Although they were heavily criticized at the time, the Seattle Mariners pulled off perhaps the best trade in franchise history in 1989 when they sent ace pitcher Mark Langston to the Montreal Expos in exchange for, among others, future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson.
Langston lasted only a few months with the Expos. Upon opting for free agency that winter, Langston famously declared, “Playing in Montreal is like playing in a foreign country.”
The Expos are no longer in operation but Langston’s quote stuck with me as I joined former co-worker and longtime friend Glen Potter in Canada last week for our annual baseball road trip, in which the Toronto Blue Jays hosted the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox.
Except, in this instance, watching baseball in Toronto is a bit like watching it in Seattle.
In venue and personnel, the two cities have a surprising amount in common.
Like Safeco Field, Toronto’s Rogers Centre (originally known as the SkyDome) is located near a railroad line and a large body of water (Lake Ontario). It features a retractable roof and was primarily publicly funded. Toronto taxpayers, in fact, were triple-dipped, as the SkyDome was financed not only by the city but the province of Ontario and even the federal government.
To be sure, the similarities between the stadiums largely end there.
Like many of its counterparts, Safeco Field was designed as a relatively intimate fan-friendly baseball-only venue. The Rogers Centre, in contrast, is something of an anachronism. A massive structure, it houses not only a four-deck stadium but also a luxury hotel. It is the last North American domed stadium built as a multi-purpose facility.
Although the Blue Jays won two world championships in the 1990s, the stadium’s three largest crowds have come in two editions of WrestleMania and (ugh) a Justin Bieber concert.
Safeco Field has a grass field; the Rogers Centre artificial turf. A statue of Ken Griffey Jr. is stationed outside the Safe. There’s only one such statue adjacent to the Rogers Centre — a 10-foot likeness of Ted Rogers, the late Toronto communications magnate who helped save the stadium from bankruptcy and chose to re-name it after himself.
While the sight lines at the Rogers Centre were better than I anticipated, the seating areas are surprisingly cramped and contain a few quirks. For reasons I never discovered, there are no beverage cup holders for the prime seats behind home plate but there are in the upper decks down the foul lines.
Had that promotion offered any appeal to Canadians, last week’s Toronto-Baltimore series could been advertised as a Mariner class reunion.
No fewer than 10 ex-Mariners were in uniform for last Thursday’s series finale. While that group included several players (Wellington Castillo, Dominic Leone, Wade Miley) who spent little time in Seattle, such familiar figures as Baltimore’s Adam Jones, Seth Smith and Mark Trumbo and Toronto’s Kendrys Morales, J.A. Happ and Justin Smoak were also on hand.
Bucking a historical trend, most members of this Mariner alumni association are having undistinguished seasons with their current clubs. A notable — and surprising — exception is Smoak.
A powerful but wild-swinging first baseman who was seemingly spooked by Safeco Field’s spacious dimensions, Smoak was a notable bust in 4 1/2 seasons in Seattle. Following a 2014 campaign in which he batted .202 with seven home runs, Seattle fans weren’t exactly heartbroken to learn that he was claimed by the Blue Jays on waivers.
Smoak’s first two seasons in Toronto were essentially more of the same. But, at the age of 30, he has suddenly tapped his potential this year, batting close to .300 with 22 home runs as of Tuesday.
A rather corny campaign by the Blue Jay faithful (“This Just-in: Smoak the vote”) paid off as Smoak topped the balloting to start at first base for the American League in next week’s All-Star Game. While receiving an All-Star starting berth on a half-season’s accomplishment is one of my pet peeves, that’s been covered in other columns.
Neither Smoak nor any of the other ex-Mariners did much in the series finale. Happ and Leone pitched well for the Jays, but they were trumped by Baltimore starter Ubaldo Jimenez, who entered the contest with a 7.16 earned run average. Allowing only two hits through eight innings, Jimenez received relief help from Brad Brach in a 2-0 Oriole win.
Canada Day
“You’re here for Canada Day?,” the desk clerk at our hotel asked as we checked into our hotel.
Well, not exactly. Neither of us realized that July 1, our last full day in Toronto, represented the 150th anniversary of Canada’s independence from Great Britain.
A city square located a few blocks from the hotel was the site of nightly fireworks displays and concerts featuring such varied musical performers as Buffy Sainte-Marie and the Barenaked Ladies.
Pre-game ceremonies at that day’s Toronto-Boston contest concluded with the unfurling of a gigantic Canadian flag that covered virtually the entire outfield.
As it turned out, the flag could have remained there throughout the game without bothering Boston pitcher Chris Sale.
This contest could be summed up in seven words: Chris Sale pitches and Mookie Betts walks.
Red Sox leadoff batter Betts worked Toronto starter Francisco Liriano for three walks, the first two on four pitches apiece. The way things played out, Liriano would have pitched six scoreless innings had he retired Betts. Instead, he departed trailing 5-0.
Five runs were more than enough support for six-time All-Star Sale. A lanky southpaw who has the astonishing ability to vary the velocity on his pitches by some 20 mph, Sale struck out 11 in seven scoreless innings.
“They can’t hit him,” a disgruntled Blue Jay fan seated behind us concluded with resignation. For what it’s worth, I never heard a Canadian say “Eh”during my four-day stay in the country.
A ninth-inning homer by Steve Pearce off reliever Robby Scott was the lone Toronto highlight in the 7-1 loss. It was also the only run we saw the Blue Jays score in 18 innings.
Even for the Blue Jays, hitting in Toronto can be like hitting in a foreign country.
Rick Anderson: (360) 537-3926; randerson@thedailyworld.com
