Pompey knows there’s a positive side to being demoted by Jays
Opportunity has knocked before, of course, first when Pompey was brought up in September 2014, appearing in 17 games; then — the more forceful rap-rap — a year ago, when he broke camp with the Jays as the squad headed north. He was all the rage then, heralded as a home-grown player, a Canadian, a Torontonian (close enough), and there have been precious few of those who’ve worn the double-knit with this club.
Pompey struggled though, both on the defensive side of his game and at the plate. An argument can be made the team mishandled their prospect by rushing him to the majors in 2015, the player unprepared mentally for the huge aspirations placed upon him.
“There was definitely extra pressure, had to be,” Gibbons figures. “Playing in his home town, he was hyped up pretty good. I don’t know what that would be like. He wanted to prove to everybody, constantly, that he was the fair-haired boy. Hometown boy made good. That can’t be easy.’’
Pompey resists the suggestion that he was overwhelmed by his status as the young man labouring under great expectations. “Being from Mississauga, just up the street from Toronto, it means the world for me to be here. Not that it’s anything negative but some times I do feel pressure. It’s tough. You’ve got family and friends there and everybody wants you to do well.’’
In any event, down went Dalton last May, sliding further into the depths with a subsequent descent to Double A. It was a harsh experience nevertheless, even if Pompey prefers not to dwell on those difficult months. “That’s something I’ve left in the past. This year I’m more relaxed. I feel good about where I’m at mentally. That’s all I can control — myself, the actions that I take.”
Pompey showed, eventually, that he was made of stronger stuff.
“He came back at the end of the season and really helped us down the stretch,” Gibbons reminds.
You will recall it was Pompey, coming in as a pinch-runner in the ninth inning of Game 6 in the American League Championship Series, who promptly stole second, then third, and stood there helplessly as his teammates, with nobody out, failed to bring him home for the run that would have tied the affair — and who knows what might have happened then?
No revisionist fantasizing permitted.
Pompey sent packing with his dolls and dishes isn’t a surprise. The Jays are committed to Michael Saunders in left, with Junior Lake, Ezequiel Carrera and Darrell Ceciliani vying for the backup outfield gig. Baseball practicalities also worked against Pompey as both Lake and Carrera are out of options on their contracts and can’t be sent to the minors without clearing waivers. Pompey’s remaining options protect him from the waiver wire.
“I understand that completely,” says Pompey.
“Not that I really expected it because that’s negative thinking. But I knew there was a pretty good chance that I would get sent down with Mike healthy. But I’ve seen things change in a heartbeat. I’ve seen guys like (Chris) Colabello come up last year, Go-Go (Ryan Goins) came up after two weeks. It’s not the end of the world.”
It’s better for Pompey, at this juncture, to play lots, get all the at-bats he needs at Triple A to refine his swing and work out the defensive deficiencies a-field.
“I’m trying to think big picture. It’s easy to get wrapped up in what’s going on here and right now. Obviously you want to be here right now but at the end of the day, if it helps me to get where I want to be for a long period of time, why wouldn’t I take that door?’’
He departed the clubhouse with most of his ’mates unaware of the demotion. But also with Gibbon’s encouragement ringing in his ears.
“I saw that confidence come back,’’ says the skipper, approving. “That’s what I was really looking for. You know those young guys, they come up and they struggle for the first time. Some of them never re-group. They forget how good they were or what got them there. I think he understands how good he can become.
“Who knows when he gets back up. When he does, we want it to be where he’s here to stay. And he never looks back at the minors again.”