TORONTO – In the spring when Ross Atkins described Justin Smoak playing first base every day as the "best-case scenario" for the Toronto Blue Jays, the general manager simply hoped the switch-hitter would be somewhat productive at the plate and play strong defence.
Instead, the 30-year-old former first-rounder delivered an all-star-calibre first half, rewarded Sunday with the nod as the starting first baseman for the American League in the Midsummer Classic. With a slash line of .303/.370/.594 along with 22 homers and 52 RBIs so far, Smoak has not only exceeded the expectations of others for 2017, but even his own.
"I always expected myself to be a really good baseball player," he said. "I feel like at times I chased some numbers. I wanted to be a good power guy. I wanted to hit 30 home runs a year and drive in 100. I just wasn’t myself. I wasn’t a baseball player anymore. I was searching, trying to be somebody I wasn’t. I feel like this year, I’ve gotten back to the guy I was. Just competing, try to be a good baseball player on both sides of the ball, and I feel like I’ve been able to do that."
Helped along by a late surge from Blue Jays supporters in the fan vote, Smoak will head to Miami next week as his team’s only representative, the first time that’s happened since 2012, when Jose Bautista went 0-for-1 with a walk. There are cases to be made for both Marcus Stroman and Roberto Osuna, too, but Smoak has been the club’s steadiest performer.
"He’s had a huge first half," said manager John Gibbons. "Well deserved, he’s made a big turnaround coming off last year and he’s been as steady as he can be. It’s one of those feel-good stories, too. His confidence is sky-high."
That is certainly the case at the plate, and his season has been so good he also received an invitation to participate in the home run derby. He declined that invite, relaying that, "I told them if they came to watch my BP, they wouldn’t want me in the home run derby. I think it would be more fun to watch the big boys battle it out."
An argument can be made that the 11th overall pick by the Texas Rangers in 2008 is now among the big boys given the breakout season he’s having. The type of performance he’s delivered this season has long been expected of him since he debuted in 2010 and was later made the centrepiece of a deal with the Seattle Mariners for Cliff Lee.
Though he hit 19 homers in 2012 and 20 in 2013 for the Mariners, he struggled to reach his ceiling in an environment where he was expected to be a superstar. Eventually, they decided to cut ties with him, the Blue Jays picked him up, and after a decent 2015 and a difficult 2016, he’s blossomed.
"I worked so hard to try and change a lot of different things, to get better," said Smoak. "At one point, a few times I even forgot how I used to hit. I’ve learned from that. I’ve made some adjustments and I feel like I’m back to feeling the way I was feeling when I was kid, as an amateur, as a guy in the minor leagues. I feel like I’m getting back to that point now."
Gibbons started getting a sense things were different for Smoak early in the season, and has been impressed not only by the quality of his performance, but also the consistency of it.
"When you think about, since he took off, he hasn’t let up, and he’s doing it from both sides of the plate … it’s pretty impressive," said Gibbons. "You don’t see it too often like that because last year, it was a battle for him. … His swing is better, his swing is shorter and he’s confident as can be.
"He’s showing he’s a pretty good hitter. He’s using the whole field but it seems like he’s on everything they’re throwing at him. He’s laying off the pitches out of the zone, which is where he had a tough time last year."
Now in his eighth big-league season, he gets to take a spot with baseball’s best players.
"I think it’s something that as young kid you always dreamed of," said Smoak. "That’s what you want to be, an all-star in the big leagues. I think early on in my career, coming up through the minor leagues, getting drafted, that’s what I expected of myself. It didn’t happen that way but I’m here now and I’m excited to be a part of it."
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