Stroman’s Canadian passion play
TORONTO — Last Sunday, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman convened a 21-minute media scrum wherein he highlighted his dedication to his adopted city, and his disagreement with upper management over both the team’s direction and his future.
The 27-year-old Stroman told the media he’s been waiting for a long-term contract but the Jays have never offered one. Later, a team source told reporters the club has talked with Stroman’s reps. A Jays staffer reportedly offered to disperse the crowd of reporters as Stroman addressed touchy topics, but the pitcher continued, clearly comfortable with whatever fallout his comments would trigger.
And for a player seeking a contract extension, the session did threaten to come across as a master class in bridge-burning. Critiquing the Jays’ rebuild likely won’t endear Stroman to the Jays’ executives shepherding it.
But we can separate sentiment from strategy here.
Stroman’s delivery may differ from, say, former Canadian Football League quarterback Chuck Ealey’s, but his devotion to Toronto echoes a long line of African American performers who came up north for work, then felt so at home they opted to stick around.
The strategy is a stark departure for an athlete who usually prefers direct-to-fan platforms such as the Players Tribune or his own social media feeds. It’s too soon to know if Stroman will win the public relations contest against team brass, but the scrum shows he and his reps understand the value of striking first, and framing the debate.
Stroman’s social media followers are used to him peppering posts with Toronto-centric idioms like “wasteman” and “from time.” And using that vernacular lets followers know he has embraced the city in general, and in particular the Caribbean Canadian culture that thrives here, and that created the slang that the city at large has adopted.
But a general sports news consumer who isn’t into Twitter might have heard Stroman name-check cities such as Moncton and Saskatoon as he held court for reporters, then proclaim his Toronto bona fides in quotes that would soon dominate the Jays spring training news cycle.
“There’s no one that embodies the city of Toronto more than me,” Stroman told reporters Sunday.
Hyperbole? For sure. But it’s a stronger version of a familiar message.
Ealey said it more subtly and succinctly when the retired CFL quarterback told ESPN: “I came to Canada to live the American dream.”
Ealey signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats after going 35-0 at the University of Toledo. When National Football League teams insisted he switch positions, Ealey switched countries, then stayed in Canada and raised a family.
In his new book “Gridiron Underground,” author James R. Wallen profiles dozens of the CFL’s African American pioneers, including Bernie Custis and Ulysses (Crazy Legs) Curtis, many of whom stayed north of the border postretirement.
My own grandfather, a jazz pianist named Claude Jones, was a Chicagoan who knew little about Canada when an agent first booked him to perform in Toronto in the mid-1960s. By ’66, he had moved here with my grandmother and my uncle Jeff, and soon started sending for other relatives.
The threads connecting my grandfather’s experience with Stroman’s and Ealey’s and Custis’s are opportunity and acceptance. A specialized skill earned each of these men a chance to sample life in Canada, and they all quickly came to feel like part of the community.
Of course, Stroman, who hails from Long Island, N.Y., differs in significant ways.
He’s not a musician who will stick with his current career into his 60s, or a CFL lifer who knows he’ll retire in Canada. He’s a Blue Jays veteran who really wants to stay in Toronto but lacks the leverage to ensure it happens.
Last season, Stroman struggled with injuries and posted career-worst results in earnedrun average (5.54), walks and hits per innings pitched (1.476) and walks per nine innings (3.2). At 27, he’s young enough to rebound, but the Jays have the option of waiting to see him do it before committing to a future with him. Meanwhile, the team’s ongoing rebuild means several veterans on the current major league roster have no role in the club’s long-term plans.
That last detail has Jays fans upset, and Stroman knows it. During his media session he stressed that the club should add veterans to stay competitive, and promote prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. quickly.
“Are they doing what they need to do to put the best product on the field?” Stroman asked reporters. “I only care about what’s going on in the clubhouse and I promise you, those 25 guys in the clubhouse, I’ll have those guys ready to rock.”