BY DAN GLICKMAN
For the third straight season, Toronto Blue Jays utility player and Brighton High School graduate Ernie Clement will sign autographs for his hometown fans at the Rochester Red Wings team store. This year’s Small Business Saturday appearance will be Nov. 29 from noon to 1 p.m.
Every fan will be limited to one autograph each. Although Clement has never played for the Red Wings, he’s hardly a stranger to Innovative Field, playing sectional games there in high school and AAA games for Toronto’s Buffalo affiliate in 2023. Clement has previously had autograph appearances in November of 2023 (with then-Orioles minor leaguer Greg Cullen) and in 2024 (with White Sox prospect Casey Saucke).
Clement’s appearance comes after a career year and a historic postseason that saw him set baseball’s single-postseason hit record, with 30, as part of a Blue Jays run that came just one win short of a World Series title.
This season, the 29-year-old Clement finished with career-highs in most offensive categories in his career-high 157 games played, including hits (151), runs scored (83), doubles (35), batting average (.277), on-base-percentage (.313), and on-base-plus-slugging (.711). He also continued to be a defensive star, playing all over the field while leading the American League in Defensive Wins Above Replacement (measuring how much better a player is than a likely replacement player) with 2.9 and in the Range Factor/9 metric (a statistic meant to measure the defensive ability of a player by dividing putouts and assists by the number of innings played) at third base at 2.84, according to Baseball Reference. He was nominated for two Gold Gloves – his second straight season with a nomination – at third base and utility. However, he fell short to Kansas City’s Maikel Garcia and Houston’s Mauricio Dubon, respectively.
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It was in the postseason where Clement etched his name in the history books, as his 30 base hits were the most for any player in any single postseason in baseball history. In 18 games, the right-handed hitter hit .411 with a .562 slugging percentage and .977 on-base-plus-slugging, finishing the playoffs with six doubles, a triple, and a home run. The Blue Jays ultimately lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games in the World Series.
Clement’s postseason stardom was the latest step in a long baseball journey. After playing for Brighton in high school, Clement won a College World Series with the University of Virginia and was named the MVP of the prestigious Cape Cod League before being drafted by the Cleveland then-Indians in the fourth round of the 2017 draft. After making his debut for Cleveland in 2021, he moved to the then-Oakland Athletics after being claimed off waivers in 2022. He’s been with the Toronto organization since he signed with the Blue Jays ahead of the 2023 season.
In addition to Clement’s autograph appearance, the Red Wings have additional promotions for Small Business Saturday on Nov. 29. The team store will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with all items 25% off, except the holiday pack and clearance items. In addition, anyone who donates a new toy will receive $5 off any purchase. The Red Wings’ two main mascots will also make appearances, with Spikes set to show from 11 a.m. through noon and Mittsy appearing from 2 p.m. through 3 p.m.
The Red Wings themselves will return to play on March 27, when they open the season with a three-game series in Jacksonville. Rochester’s home slate begins on March 31, hosting the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Clement and his Blue Jays teammates begin Spring Training in February before starting their American League title defense on Thursday, Mar. 26.
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