Hoying soaking in chance with Jays after three years in Korea
TRENTON » Jared Hoying never envisioned himself stepping into the batter’s box Tuesday night and crushing a two-run homer into the Delaware River off of Zack Britton.
Admittedly, he didn’t think he’d be playing baseball again at all.
At 31 years old last June, Hoying had just been released by the Hanwha Eagles of the Korean Baseball Organization. The Ohio native went home and continued working out, but spring training rolled around this year and no clubs called.
Then came the unexpected chance. Injuries struck the Blue Jays organization, leading to a call from his agent asking if Hoying was in shape.
“I said, ‘Yeah, I’m ready to rock and roll,’ and went down to Florida for a week and here I am,” said Hoying, who batted 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and a walk in his Bisons debut after signing a minor-league contract with Toronto on May 30.
The veteran outfielder knows his time to impress in the minor leagues is limited, but none of that pressure is on his mind.
This is the story of a former 10th-round draft pick being able to relish in his passion again — even if only for a fleeting moment before he eventually moves on in life.
“I was away from baseball for pretty much a year, and to get this opportunity with the Jays is something I’ll never forget,” Hoying said. “It’s probably one of the top-two baseball moments for me between getting called up for the first time, and then this is probably a close second because I actually missed the game that much. I’m just super happy to be here.”
Drafted by the Rangers in 2010, Hoying spent nearly seven seasons in Texas’ farm system before being promoted to the big leagues on May 23, 2016.
Bouncing between Triple-A and the majors, Hoying played 74 games with the Rangers and elected for free agency in November of 2017. He briefly latched on with the Angels and had a change of heart. He requested his release and signed a KBO contract in December for not only guaranteed money, but the assurance that he would be playing daily.
“That’s all anybody wants is just to play every day,” Hoying said. “You can work through your slumps, you know you’re going to be in the lineup. You don’t have to question anything. In a weird, comforting way, you know that if you don’t play good it’s on you because you’re given ever opportunity to play good. So that was great for me. I just went out there and played and did what I did and learned a lot over there about myself.”
In a league that features a growing number of former MLB players, Hoying enjoyed his best year as a professional in 2018 as he batted .306 and smacked 30 home runs with a .942 OPS in 142 games.
He had another solid season in 2019, but many factors contributed to a poor showing in 2020.
Hoying was in the midst of spring training in Arizona until COVID-19 hit. American players stayed home for a few weeks, boarded a plane to Korea and quarantined for two weeks in their apartments.
The KBO was one of the first leagues to resume play during the pandemic last May.
“You’re doing pushups and situps just to try to stay in shape,” Hoying said. “You get into it, you start playing games and then our team wasn’t very good. So it came a point where we fired all nine of our coaches and then we sent all our veterans down to the minor leagues. I wasn’t doing
my part, I wasn’t playing good. So I kind of saw the writing on the wall.”
Initially upon returning to the United States, Hoying got away from baseball by relaxing with his wife and taking care of his kids. But the itch to train with his normal routine again gnawed at him in the offseason.
“I didn’t want to get a real job yet and I was just kind of waiting to see,” Hoying said. “I said, ‘You know what, I’ve been around long enough, I got some experience, maybe something in Triple-A will happen if some team has a bunch of injuries.’ And sure enough, that’s what happened.”
While bonding with fellow veterans such as Christian Colon and Juan Graterol, and also taking younger players under his wing, he’s not dwelling on how long his stint with the Blue Jays may last.
“I’m just enjoying this, enjoying every minute,” Hoying said. “There’s no pressure. I’ve learned baseball is a fun game, and as long as I play hard and have fun, the rest will take of itself. I’m just super excited to be with the guys again and hopefully help the Trenton Thunder — or Thunder Bisons — get some wins here. We’ve got a great group of guys and I’m super excited to join the team.”
Still, even Hoying couldn’t have scripted a better first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning against Britton, who is on a rehab assignment for the Yankees.
Hoying says he never tries to hit home runs. He’s been around the sport long enough to understand the art of a quality at-bat. But that long ball on a 1-2 pitch is one he won’t ever forget.
“He hung a curveball and I got it,” Hoying said. “It kind of makes for a good story. It’ll be a good story to tell the kids some day.”