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Melky Cabrera’s eyeblack is making him look more and more...

Sat, 25 May 2013 13:53:32 -0400

Melky Cabrera’s eyeblack is making him look more and more like the Ultimate Warrior.

Believe it or not, this got Brett Lawrie tossed.

Fri, 24 May 2013 22:45:06 -0400

Believe it or not, this got Brett Lawrie tossed.

Animted GIF: Lawrie Gets Tossed

Fri, 24 May 2013 20:58:00 -0400

Jose Reyes will be back soon … in June (hopefully) …...

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:07:38 -0400

Jose Reyes will be back soon … in June (hopefully) … then we will swoon.

J.A. Happ talks about his road to recovery, and relives the...

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:08:00 -0400

J.A. Happ talks about his road to recovery, and relives the night where his life flashed before his eyes.

randomjaysstuff: Epy Guerrero photo, 25th Anniversary...

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:42:56 -0400

randomjaysstuff:

Epy Guerrero photo, 25th Anniversary Commemorative Book

I love the legendary stories of his Latin American signings.

Alfredo Griffin:

The 15-year-old was as thin as a bat and about as smooth as sandpaper. But the scout saw something special in his hands, in his arms. So he carved an infield into a corner of the cow pasture outside his front door and hit the boy 300 grounders a day through the spring rainstorms and the oppressive summer heat. Three years later, that teenager, Alfredo Griffin, reached the major leagues, beginning an 18-year career in which he would win three World Series titles, a Gold Glove, the American League’s rookie-of-the-year Award and a spot on an All-Star team.

Damaso Garcia:

”I could see he had the tools of the play. I made him run 50 yards, and he was very fast. I made him throw. I made him take ground balls.” Guerrero followed Garcia around while he practiced for the soccer team. ”Sometimes I would skip a practice to work out for Epy,” says Garcia. Guerrero finally talked him into signing a baseball contract in February 1975. “It was the toughest sign I’ve ever had,” Guerrero says. “There was big trouble with the soccer federation. He was the best player on the team, and they were really mad. The president of the federation called me to his office and said, very upset, ‘How can you take my best player?’ “

Tony Fernandez:

The youngster, nicknamed Cabeza because his head was so large when he was a child, lived behind the fence with his 10 brothers and sisters in a tin-roofed house that was sometimes struck by home runs. He was the shoeless, shirtless tyke who would take as many ground balls as you had the patience to hit him—using, as a glove, a milk carton fashioned with string. The kid was so good he would have been a pro prospect, but he had bad knees and couldn’t run. Only Epy Guerrero dared say to him, “Your father is blessed, because when you grow up, I will sign you.” Epy, Toronto’s chief scout in Latin America, signed Tony to a pro contract in 1979, but not before arranging for surgery to remove painful bone chips from his knees and, oh, yes, clocking his time down the first-base line.

Carlos Delgado:

“I see him. I phone Pat. ‘We gotta sign him.’ Pat tells me he got no money. I say, ‘Find it.’ It gonna take $100,000 bonus or Atlanta gonna sign him. Pat comes down. He gotta ask owners for money outta next year’s budget. We sign him. We go to the airport, Atlanta guys are coming. We say, “Don’t bother. We signed him.’ They don’t believe us – till they go to Carlos’s house.”

The One That Got Away:

“I see this pitcher, sixteen, maybe five-nine, right-hander, skinny, fastball 88,” he says. “I wanna sign. Mel Queen comes. He says, ‘He’s already as good as he gonna be.” I’m saying, he good right now and we get him cheap. Mel Queen, he kill it. The Dodgers sign him: Pedro Martinez. ’Cuz of Mel Queen Toronto don’t get a Hall of Famer.”

retrojayscards: Domingo Martinez, 1993 Topps, #810 “Scouting is...

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:41:42 -0400

retrojayscards:

Domingo Martinez, 1993 Topps, #810

“Scouting is professional baseball’s personalized way of renewing itself, from year to year and generation to generation. It reaches to the social roots of the game, to small towns and skinned infields, and to the psychological roots of the game, to seasonal optimism and persistent dreaming. The players’ dreams of glory are no more compelling than the scouts’ dreams of discovery, of seeing the crystal through the carbon, the future shining through the present.”

- Kevin Kerrane, Dollar Sign on the Muscle

Earlier this month the Baseball Hall of Fame opened Diamond Mines, an exhibit dedicated to celebrating and recognizing the contributions of scouts to baseball. Scouts live on little money, spend weeks and months on the road away from their families, and are unseen and anonymous to the general public. Their reward? Finding that diamond in the rough. Being the first to recognize the potential for greatness in what is essentially a child.

The history of the game is filled with stories of scouts hearing a special crack off a players bat. Or seeing them run speeds that get faster and faster with each re-telling. Or wandering into a field that could sometimes barely be called a diamond, to see a kid throwing a ball into a chain link fence and being able to see the potential to spin a curve six or seven years down the road.

