Maile’s blast sparks Jays win
Backup catcher’s hard work in batting cage starting to pay off
TORONTO — On Tuesday morning, Rich Maile tweeted a photo of his two sons, Luke and Ben, at a Cincinnati Reds game when they were kids.
The pair were decked out in Reds gear and were smiling happily for the camera.
The photo proved to be a nice omen for Luke Maile, the Toronto Blue Jays’ backup catcher, who snapped an 0-for-13 streak by smashing a Tim Adleman offering over the centre field wall in the fifth inning to tie the score 3-3 (a tworun shot) and put the Jays back in the game. Toronto went on to beat the Reds 5-4.
Maile has earned nothing but praise from the Jays pitching staff — both starters and relievers — in the 19 games he’s played. His play calling has been stellar and his defence superb. But he’s also been carrying a big burden. Heading into Wednesday’s game, the Edgewood, Ky., native was hitting a paltry .058 (3-for-52). One home run (two of his four hits this year have been homers) doesn’t change a season, but Maile feels he’s getting close to becoming a consistent contributor with the bat. At least he hopes so. As outgoing and personable as Maile has been in the Jays clubhouse since the organization picked him up off waivers on April 6, you know his troubles at the plate have been killing him. But he sees some light at the end of the tunnel.
“I don’t care what your reputation is defensively, you want to help swinging the bat from time to time, at the very least. And to finally hit something that was really meaningful and bring us back in the game a little bit meant a lot,” said the Tampa Bay Rays’ 2012 eighth-round draft pick. “I’m just going to try to build off it and stay within myself. But at the same time, if I can continue to swing at some good pitches, I think good things will continue to happen.”
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound catcher said he had a feeling heading into Wednesday’s game that something good was going to occur. Perhaps it was facing his favourite team growing up for the first time, or the fact that his father tweeted the photo of him and his younger brother. Or maybe it was because he’s been working really hard with pitching coach Brook Jacoby in the batting cage. Whatever, Maile is confident that his hard times at the plate are coming to an end.
“It’s just slowly coming (but) it’s coming,” he said. “So I went into today kind of knowing I was feeling better. Just that little extra confidence, it helps.”
Jays manager John Gibbons is hoping the two-run smash will lift Maile’s confidence, but even if he doesn’t go on a run offensively, Gibbons isn’t going to fret about his backup catcher’s offence.
“He’s a better hitter than he’s shown here (so far),” said Gibbons. “New guy (on a) new team, they tend to press anyway — trying to give you a good showing. But he’s done such a tremendous job behind the plate with the pitching staff and that kind of wipes out a lot of that (offensive struggles) anyway.”
Maile admitted that he has been pressing at the plate and that, of course, usually makes things worse.
“No question,” he said. “It’s a tough sport, it’s a tough game. I’m still a relatively young player, but I try to learn from some of the guys who have been through it in the past and I’ve always figured it out. Even in the minor leagues, I’ve gotten off to slow starts before and I’ve bounced back from them and it shouldn’t be any different here.”
Interestingly, when he started off in the minors, the former University of Kentucky star was known more for his offence.
“Yeah, it’s amazing right?” he said with a smile. “It’s a total 180 scouting report, I guess. I remember when people didn’t think I could catch. I thought that was pretty funny, actually.”
The Jays pitching staff would think that was funny, as well. Maile calls the praise directed his way from his battery-mates “the ultimate compliment” and said he’ll never change his game at the expense of his defence. But he believes both parts of his game will come together this season.
“Sometimes it’s a slower process than you’d like it to be and, again, I don’t like to consider myself a defence-only guy,” said Maile. “But there is some value making sure your defence stays the same, no matter what’s going on. It kind of keeps your head above water. And once (everything) starts to click, it starts to get really fun.”