TORONTO – Carlos Febles made sure to keep his message alive. Bo Bichette just in the last few days. Toronto Blue JaysThe infield instructor didn't want to overwhelm the shortstop with information as he prepared to return as a second baseman.
“I don’t want you to start thinking about different things,” Febles told Bichette. “I want you to go out and just play the game. Just be an athlete. That's all.”
Bichette was named in the starting lineup for Friday's World Series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was his first game action since Sept. 6, when he suffered a left knee sprain and slid into his home plate.
As if that weren't enough, this was the first time in his seven-year MLB career that Bichette held any position other than shortstop. He played in 30 games (262 innings total) at second base over four minor league seasons, an extremely small sample size from which to draw experience.
Still, it didn't take long for Bichette to make an impact Friday.
In the third inning, Teoscar Hernandez hit a 99.7 mph single to center and Bichette singled to right. He batted the ball with his left hand for a good rebound, then in one fluid motion, he passed it, turned, and made a perfect throw to first to grab Hernandez.
The big play not only saved a run from scoring, but also provided the key second out of the inning, helping Blue Jays starter Trey Yesavage limit the damage to just one run.
“Just let the athleticism take over,” Bichette said when asked what he thought of the game after the Blue Jays' dominant 11-4 win at Rogers Center.
His teammates were more expansive.
“It was disgusting. I love the way he reacted and the way he turned and made the throw,” said shortstop Andres Jimenez. “It’s not easy, but he made it look easy.”
“It's a tough game and the way he got out of it, I thought he looked like a natural second baseman,” the infielder said. Isaiah Keener-Fear.
“He looked like a natural,” Clement said. “He trusts his instincts and at the end of the day he just plays ball.”
Friday was filled with emotion for Bichette, who had to watch the entire Blue Jays postseason game from the sidelines. Before the game, he noted that it was a “challenging experience” for him not to play, but he also “prioritized staying with the group, taking time to interact with the guys in the clubhouse, and then making sure that my work was completed before the game started so that I could be locked in the dugout as much as possible, trying to watch the game and stay involved that way.”
As the sideline performance took place before the first pitch, Bichette tried to enjoy the rousing ovation from the 44,353 in attendance. Then, as the game progressed, he finally had the opportunity to play alongside his teammates rather than watch from the bench.
“Yeah, it’s much better,” Bichette said. “Much better”.
Over the past few weeks, he has been trying to stay in shape by doing live training from time to time. The minor league season ended, and Bichette did not have the opportunity to undergo rehab to regain his time at the plate.
However, according to manager John Schneider, this was not a concern for the Blue Jays.
“Bo, I think, is one of the most talented hitters in the game in terms of batting with the ball, in terms of being able to get guys into the offense, hitting pitches that not everyone can hit,” Schneider said. “Talking to him about what time he's chosen, you say, 'Okay, I think he's ready.' Is it difficult to do? Hell yes. I mean, it's not easy. I think if there's anyone who can do it, it's him.
“You could probably pull him out of vacation this offseason and say, ‘Go out and take a shot,’ and he’s probably the guy to do it.”
Bichette lived up to that reputation in the first game. In the first inning, he sent relief to Blake Snell, who drove the ball the other way for a single, and in the sixth, he opened the frame with a key walk from the lefty that started a nine-run rally for the Blue Jays that included a grand slam from Addison Barger and Alejandro Kirk's double.
Bichette was replaced by runner Kiner-Falefa and said after the game that his knee was fine, although he seemed to move cautiously at times during the contest.
“I thought he behaved very well. His bats looked like him,” Schneider said. “That was kind of the plan was to see if we could get him three hits against the starter, see how he felt and maybe play a little cautiously from there.”
Bichette's defense, not his bat, was always in question. He approached Schneider and company with the idea of moving to second base, a scheme that could help the team by allowing George Springer to remain in the designated hitter spot.
“I felt like I could prepare for this position faster than the other position,” Bichette said. “I just want to be ready to help the team in any way I can, so this was an opportunity for me and obviously they were okay with it.”
He sought advice from Jimenez, Clement and Kiner-Falefa on the finer details of the new position, and the overall theme from his teammates echoed Febles' message.
“I told him to trust his work and his instincts,” Clement said. “When you move around the diamond, you can get a lot of information and advice and stuff like that. At the end of the day I told him to just go play ball and enjoy being there.”
“Physically, playing second is a lot easier than playing shortstop,” said Kiner-Falefa, who played short most of his career. “Mentally it’s a little different. There are some more difficult jumps, but for the most part, everything he did at shortstop, you just have to carry over.
“You saw the game he played tonight. For a second he looked like a blackmailer.”
Bichette's plan for Game 2 is unclear. The club will monitor how his knee reacts on Saturday morning, but at least for now Bichette feels mission accomplished.
“This is a difficult question,” Schneider said. “Hey, go play a position you haven't played all year. It's Game 1 of the World Series. Go do it.”
“He did it. Everything is grinding now. But I'm so happy for him that he had the idea to just say, “Hey, I want to help, I want to fit in.” And he did it tonight.
