TORONTO – A few hours after Kevin Pillar was traded from Toronto to San Francisco, he heard about Justin Smoak’s reaction to the move.
At the time, Pillar was too overwhelmed to watch. He was mid-air by then, taking advantage of in-flight WiFi to write a message to Toronto Blue Jays fans, coordinate his new life in San Francisco and ensure his family could join him soon on the West Coast. The video could wait.
But after a few days, Pillar’s wife urged him to watch it, and Smoak’s wife sent a similar message. Intrigued, Pillar clicked on the video of Smoak and watched as his best friend on the Blue Jays teared up.
“He’s not a very emotional guy, so for him to get emotional like that … It was tough for me to watch,” Pillar recalled from the visitors’ dugout at Rogers Centre Tuesday.
“I wish I hadn’t watched it, because all of those emotions came back,” Pillar continued. “I’m starting to feel it now, starting to think about it.”
In that moment, Pillar looked a little emotional himself. A few hours later, as a video tribute played on the scoreboard and fans stood in appreciation for the player they called ‘Superman,’ he tipped his hat and waved, clearly appreciative of the gesture.
A 32nd-round pick, Pillar beat the odds by not only reaching the major-leagues but becoming a fixture of the Blue Jays’ 2015 and 2016 ALCS runs. All told, he played parts of seven seasons in Toronto, making countless highlight-reel catches while generating 14.6 wins above replacement.
But after 695 games with the Blue Jays he now plays in the NL West. He might not get many more chances to patrol centre field at Rogers Centre after the Giants leave Wednesday night.
“This could be my last time playing here,” Pillar said. “I’ll take in the fans, take in stadium, take in the environment, take in all of the memories that I was able to create here with these guys, with my family. I really have an appreciation for that and obviously the fans have been a big part of my journey and a big part of my success.”
For all the catches that Pillar made in centre, his favourite with the Blue Jays came in left. In April of 2015, he had yet to establish himself as an everyday outfielder, but, after literally climbing the left-field wall to rob Tim Beckham of a homer, he had his ‘breakout moment.’
“It was followed by a lot of other great plays, but I think without that play, who really knows how my career would have gone?” Pillar said. “I really believe that was the tipping point in our organizational, front office and coaching staff’s mind that ‘maybe he can play centre field.’”
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Still, Pillar’s fondest memories came in 2015 and 2016, when the Blue Jays reached consecutive ALCS after 22 years on the outside looking in. With the possible exception of his MLB debut in 2013, those playoff runs are the most memorable moments for Pillar.
“There’s nothing like playing in this place during that post-season run, during that two-year stretch where this place was packed and it was the hottest ticket to get in town,” he said. “Those are always going to be my most fond memories of this place.”
Ideally, Pillar would have liked to create more of those memories. The trade caught him by surprise and left him with the frustrating feeling that his time in Toronto was ‘cut short.’
“Definitely,” he said. “You’d think when that (competitive) window is open you’d throw all your chips in and do whatever it takes to win that ultimate prize, (even) sacrifice a couple years of not having a competitive team because having that window is extremely difficult.
“The window was open, and then the window was closed. The window seems closed right now and we don’t know when that window’s going to open again.”
In some ways, the Giants are in a similar situation. Like the Blue Jays, they made the playoffs as a wild-card team in 2016 before faltering in 2017 and 2018. With Farhan Zaidi in place as the newly hired president of baseball operations, the Giants now seem poised to embark on a rebuild of their own.
At least Pillar has the support of teammates he describes as exceptionally welcoming. Soon after the trade took place, Evan Longoria reached out. Ever since, they’ve been regular companions at breakfast and dinner.
“He basically told me ‘I can’t replace what Justin was for you, but I’m going to try to be your Smoaky,’” Pillar said. “He’s lived up to it. Obviously it’s going to take some time for me and him to get to know each other and hopefully get to the level of relationship that me and Justin had, but he’s been really good.”
At some point, Pillar hopes to go a step further than the 2015-16 Blue Jays could and win baseball’s ‘ultimate prize,’ the World Series. Right now, the Blue Jays are a long way from those heights. But Pillar continues rooting for them from afar, and who knows. In the back of his mind, there’s a chance he’ll be back someday.
“I’ve got no hard feelings,” Pillar said. “Even as a member of the San Francisco Giants I want what’s best for this organization. I really enjoyed my time here and I want to see them do well. If they feel that was the best thing for their organization, then I’m gone, so it’s time to move on.
“It’s a funny game,” Pillar added. “We’ll see what happens down the road. I definitely wouldn’t rule out ever coming back here because I know how special a place this can be.”
