Top six influences on Jays’ young ace
Marcus Stroman lists the people who have had the greatest impact on his career
DUNEDIN, FLA.— The number six carries special meaning for Marcus Stroman, and it did long before Drake gave Toronto its latest nickname. Stroman wore No. 6 in high school in homage to his grandmother, Gloria Major, who was born March 6, 1943. She died nearly five years ago and never got to see her grandson get drafted or pitch in the big leagues.
But for Stroman, she’s always been present in his career. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!” he tweeted a year ago on her birthday. “All this is for you. We made it after they said we couldn’t. Going to shine with you watching. 6 is for you! #LOVE.”
On the eve of what will be Stroman’s first full season in the majors, we asked the Blue Jays’ ebullient ace to name the six people who have had the greatest influence on him. He had a tough time settling on a single person in a couple cases, but in talking about those who have left the deepest impressions on him, Stroman offers a unique insight into his personality and motivation.
In Stroman’s own words, here’s a look at the six most important people in his life. Mom, Adlin Auffant “My mom gives me my outgoing personality and my heart. I feel like I get my emotional side from my mother. My mom is very outgoing, she’s always laughing; she’s very similar to me. I get my features, my smile, is very much like my mother, and she’s very in-tune with the world.” Dad, Earl Stroman “That’s where I get my mentality from, my confidence. That swagger that I play with, that chip on my shoulder. My work ethic. He’s in the gym every single morning at 5:30 a.m. He doesn’t miss a day. I saw that all growing up, so I always thought the one way to get what you want was to go and get it and put the work in.” Sister, Sabria Santos “She was my best friend all growing up. She was who I was bouncing ideas off of, yelling at, talking to. She kept me entertained from a very young age and I was never alone. I was thankful for that and she was very good at it. To this day, she still helps me every day, she helps with the clothing line, my HDMH (Height Doesn’t Measure Heart) brand. She’s the first person to be there to lend a helping hand.” Best friends “My Day-1s, my best friends. My best friend Ryan, my best friend Joe and Sanchy (Aaron Sanchez). That’s my foursome. They provide me with non-stop laughs and the ability to make a bad day into a good day ASAP. People don’t realize how important that is. I’m all about vibes and being positive and the people around me are the same way. If I come off the field and I have a bad game and I put myself around my best friends, they handle it as if I’d just won the game, you know? As if nothing had ever happened. And I need that. Baseball can be a lot mentally and away from the field they keep me where I need to be mentally. They keep me very relaxed, very calm and I’m all about being calm, so that’s extremely important to me.” Teammates “It’s hard for me to single out a certain guy, but since I’ve been here, LaTroy (Hawkins), (Mark) Buehrle, (Jose) Bautista, (Josh) Donaldson, Tulo (Troy Tulowitzki), Russell (Martin), R.A. (Dickey), J.A. (Happ), Marco (Estrada). I’ve learned so much from every single individual on this team. It’s hard to single one guy out. They’ve all had an unbelievable influence on me since I’ve gotten into this organization and been extremely helpful in motivating me and they’ve all allowed me to be myself, so I’m very thankful for my brothers and I’m just trying to learn as much as I can.” Grandmother, Gloria Major “She was my No. 1 fan. She happened to pass away in the fall of me leading into my junior year, so she never got to see me get drafted or anything like that. So that was extremely unfortunate, but I know she’s with me, you know what I mean?
“Last year, it was pretty evident that she was with me. I know she had something to do with it, because everything went so seamlessly. It went perfect. I even look back now and I’m like, ‘I definitely had somebody watching over me, because there’s no way everything could have played out that perfectly.’
“It’s still crazy to me. So definitely my grandmother, who I talk to before every single inning, every single game, who I know is watching over me and who I know is probably the most proud of me out of anybody in my family. If there was one person who could have seen any of this happening, it’s probably my grandmother. I’ll be graduating (from Duke University) in May and that would probably be what would make her proudest, getting my college diploma. Yeah, put her at No. 6, because I wear 6 for her.”