George Springer's Game-Saving Catch Just Won The Blue Jays A Series Against His Former Team
In many ways, George Springer's contract goes against what's preached in Major League Baseball nowadays. It's widely accepted that it's probably not wise to sign early 30s position players to long-term contracts, especially those who have had a history of injuries, but George springer is that exception. For someone with multiple All-Star appearances and a World Series MVP, George Springer rarely seems to be talked about among the best hitters in baseball. Everywhere he goes, he wins, and every time I turn around, he's hitting the ball 400 feet over the fence. Maybe it's more of an eye test thing, but I swear he always seems to be swinging a hot bat. At some point, he could end up breaking Rickey Henderson's record for most leadoff home runs to start a game. So far this season, he's been absolutely on fire now that he's back at full health. Today, he came in with a .947 OPS and six home runs in 21 games. And he just made one of the best defensive plays of his career, robbing former teammate Alex Bregman of a game-tying RBI. Jordan Romano would strike out Jeremy Pena the next at-bat to finish things off.
The Blue Jays got a squad man. I know it's so early in the year, but in my opinion, the best team in the American League, arguably in all of baseball, resides north of the border. There are a few question marks with the rotation. This season, Kikuchi and Ry have been underwhelming, but when you look at the production they're getting out of Alek Manoah and Kevin Gausman, along with that ridiculous offense that they have, this might be a special season for Toronto. This should've been a playoff team a year ago. They won 91 games, had a Cy Young winner and Robbie Ray, and one of the best young hitters in baseball in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Right now, their progress feels like the next logical step. They've already had multiple magic moments at Rogers Centre this year, several coming from Springer, including today's catch. It's a hell of a group.