A social outcast at second
Jays’ Devon Travis dumps social media to focus on his craft
POSTMEDIA NETWORK
FLORIDA — Most players use technology to gain an edge.
Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis is dumping technology to gain an edge.
Or at least he has ceased going on social media sites so he can concentrate on playing baseball and getting better at his craft.
“I got rid of everything — Twitter, Instagram ... I got Facebook, but I never even use it. It’s just there for my family,” said Travis. “Social media became a distraction for me. I catch myself on that way too much. I just want to focus on baseball and let that all go.”
Travis, 26, has displayed glances of brilliance, especially with the bat, since being traded to the Jays from the Detroit Tigers on Nov.12, 2014, for outfielder Anthony Gose. And while Toronto manager John Gibbons has said that he believes Travis has the chance to be one of the elite hitters in baseball, the West Palm Beach, Fla., native has been plagued by injuries since joining the Jays. In November 2105, after his first season with the Jays, he underwent surgery on his left shoulder which required two screws inserted into the shoulder.
He was activated off the disabled list on May 25 last season and finished the season hitting .300 with 11 home runs and 50 RBI in 101 games. Travis played in the Wild Card Game and the first game of the ALDS, but missed the remainder of the ALDS with a bone bruise in his right knee. He played in the first game of the ALCS, but left in the fifth inning after re-aggravating his knee injury. On Oct. 15, Travis was removed from the ALCS roster due to injury and replaced by Justin Smoak. Travis was ruled ineligible to return for the postseason, ending his season and then on Nov.18 underwent right knee surgery to remove a small flap of cartilage. He has been working out at spring training but isn’t quite ready for games and is still working on his lateral movement.
“We’re going to see how he progresses,” manager John Gibbons said. “Hopefully it’s not too much longer, but you also want to be smart with it, so he doesn’t experience any setbacks.”
Travis said he is pain-free though he still isn’t certain if the bone bruise is gone. In the meantime, he’s looking for every edge he can get to make sure he’ll be ready to start the regular season in optimal form, including giving up distractions like social media — an exercise that seems to be contrary to what many young players in professional sport are doing. Players like Toronto RHP Marcus Stroman use sites like Twitter to engage fans and get their message out. Travis laughed when asked how difficult it was to put his smart phone down.
“You know what, it’s hard man. The first couple of weeks or so it was really hard. I would catch myself opening up my phone all the time,” he said. “But what I found out, I was just opening my phone and I just wanted to be on something. We’ve become such creatures of habit and without that, I feel like I never really care about my phone and I was always glued to my phone prior and now it’s like some new freedom. It’s (liberating). It’s nice man. It’s like a really, really great freedom, like a weight lifted off your shoulders because it’s something you’re doing probably 20-30-40-50 times a day without even knowing it.”
Centre fielder Kevin Pillar has already started a couple of Grapefruit League games batting first, but Gibbons said not to read anything into that. If he’s healthy it’s most probable that Travis will be the Jays’ everyday lead off hitter.