The 'Sixth' Tool
(Vancouver, B.C.) - I remember the first time I met Marcus Stroman. Wide-eyed, energetic and with an almost perfect answer to each and every question that was asked. His answer was given as if it had been rehearsed a hundred times before. Perhaps coming from Duke University and Team USA, it had been, as Marcus had been under the media's microscope for years prior to his arrival in Vancouver.
I remember the time I first came across Rich Harden. Quiet, almost meek yet armed with a three-digit fastball and the ability to change the course of a game with a single pitch. Rich was faced with being a Canadian-born, B.C. kid on the Vancouver Canadians. With that came a responsibility and burden to become the instant 'face' of the franchise, garnering countless interviews and admiration from a public still trying to grasp the concept of Short-Season, Class-A baseball.
Between Stroman and Harden, more than a dozen fresh-faced prospects found a way to the bright lights of the Major Leagues, having suited up previously for the Vancouver Canadians. Names like Nick Swisher, Kurt Suzuki, Andre Either, Travis Buck, A.J. Griffin and some kid named Joe Blanton. If you wanted to add more recent names, you could start with Roberto Osuna, Kevin Pillar, Aaron Sanchez and former Blue Jays prospect turned World Series standout Noah Syndergaard. They have all played here in Vancouver, and all had a certain 'way' about them.
There are "can't miss" guys like Syndergaard who at 6'6", 235 pounds and a sizzling 99-mph fastball was destined for a Major League roster. Lefty Justin Nicolino got his first taste of the 'bigs' with the Florida Marlins in 2015 after helping the Canadians to the 2011 Northwest League Championship. He, of the big three that we had that year (along with Syndergaard and Aaron Sanchez) was my personal "can't miss" prospect. He didn't, and you just knew he wouldn't.
I am asked "what is it about a player that makes you 'know' he is going to be a Major Leaguer?"
Sometimes it's his stuff. The blazing fastball, the lightning quick first step as he tries to steal second. Maybe it's his glove combined with his ability to hit any pitch in any count at any time. They gotta have the 'tools' of the game to which scouts say there are five of them.
Can he run? Can he hit? Can he hit for power? Can he play defense? Can he throw?
Hard to imagine that those tools alone would be enough for an organization to determine whether or not a player is worthy of consideration, but sometimes that's enough to get a fair assessment of a player as you can take those numbers and put them up against any other number of comparables.
But to me, and I really feel this in my heart, there is a sixth tool. The eyes can tell you so much more.
The first player that I encountered that had 'the look' was John Rheineckar. A hard-throwing pitcher from Illinois. He only played in six games for the Canadians back in 2001 before the Oakland Athletics shot him upward to Modesto, but you could just tell that the 37th overall pick in that year's draft was cut from a different cloth. He was 22 when he played in Vancouver, and debuted five seasons later at the age of 27 with the Texas Rangers (2006). He would pitch in 44 games for Texas between 2006 and 2007, and that was it. He retired after the 2008 season at just 29 years of age. No, he's not destined for Cooperstown by any means, but he made it.
Fast forward to 2011 and there stood Noah Syndergaard in the Canadians clubhouse. His shy demeanour almost didn't fit his body which was just bigger than the others. His dusty blonde hair was still short at the time, he would keep to himself for the most part as well be it on the bus or walking around town. But stuff him into a Canadians uniform and suddenly you realized you were witness to something special. Every fastball sounded as if the catcher would need to ice his hand after the game, and maybe he did.
Syndergaard was as can't miss as you would ever find - and the New York Mets coveted the hard throwing right-hander as they traded R.A. Dickey and Josh Thole for Syndergaard and Travis D'arnaud, a catcher with upside having just dominated the Pacific Coast League. For the Mets to give up the reigning National League Cy Young Award recipient in Dickey, you had to give something of value. I can still remember hanging with a few of the Blue Jays minor league staff at the time when the trade happened and hearing them grumble as they said 'not Syndergaard!'
I guess they knew too.
It's in the way you carry yourself. A presence that exudes confidence and let's those around you know that when it's time for you to punch the clock, you can handle your business. Travis Buck had it. Daniel Norris had it too with the Canadians few years back, and we all know that Marcus Stroman had it. The look of a winner, who had his mind set on larger things.
They never question themselves. They never whine when they look at the line-up card wondering why they aren't on it. Fact is, the good ones know the time will come for them, and when it does they can and will deliver.
The beauty of being a fan of the Canadians is that we get to see it first. Before the Blue Jays plaster him on billboards and Rogers Sportsnet smears him across the airwaves. We get to see Pillar's first step in the outfield, or Pompey's ability to run out an infield dribbler. We hear the pop of Osuna's fastball and stand on our feet when Art Charles hits one into the late night air.
Baseball sure is a beautiful game, because no matter what happens along the journey, you always remember the first time.
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