The Blue Jays held a bunting competition... and John Schneider gave away his own money.
Photo credit: https://www.mlb.com
Will Wagner had two of those bunts, getting a single and then reaching base after pitcher Jose A. Ferrer dropped his sacrifice attempt. The very next batter Ernie Clement also dropped a perfect sac bunt.
It was an unusual site to see in this era of power baseball and yet for the Blue Jays it was all by design.
After the game, John Schneider revealed that the Blue Jays had a bunting competition during Spring Training and that the winning team got $1000 of his own money.
«We actually had a bunting competition -- true story -- in Spring Training,» We divided the guys up into teams with the winning team getting $1,000 courtesy of me.»
Organized by first base coach Mark Budzinski, there were hula hoops, marker, and cones, that all changed depending on the day. Each player's attempt was measured and logged. According to Schneider, team Blue won pot, he $1000 to be split among them.
Although Clement and Wagner both dropped successful bunts, according to the former, the best bunter on the team is catcher Tyler Heineman.
The Jays had fun with Schneider too. New assistant to Major League Operations Gosuke Katoh is also an aspiring graphic designer and made Schneider up to look like uncle money bags.
«I probably could have asked Donnie Baseball for some cash, too, to help me out there. But whatever it takes to help a win. If bunting helps us win tonight, that's money well spent.»
Their efforts appeared to have paid off.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 2 | 120 ANSWERS The Blue Jays held a bunting competition... and John Schneider gave away his own money. Are you a fan of bunting? | ||
| Yes, whatever works | 80 | 66.7 % |
| Yes, but don't overdo it | 39 | 32.5 % |
| No, Home runs only | 0 | 0 % |
| Can Vladdy bunt? | 1 | 0.8 % |
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