For fans of the Toronto Blue Jays, one name has always been synonymous with scouting- Epifanio (Epy) Guerrero, who passed away yesterday. The man whose name rose above the anonymous cloud of “scout.” We all know the players. Tony Fernandez, George Bell, Carlos Delgado, Alfredo Griffin, and on and on and on. The scouting network Guerrero developed in the Dominican Republic and the rest of Latin America helped elevate an expansion team to a division champion in less than a decade.

And the stories behind their signings are just as legendary, like paying for Tony Fernandez to have knee surgery as he signed him to his pro contract. Or finding Syl Campusano sleeping on a dirt floor in a shack with a caved in roof after a hurricane. Guerrero gave Campusano a $3,500 signing bonus to put a roof on their home. Or the legend of riding into the remote hillside on a mule to get a father’s permission to sign a player.

As Tony Fernandez said “He’ll give a kid a tryout in the rain, in the street, with bare feet.”

Part of the reason I started this blog was that growing up baseball cards were a major part of how I learned about the game. As a seven year old I can remember seeing cards in Topps’ 1988 set that listed how the player was acquired at the bottom. As Tony Fernandez was my favourite player, I remember seeing Guerrero’s name and not understanding why he was important. But going through my collection, there is no non-player whose name appears on more of my cards than Epy Guerrero.

It may seem odd to use a card of Domingo Martinez, something of a prospect “bust”, but I loved the heading of Coming Attraction. With Guerrero fans could always believe there was another undiscovered talent on the way. Another superstar just waiting around the corner. In the days before prospect rankings were hotly debated topics and fans discussed signing restrictions on international talent, it seemed Epy Guerrero could produce a star player out of thin air. His impact on baseball in Canada and in Latin America can’t be overstated. In an anonymous profession, Epy Guerrero made the baseball world at large know his name and it will not be forgotten in this city for some time.

Flashback Friday: A Tribute to Epy Guerrero

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:41:20 -0400

Flashback Friday: A Tribute to Epy Guerrero:

This week’s Flashback Friday takes a look back at the man who laid the framework for a Blue Jays dynasty - the late Epy Guerrero.

Animated GIF: Brandon Morrow Explodes in the Dugout

Thu, 23 May 2013 21:39:54 -0400

Animated GIF: Encarnacion Signals His Grand Slam

Thu, 23 May 2013 21:08:24 -0400

No review necessary … Edwin Encarnacion signals his own grand slam.

bluejaysdayblog: what happens when you fall asleep.. Joey...

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:12:07 -0400

bluejaysdayblog:

what happens when you fall asleep..

Joey Crumbs.

Several of the Blue Jays payed tribute to the late Epy Guerrero...

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:32:45 -0400

Several of the Blue Jays payed tribute to the late Epy Guerrero by writing “RIP Epy” into their caps.

Gibby to Bautista - “I owe you a couple beers,...

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:50:41 -0400

Gibby to Bautista - “I owe you a couple beers, man.”

Image courtesy of Yahoo

GAMEREAX - Animated Sports Gifs and MLB Analysis – Lawrie, Arencibia Go From Low To High

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:30:07 -0400

GAMEREAX - Animated Sports Gifs and MLB Analysis – Lawrie, Arencibia Go From Low To High:

Out of everyone, I think Brett and J.P. enjoyed that walk-off the most.

The Blue Jays win! Also, Lawrie looks like he’s going to...

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:09:55 -0400

The Blue Jays win! Also, Lawrie looks like he’s going to eat Bautista.

torontobluejays: Jose Reyes and Anthony Gose both returned to...

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:14:49 -0400

torontobluejays:

Jose Reyes and Anthony Gose both returned to Rogers Centre on a beautiful holiday Monday.

captainlatte: Alright #BlueJays Monkey Army, it’s time to lick...

Sat, 18 May 2013 22:27:34 -0400

captainlatte:

Alright #BlueJays Monkey Army, it’s time to lick it up ~cue this http://youtu.be/Gcj34XixuYg

Don’t wanna wait ‘til you know me better
Let’s just be glad for the time together
Life’s such a treat and it’s time you taste it
There ain’t a reason on earth to waste it
It ain’t a crime to be good to yourself

Lick it up, lick it up, it’s only right now
Lick it up, lick it up, ooh yeah
Lick it up, lick it up, come on, come on
Lick it up, lick it up

Reyes Simmons is my favourite.

oldtimefamilybaseball: mightyflynn: The Commissioner of...

Sat, 18 May 2013 20:17:10 -0400

oldtimefamilybaseball:

mightyflynn:

The Commissioner of Baseball, in appreciation of long and meritorious service, presents this Lifetime Pass

Photo by Jose Bautista

Not pictured: never-ending chocolate fountain and secret to immortality that were also gifted.

Never forget … Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, Augustus Gloop, MIke Teavee.

Thanks for the shoutout, @mattomic!

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:32:42 -0400

Thanks for the shoutout, @mattomic!

jaysgamelogs: This face of Ramon Ortiz has totally taken over...

Sat, 18 May 2013 10:54:13 -0400

jaysgamelogs:

This face of Ramon Ortiz has totally taken over my imagination.