TORONTO — On Monday morning, as he was getting his things together to leave for a week-long road trip through Syracuse and Lehigh Valley with the triple-A Buffalo Bisons, Mike Ohlman was summoned to his manager’s office. Having been through seven minor league seasons, the catcher had an idea of what was going on. There are really only two reasons why a ballplayer would be called into that office at that time.
“My heart kind of sank a little bit,” Ohlman says. “I was like, is this it? Because I don’t think I’m getting released.”
He wasn’t. He was heading in the other direction, up to Toronto and the major leagues for the first time to replace the injured Russell Martin on the Blue Jays’ roster. It was a day Ohlman’s been waiting for since he was drafted in 2009 by the Baltimore Orioles. And it still hasn’t quite sunk in that it’s actually happening.
“The experience is absolutely unreal. It’s incredible just being here,” Ohlman says. “That first day, everything happened so quickly. I just threw my stuff together, went out and took BP, watched a game, watched us win the game—it was all pretty crazy. Now, it’s starting to sink in and I’m feeling like I’m just one of the guys. I feel like I belong here.”
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Ohlman’s been waiting a long while to have that feeling, after charting a circuitous path to the majors through three organizations. A car accident at 21 that dislocated his right shoulder and tore his labrum didn’t help, nor did a 50-game suspension shortly after that for a drug of abuse, which is how baseball classifies testing positive for recreational drugs such as marijuana.
But whenever Ohlman’s been on the field, he’s hit, putting up a career .853 OPS at triple-A, which is excellent for a catcher. That’s why the Blue Jays brought Ohlman in on a minor-league contract early this past off-season, and it’s why he’s in the majors today.
“I thought he looked good in spring training. He didn’t play a lot. But he caught our attention because he hit a couple bombs,” says Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. “For a big guy, he’s got a short stroke. And he’s got some pop in his bat.”
Ohlman didn’t have much luck demonstrating that in his MLB debut Tuesday, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout against Cleveland ace Carlos Carrasco, who dominated the Blue Jays, allowing only three singles over seven innings.
But Ohlman contributed a strong effort behind the plate, working with starter Mike Bolsinger—recently recalled from Buffalo himself as the Blue Jays deal with a rash of injuries—who held a dangerous Cleveland lineup to two runs over 5.2 innings.
“I thought he did a nice job. They worked well together,” Gibbons said of the Bisons battery. “For a big guy, [Ohlman] gives a nice, low target. He moves well, blocks balls well. He’s got good hands.”
The six-foot-five, 240-pound Ohlman says he didn’t feel nervous at all throughout the game, his only anxious moment coming when he was putting on his uniform in the clubhouse prior to first pitch.
“That’s when I started to feel it,” Ohlman says. “But then once I got out there, I was actually a little shocked that there were really no nerves. I wasn’t overwhelmed at any point. I wasn’t nervous catching the first inning. I was like, well, it’ll probably be my first at-bat that I start to get a little shaky. But it just never happened.”
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Watching on from the Rogers Centre seats were Ohlman’s parents, his fiancé, his agent, and his childhood mentor, Dwayne Strong, a hitting coach based out of his hometown. Ohlman began working with Strong when he was 10, and spent practically every afternoon between then and his draft day working out at Strong’s Bradenton, Fla. facility.
“That’s where I’d get dropped off at every day after school,” Ohlman says. “And I’d be there every day from the time school ended until 7:30, 8:00—basically until he closed and turned off the lights. We’ve been through everything. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears—literally. I probably spent more time with him than I did with my own parents.”
With Martin still not cleared to work out as he recovers from nerve issues in his left shoulder, Ohlman’s stay with the Blue Jays could last a while. He was on the bench for Wednesday’s series finale against Cleveland, but with the Blue Jays currently playing a nearly three week stretch without an off day, there will be plenty of opportunities for both Ohlman and fellow catcher Luke Maile to get into games going forward.
And if Ohlman impresses, he could stick around even after Martin returns. Maile has minor league options while Ohlman doesn’t, meaning the club could move Maile to Buffalo without exposing him to waivers, while Ohlman would have to be made available to the 29 other MLB teams.
Of course, that’s a discussion for another day. For now, Ohlman will simply do what he can to carry the .982 OPS he put up with Buffalo this year to the major leagues. And he’ll try to catch up on the more than 100 calls and text messages he’s received over the last couple days, offering congratulations for finally getting the call.
“Yeah, it’s quite a few—I didn’t know I had that many friends,” Ohlman says. “There’s a lot of people I’m still trying to get back to. Hey, maybe you can let them know that if I haven’t gotten back to them, I will at some point. It’s just been a crazy couple of days.”
