the series with a .643 batting average, five RBI, five scored runs, a home run, and a double. He currently leads all players in postseason batting average.
“It’s a lot of the hard work paying off,” Clement said postgame. “For me, I’m swinging at good pitches and taking the bad ones. It’s been pretty simple. I’m trying to get on base for our studs at the top of the order.”
Clement put the ball in play every at-bat he had in the series, never striking out or walking. His 1.554 OPS ranked third highest in Blue Jays history in a playoff series, behind hall-of-famer Paul Molitor in the 1993 World Series (1.571), and teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who turned in a 1.609 OPS in the series against the Yankees.
“Ernie is not scared of any situation,” manager John Schneider said after the game. “I think his play kind of shows the way he plays the game, whether it’s on the bases, on defense, or at the plate. I think he’s pretty confident right now. When you get into the postseason and the stakes are a little bit higher, guys like that tend to rise to the occasion, just guys that play the game the right way.”
The Blue Jays entered the playoffs with the number one seed in the American League after winning 94 games. They scored 34 runs over the four-game series to book their first trip to the ALCS since 2016.
“Its everybody doing their part,” Clement told MLB Network’s Adnan Virk. “It’s one through nine in our lineup and even guys coming off the bench did an awesome job. It’s been like that all year, it’s not just one guy. It’s a team effort.”
Clement attended the University of Virginia after graduating from Brighton High School in 2014. In 2015, he was a part of Virginia’s national championship winning team and was named to the All-College World Series team after hitting .292 in the postseason. The gadget infielder was drafted by Cleveland in 2017 and spent time with Guardians and Oakland Athletics before joining Toronto in 2024.
The top-seeded Blue Jays advance to the ALCS and await the winner of the Detroit Tigers-Seattle Mariners series. Game 1 is scheduled for this upcoming Sunday.
Thank you for acknowledging Ernie, it’s not often we get a MLB player from Rochester, it’s always exciting cheering them on regardless of who your favorite Team might be.
Go Blue Jays!!!