TORONTO – John Gibbons remembers watching a game between the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees a couple years ago and seeing some Tigers centre fielder with big ears and the number 61 on his back making one hell of a catch.
It was August 2014, and Detroit starter Max Scherzer had just given up a line drive to deep centre field with the bases loaded. Gibbons watched as the Tigers centre fielder turned around and ran in a full sprint back and to his left, covering all kinds of ground before laying out at full extension, making the catch in mid-air like he was running off the dock at a cottage, before crashing to the earth just in front of the outfield wall.
“He makes a diving catch like that going back on the warning track at Yankee Stadium,” Gibbons says. “He was all over Web Gems forever.”
That centre fielder was Ezequiel Carrera. He got into just 45 games for the Tigers that season after being called up from the minors at the beginning of August, batting .261/.301/.348. But that catch was enough to leave a lasting impression on the Blue Jays manager, and many more in baseball, including Yankees shortstop and future hall-of-famer Derek Jeter, who was standing on first base at the time and was caught by the television cameras staring dumbfounded out into centre field and mouthing “wow.”
It’s that raw speed and athleticism that led the Blue Jays to sign Carrera to a minor-league contract following his 2014 season with Detroit. And its those same tools that encouraged the Blue Jays to break camp in 2015 with him serving as the team’s fourth outfielder, lest he be exposed to waivers and claimed by another club.
He won’t play much, and he won’t always dazzle you like he did two years ago in New York, but every once and a while he’ll have a game like he did Saturday afternoon, earning four base hits, scoring three runs, and making two diving grabs in left field to rob the visiting Oakland Athletics of sure hits.
“Zeke’s got tremendous range out there. He’s very athletic. He can pull off those plays,” Gibbons said. “He’s been a good player for us. Last year, he did a heck of a job in a tough role to play. It’s not like he’s an old veteran guy who knows how to play that role necessarily. And he did a great job coming off the bench and was very productive for us last year.”
Carrera’s role can certainly be tough. As the Blue Jays fourth outfielder he’s normally watched his teammates play games from the bench, not benefiting from the timing and comfort that a player can earn from regular at-bats. Then, suddenly, a regular starter is injured – this time it’s Michael Saunders with a nagging hamstring – and Carrera is asked to step into the starting lineup, providing capable defence and a spark wherever he’s hitting in the batting order.
The 28-year-old had started just four games before Saunders’ injury, but will play every inning of every contest in this weekend’s three-game set with the Athletics, batting leadoff. In Friday night’s opener he went just 1-for-5, but he was 4-for-5 in Saturday’s game, with three singles and a double.
“I was focused. I just wanted to do the job the manager asks of me when I’m at leadoff,” Carrera said after the game through the Blue Jays’ Spanish-to-English translator, Josue Peley. “The best thing to do is to be focused and be ready for the moment.”
Carrera added a pair of fine catches in the outfield on Saturday, the most impressive one coming in the ninth inning when he laid out at full-extension to steal a hit away from Athletics designated hitter Khris Davis.
Blue Jays centre fielder Kevin Pillar, who knows a thing of two about theatrical grabs, jogged over to pat Carrera on the back after the catch, while the 46,334 at Rogers Centre gave him a standing ovation.
“It’s one of the best games I’ve ever played in my life,” Carrera said. “I’m really happy. It’s the second time the fans have gotten up for me. It’s really enjoyable to live that.”
The first time it happened was after that incredible catch at Yankee Stadium, which to this point had likely been the best day of Carrera’s career. He wasn’t able to top that catch on Saturday; he probably never will. But the four hits in one game are something he’d never done either.
“He kind of set the tone early for us getting that knock in the first inning, just a really nice hit up the middle,” Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson said. “And he didn’t stop there. He kept grinding it out all day. The defensive plays were awesome as well. That was nice to see.”
“We’ve said all along, it’s going to take the whole roster to get us where we want to be and Zeke’s one of those guys,” added Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. “He stepped up huge for us today.”
Carrera got into 91 games for the Blue Jays last season, batting a respectable-for-a-bench-guy .273/.321/.372 in his 192 plate appearances. He’ll likely do something similar this year, which is to say the Blue Jays season probably isn’t going to turn on his production.
But it’s always nice when a bench player gets an opportunity and plays the game of his life. And Gibbons will be more than happy to reward that centre fielder he watched earn the web gem a couple years ago with another start on Sunday afternoon.
“I’m definitely playing him tomorrow,” Gibbons said. “I’ll guarantee you that.”