Ryan Goins turns 37 today.
Ryan played with the Blue Jays for five seasons. He played 448 games for us, hitting .228/.275/.335. But he wasn’t a Jay for his bat. Instead, his glove got him to and kept him in the majors.
Let’s share some of his highlight plays.
The hidden ball trick:
After leaving the Jays, Ryan played eight seasons in the MLB. He played for the Royals and White Sox and was in the minor systems of the Phillies, Royals, White Sox, and Braves.
He did have a great time with RISP in 2017, hitting .330/.368/.540 if he could have just hit like that all the time.
Ryan was the Angels’ infield coach last year. That’s a great spot for him. He worked so hard on his defense. If he can show players how hard work can make them great defensively, he’ll have a great second career.
Happy Birthday, Ryan. I hope it is a good one.
Howie Clark turns 50 today. (Why do other people’s birthdays make me feel old?).
Howie was a utility infielder for the Jays from 2003 to 2004 and then again in 2007.
The Orioles drafted him in the 27th round of the 1992 draft. He spent a long time in the minors, finally making it to the Orioles in 2002 for a handful of games. He hit .302/.362/.396 in 53 at-bats.
The Jays signed him as a free agent before the 2003 season. He hit .357/.400/.429 in 70 at-bats. He played more in 2004, getting into 40 games, but didn’t hit as well, .217/.292/.348 in 115 at-bats.
Over the next couple of seasons, Howie bounced around from the Pirates to the Orioles and the Padres but only got into a few MLB games with the Orioles. Then, in the middle of the 2007 season, he returned to the Jays, playing in 31 games and hitting .204/.298/.245.
He played 134 games (109 with the Jays) spread over 6 seasons. He hit .262/.329/.358.
The moment everyone remembers is when the pop fly dropped because Alex Rodriguez said something behind him that made Howie think that he was being called off. It was a jerk move by Rodriguez (and illegal by MLB rules).
I always had a fondness for Clark. He worked hard to make it to the majors and kept playing and working in the minors.
Happy birthday, Howie. I hope it is a good one.
Joe Lawrence turns 48 today.
Joe was our first-round draft pick in 1996 (R.A. Dickey was chosen two picks after him). He played in 55 games for us in 2002, hitting .180/.262/.247 playing second base. That was his MLB career.
Happy birthday, Joe.
Mike Nickeas turns 42 today.
He came to us in the R.A. Dickey trade but only made it into one game for the Jays in 2013. After that, he played 73 games, spread over 3 seasons for the Mets.
Happy birthday. Nick.