Decade in the making

It has taken Smoak 10 years to reach his potential, but he always believed he would succeed.

“This is what I expected coming out of college,” Smoak said. “Not just me, a lot of people expected it. It’s taken me a while to figure it out. I still haven’t figured it out, but just to be competitive again kind of makes me feel good about myself. I expected to be that player since I got drafted. I just haven’t been . . . I’ve just got to keep moving forward.”

One career advantage Smoak has had, just like Jays centre fielder Kevin Pillar, is that outstanding defence at his position allowed him extra time to figure out the offensive side.

“I think playing defence . . . and I also had the ability to hit homers,” Smoak said. “That’s what kept me around. I didn’t get too many hits, but I was able to hit it out of the yard.”

Smoak is one of those rare low-key, unassuming all-star athletes in an era of shirt-popping self-aggrandizement that dominates the big stage.

The awareness of his potential status as a 2017 all-star was jumpstarted by both the Jays’ well-organized campaign and a brief conversation with teammate Jose Bautista, who has benefitted in the past from the fact young Canadians love to vote in any online poll.

“Bats told me from Day 1, once Canada votes you’re getting in, no doubt about it. He’d been through it. It was an honour (to be a starter) and a lot of fun.”

The all-star game nod, and beating out both Hosmer and Alonso, was a nice individual honour, but Smoak, now batting fourth for the Jays and providing key hits, not just homers, is more concerned about being part of a team turnaround. He still believes it can happen.

“We’re always close to a win streak,” Smoak said. “We basically have an all-star team here, so it’s just a matter of winning ballgames.”