Ernie Clement has become a fan favorite for the Toronto Blue Jays over the past few years.
At times, he’s also been crucial to the Blue Jays’ success on the field, with that never being more true than during last season’s playoffs when he set an all-time MLB record for hits during a single postseason.
He’s also got a great story, having struggled with two other major league teams before coming to Toronto and thriving.
This week, he gets a chance at the so-called “revenge game” when he faces one of those former teams, the A’s.
In a long baseball season, especially on a path where it feels like Clement ended up exactly where he’s meant to be, he probably doesn’t feel like he needs to get any kind of revenge on the Athletics.
Still, it’s a good reminder of where he came from.
Ernie Clement From A’s to Blue Jays
Clement had originally been a fourth-round draft pick by Cleveland out of the University of Virginia, where he’d been a national champion.
He climbed the rungs of Cleveland’s system to reach the major leagues, but his contact-oriented approach didn’t quite lead to the success he was seeking in Cleveland, and they waived him in September 2022.
The A’s claimed him that month, and Clement spent just a short time there.
In six games with Oakland, Clement went 1-for-18, with his hit being a double. He struck out just twice, but he had pretty much nothing to show for his time in A’s colors.
In Spring Training in 2023, the A’s released Clement, and the Blue Jays signed im two days later.
The rest is history.
Clement was called up late in the 2023 season by the Blue Jays and batted .380 in 29 games.
He became a mostly full-time player in 2024, and he has remained integral to Toronto’s lineup each of the past two seasons.
After being a .214 hitter in 103 games with Cleveland, and then that brutal, short stint with the A’s, Clement has a career .276 average with the Blue Jays.
Even amid a recent slump, Clement is hitting .275 this season. He has 30 doubles and nine home runs in 140 games.
Whether or not he would’ve discovered this level of play with the A’s is impossible to know, but it’s clear the Blue Jays and Clement are glad to have each other.
Blue Jays-A’s Schedule
The Blue Jays are playing the A’s in Sacramento, California — which is where they’re hosting games until their new home in Las Vegas is ready.
That means a couple of late starts. It’s a 10:05 p.m. Eastern Time first pitch on Monday night, then 9:40 p.m. on Tuesday. The travel day is Wednesday, so they’ll start at 3:05 p.m. Toronto time that day before an off day Thursday.
The Blue Jays will be back home on Friday to begin a series with the Baltimore Orioles.
Blue Jays’ Ernie Clement Gets Chance At Revenge