Blue Jays’ Ernie Clement has a more prolific hitting postseason than anyone in the history of baseball

admin-cdn7 days ago

0 0 2 minutes read

Blue Jays' Ernie Clement has a more prolific hitting postseason than anyone in the history of baseball

Ernie Clement shrugged.

He had just pulled into second base with a double. This wasn’t just any double for the Toronto Blue Jays’ super-utility man, though.

This was Clement’s 30th hit of the playoffs.

No hitter ever in baseball has had that many.

Clement already had two hits before his eighth-inning double. That had tied him with Randy Arozarena’s potent 2020 postseason with 29 hits. It would’ve been a great spot for Clement to end up.

But he didn’t settle for a tie.

MORE: Benches clear in World Series Game 7

Instead, he got a high fastball and launched it to deep left-center for an easy double and the standalone record.

Baseball postseasons have been played for a long time. This modern era, with the most games of any era of the playoffs, has had plenty of talented hitters.

And it’s Clement all by himself atop the board.

Those who know Clement wouldn’t be shocked.

He was hitting with a golf club and even a full-size bat when he was just a youngster. He rolled up socks, whacked them around inside his house, lost them, and needed his grandmother to buy him new socks to hit for Christmas.

Clement has always been a hitter.

That didn’t translate immediately into the major leagues, though.

He was cut loose by Cleveland, then by Oakland.

He never stopped believing in his ability to hit. His ability to field didn’t hurt, either.

And now, Clement was entirely indispensable to the Blue Jays.

He’s doing it while living his dream.

“It’s what you dream of as a kid,” Clement told reporters before Game 7. “I’ve played in quite a few Game 7s in my backyard over the years, so it’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s why I play the game. It’s everything I’ve dreamed of. It’s a chance to win a World Series.”

Clement is having the time of his life, too.

“You get to play with 30 of your best friends, and I don’t think that happens every year,” Clement said before Game 7. “So in a way, you don’t want it to end. But we’re just going to enjoy it. It’s one last game with my favorite team I’ve ever been a part of.”

Clement made sure that aforementioned last game was a special one.

No one has ever had a more remarkably, wonderfully, (and slightly unexpected) postseason than the one Clement has just put together. The Blue Jays, and their lovable, high-socked infielder Clement won’t ever forget this.