Playoffs the juice Jays needed, Dickey says
DUNEDIN, FLA.• For 20 years as a professional, R. A. Dickey has sat around the proverbial baseball campfire and listened to the stories about what it’s like to be a part of the game’s postseason drama; the excitement, the crackling tension, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, all played out at warp speed under a magnifying glass.
“People talk about it a lot and you can hear all about it, you watch it on TV a lot, but until you’re a part of it, it doesn’t really kick you in the tail like the actual experience does,” said the Blue Jay knuckleballer on his first day in training camp Sunday.
At the age of 41, Dickey, like most of the rest of the Blue Jays, got his first- ever taste of post-season baseball last October and the reality was even better than the hype.
“It’s done a lot to motivate us. I remember in 2014, Mark DeRosa was on the team and he would talk to us a lot about what it’s like in the post- season. You got excited hearing about it but you can’t relate to it until you’ve been exposed to it. Now that we’ve been exposed to it, and that includes most of the guys in this clubhouse, it really motivates you to get back there in a way that you couldn’t necessarily have unless you’ve experienced it once before. The psychology behind that is really interesting.”
The Blue Jays did not reach their goal, but along the way they played some heart- stopping baseball, including perhaps one of the most dramatic come- frombehind victories in playoff history when they beat Texas in the fifth and deciding game of the AL Division Series. Trailing 3-2, the Jays exploded for four runs in the bottom of the seventh to complete a three- game comeback and advance to the American League Championship Series.
“I would think that would rival a World Series, the way it was in Game 5 versus Texas,” said Dickey. “I can’t imagine it being much more intense than that. I’ve played in an Olympic Games and a college World Series and some pretty neat venues but that takes the cake, exponentially.”
Dickey was asked if he has taken time to watch the replays of any of those exciting games.
“No ... no, I haven’t,” said Dickey, staring off into space. Then, after a pause, “I was there.”