By Jerry Ratcliffe
Former Virginia standout Ernie Clement is having himself quite a postseason for the top-seeded Toronto Blue Jays.
Clement, who was part of UVA’s national championship his freshman year, had been let go by the Oakland A’s and the Cleveland Guardians because they didn’t think he could produce. Ask the New York Yankees about that after Clement had a memorable four-game stretch in the ALDS.
The right-handed hitter posted nine hits the last three games of the series, giving him a .643 batting average, five RBI, while scoring five runs, blasting a home run and a double, putting him at the top of all players in postseason batting average as of Wednesday night.
In Tuesday’s loss to the Yankees, Clement was still spectacular, going 4 for 4 with a double, the first time in his Major League career he had gone 4 for 4 (he has gone 5 for 6, 4 for 5 and 4 for 7).
“Ernie is not scared of any situation,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “I think his play kind of shows the way he plays the game, whether it’s on the bases, on defense, or at the plate. I think he’s pretty confident right now. When you get into the postseason and the stakes are a little bit higher, guys like that tend to rise to the occasion, just guys who play the game the right way.”
Clement did not strike out or walk in the series, putting the ball in play in every at-bat, giving him a 1.554 OPS, which ranks the third-highest in Toronto history in the playoffs, behind only Paul Molitor (‘93 World Series 1.571) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who had a 1.609 also in this week’s series win over New York.
“It’s a lot of the hard work paying off,” Clement said after the game. “For me, I’m swinging at good pitches and taking the bad ones. It’s been pretty simple. I’m trying to get on base for our studs at the top of the order.”
Clement didn’t realize that the Jays were taking a team victory photo out on the field during his TV interview, but as soon as they figured he was missing and Clement rushed back to the field, they retook the photo.
During that interview, Clement said, “It’s everybody doing their part. It’s one through nine in our lineup and even guys coming off the bench did an awesome job. It’s been like that all year. It’s not just one guy. It’s a team effort.”
Advancing past the Yankees, Toronto rests until the ALCS Game 1 this Sunday against the winner of the Seattle Mariners-Detroit Tigers series.
