MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Blue Jays reliever Joe Biagini earned his first major league save in the bottom of the 11th Thursday night, needing just 12 pitches to retire the final three Minnesota Twins and seal a 3-2 victory.
Asked to reflect on the experience the next day, Biagini lived up to his quickly growing reputation as one of the more peculiar personalities in the Blue Jays clubhouse, if not the entire league.
“Well, I guess it was pretty memorable,” Biagini began. “Wait, was that last night? When was that? When did that happen?”
That’s when Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki walked by, bat in hand, heading to the cages to take his pre-game swings.
“I’m just so grateful Troy Tulowitzki was on the same field as me when it happened,” Biagini said, as Tulowitzki moved within earshot.
“Why do you guys even bother?” Tulowitzki said as he continued on his path, shaking his head in amusement.
Well, we bother because Biagini has quickly become one of the Blue Jays’ most trusted relievers. He has a 0.59 ERA in his 15.1 innings this season, and while Thursday night’s save was the first time this year he’s been entrusted with protecting a lead, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons says he’ll be using the rookie in more high-leverage spots going forward.
“Yeah, I think he’s earned it,” Gibbons said. “We’ve talked about it a bit over the last couple weeks. We’ll see what he can do.”
With Brett Cecil on the disabled list and Drew Storen sporting an 8.36 ERA through his first 14 innings of 2016, Biagini may even see some set-up work going forward. That’s a remarkable thing to say about a pitcher who had never played above double-A before this season, when the Blue Jays selected him in the Rule 5 Draft and gave him a spot on their major league roster.
“They don’t have to trust me with these types of situations, so I appreciate the confidence in being given those opportunities. I believe that I have the abilities to succeed at this level, so, I’m just grateful for the opportunity to show that,” Biagini said, in a rare serious moment. “I’m starting to develop as a reliever and really be aware of what situations you can contribute to. You have to be ready every day. So, I was excited to get the opportunity to do that last night.”
Joe Biagini embraces catcher Russell Martin after Thursday’s 11-inning win over the Twins. (Jim Mone/AP)
Biagini was impressively composed and aggressive in the strike zone throughout the save, but one of his most impressive moments came when he didn’t even throw a pitch.
After Biagini allowed a single to Twins No. 9 hitter Danny Santana, the speedy centre-fielder quickly took off for second base, looking to move into scoring position. But Santana was too aggressive, breaking for second before Biagini had begun his wind-up.
As his teammates screamed at him from the dugout, the 25-year-old Biagini calmly stepped off the rubber, turned around, and fired a strike to Ryan Goins at second base to nail Santana.
“You know, on that kind of play, it’s not uncommon to see a guy airmail it and send it into centre field. But, shoot, he made a perfect throw,” Gibbons said. “And he didn’t have a lot of time, so that was pretty impressive. A lot of the time you see stuff like that go haywire.”
It’s a difficult play to make for a number of reasons. Firstly, Biagini had to make sure he stepped off the rubber with his back foot and didn’t balk. Then he had to turn around, pick up Goins, and make a strong, accurate throw to nab the flying Santana, who made the play close.
“I think one of the most important things to do when everybody starts yelling like that is not panic,” Biagini said. “I think that a lot of times what happens is you think you don’t have as much time as you actually do. As long as you stay calm, make sure you know what you’re going to do first before you do it, and don’t rush it, you should be OK. You have to trust yourself.
“And, also, for the young players out there, maybe recite a quick line of poetry while you’re doing it. You know, just to keep you calm.”
You don’t go long without a quip from Biagini. And, let’s be honest, that’s what you’re here for. So, here’s how the rest of the conversation played out, starting with a question about whether Biagini kept the ball from his first career save.
“I’m not a huge memorabilia type of guy. I do appreciate the significance of these things. I think I’ll keep it around just in case I’m ever in danger and need to throw it at somebody,” Biagini said. “The best would be if it was a burglar and they had a baseball bat. It would really put me in my element.”
Safe to say, then, that you don’t have many souvenirs from when you were growing up?
“I was a huge rugby player as a toddler. I kept a lot of memorabilia from that. You know, rugby diapers and stuff,” Biagini said. “Sometimes I’ll keep little pieces of trash laying around. It really just brings me back to the moment.”
Hey, Joe, if you weren’t a ballplayer, what would you be?
“Oh no, a hobby question. Well, I like kite flying. And talking to trees. Those are cool things,” Biagini said. “I really like Ultimate Frisbee. But I would keep pulling my groin every time I’d play. So, I had to stop doing that. I’d probably say my most legitimate, ultimate career would be having a lemonade stand. That would be cool.”
Gibbons not worried about job security
Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro gave his manager, John Gibbons, a strong vote of confidence Thursday morning during an appearance on Sportsnet 590 The FAN’s The Jeff Blair Show.
“To spend time around Gibby is to be incredibly confident in his leadership and to recognize that he’s part of the solution,” Shapiro told Blair and Stephen Brunt. “We feel that he’s a guy who’s consistent. He is strong. He is tough. He is committed, and I feel like he’s the right guy to help guide us through the challenges that we’re facing now.”
Informed of Shapiro’s remarks before Friday’s game, Gibbons remained humble as ever.
“Well, you know what, that’s good to hear,” He said. “But I’ve said this a million times — people always want you to talk about your job security but you really don’t worry about that. You learn over time that in these jobs a lot of the time you’re in the crosshairs. If you can’t handle that, you’re really in the wrong business. Those kinds of things are always good to hear. But they don’t guarantee you anything. All I know, as long as my mother gives me a vote of confidence, I’m alright.”