As far as metaphors go, this one really hit the sweet spot.
Unfortunately, this is also one of the few times you can use the words “sweet spot” and “Blue Jays bat” together so far in this frustrating season.
During the fourth inning of Monday night’s loss to the Brewers in Milwaukee, Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. lost grip of his bat while fouling off a pitch, sending the lumber flying into the protective netting high above the visiting team’s dugout where it got stuck in the net.
Guerrero completed the plate appearance by grounding out to second with a new bat.
It took a couple innings, a brainstorming session and some effort to get the bat back in hands of the home run derby champ.
“I knew after the game I was going to get the bat at some point, but all my teammates were asking me if I really wanted it back, if I wanted to use it,” Guerrero said through a translator after the 3-1 loss to the Brewers. “I said, ‘Yes, I would like to use it.’ So they did a great job of getting it back.”
It wasn’t an easy process, it turns out.
“We either watch it or we do something about it,” Jays clubhouse manager Mustafa Hassan said. “So we did something about it. It took a big collaboration. Quite a few guys came up with ideas.”
Hassan said Brewers visiting clubhouse manager Phil Rozewicz gave the team a large metal rod that was adjustable — able to extend to about 20 feet or so – and had a hook on the end of it.
After numerous unsuccessful attempts at dislodging the bat from the netting – which did its intended job of protecting fans from flying objects — pitcher Chris Bassitt said outfielder Kevin Kiermaier came up with the idea to put a ring of tape around the hook.
During the sixth inning, Bassitt played the hero and was able to get the bat off the net, seeing it slip through the tape ring and land on the dugout roof to a round of applause from fans in the stands.
“We kind of missed a couple of times, but I guess the third or fourth time was the lucky charm,” Hassan said.
The whole ordeal was perhaps the most exciting part of the night for the Jays hitters. The team generated a single run off four hits against the hosts. Guerrero Jr., who was able to use the retrieved bat for his final two plate appearances, went 0-4 on the night.
Struggling at the plate is nothing new for Jays hitters this season. Heading into Tuesday’s game, the team ranked 21st in the majors with a .232 batting average and had just 55 home runs – the fifth fewest by any team. In terms of overall runs scored, the Jays’ 258 ranked 25th out of 30 teams.
Individually, only four regular members of the team have a batting average over .240 — and that doesn’t include Bo Bichette (currently hitting .236), who ranked eighth in the majors in the category last season after hitting at a .306 clip.