George Springer just finished a pre-game BP session, and he’s sitting in the Blue Jays dugout looking out at the field. While the start of this season has been less than ideal for last year’s World Series finalists, Springer’s eyes light up when he thinks about the fan reception his team has received.
“The fans have been electric from the start at our home games,” Springer said, with a grin. “I think everyone’s excited for us to be back, and we’re obviously excited to be here.”
This is the last season of a six-year contract for Springer, the 36-year-old leadoff man some teammates describe as the most impactful voice in the clubhouse. And while the Blue Jays are below .500 at 5-7 in the early going, Springer has weathered storms before, and snapping their six-game losing streak with a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday afternoon is certainly a step in the right direction.
Friday night, the Jays return to Rogers Centre for the first of three against the Minnesota Twins (7:07 p.m. ET / 4:07 p.m. PT first pitch, on Sportsnet, Sportsnet+).
Ahead of that series opener, which also happens to be Springer’s bobblehead night, the leadoff man took time to talk about his memories around the swing that sent the Jays to last year’s World Series (captured in bobblehead form for the first 15,000 fans to turn up at Friday’s game), the inspiration he drew from the two George Springers before him, and what he’d tell Blue Jays fans who are in panic mode following a rocky start.
SPORTSNET: You’re in the same seat in the clubhouse as last year. Is that a good thing? You like your spot?
I do. I’ve got Daulton (Varsho) to my right, and I’ve got an empty locker to the other side, so I get a little more space, which is good. I have a lot of stuff.
Like an overflow of shoes?
No, just overflow packages that I don’t bring home ’cause I’m lazy. I get deliveries here, like anything I get for my kids or stuff for the family. I just wait for (my family) to get back up here, and it just piles up in the other locker.
How often do you get to see your wife and kids?
They’re not here currently, but they do come up, normally once or twice a month. They’ll come up for a few days in a homestand.
Is that hard for you, not being around them regularly?
Yeah. I like being around my boys. They’re young, five and almost three. I love to share this with them and have fun with them. I get to hang out with my wife, who is my best friend. Just really enjoy the game and enjoy life here with her.
She was a softball player, right? Do you two ever play catch?
Yeah. She’s actually my throwing partner in the off-season.
So convenient!
Yeah, she’s great.
As George Springer III, was it easy for you two to name your first son (George IV)? Family tradition and all?
No, that was not easy, actually. That’s something we wanted to do, but we kind of went back and forth with it, and then my wife said, “Well, it’s a boy, so it’s up to you to name him.” It took me about two weeks before he was born to decide on it.
I was just having a hard time. Like my mind was telling me to do it, my heart was telling me to do it. I don’t know if I was looking to make sure that I was making the right decision. But I made the right decision. I’m happy I did it.
You also grew up in a household with another George, so you know what can be tough about that, right?
So, my dad and I actually share the same birthday as well. The hard part is when my mom always said “George!” we would both respond. I think we just kind of navigated it based off the tone in my mom’s voice.
If she was yelling…
Yeah, it was most likely at me [laughs].
Do you call George IV “George” all the time?
I call him “dude,” “bro,” I’ll call him all sorts of names, but for the most part I’ll say “George.”
Are your sons into baseball?
Right now, they’re really into basketball and hockey, which is cool, but they’re also into baseball.
Did you play hockey as a kid?
I loved it. I played sporadically up until my sophomore year of high school.
And then did you give up all other sports to focus on baseball?
No, it was just the way the world worked, I guess, or the way my life went. My dad and my head coach for baseball had a much clearer vision than I did about where, apparently, I was going to go. They kind of steered me away from all the other stuff I was doing, all the sports, into baseball.
So, your dad played a big role. How about your grandpa George?
My grandfather came to the United States from Panama — I don’t know the exact date, which my dad will probably get mad at me for — but that’s why he came to the United States, to play baseball. I pretty much followed in my dad’s and his footsteps with playing the game. They both love the game.
When did you fall in love with baseball yourself?
I remember as a kid distinctly when I said: “I want to play baseball.” I played catch with Torii Hunter. I was nine years old when he was in New Britain double-A. I didn’t know who he was at the time, but I remember he threw me a ball and I kind of accidentally threw it back to him and he threw it back to play catch for, I don’t know, probably three throws.
And then I remember he walked away and I saw his number and I said: “I like that guy.” And then I watched him play that night: He ran into the centre-field wall, hit a homer and slid head-first into home plate, and I said, “I want to play like that.” And here we are today.
Does Toronto feel like home?
Yeah, I love it. The cliche answer is that I love everything, but I actually really do. I love being here, the fans, the city, walking around or being somewhere and just seeing how much love for the team everybody has. It means a lot to us.
This is the last year of your contract in Toronto. What goes through your mind when you think about that?
How fast it’s gone, and where I was six years ago, and where we are now and how much we’ve accomplished as an organization and as a team. I just couldn’t be more proud to be a part of where we are as an organization now.
And do you think of how much you could accomplish this season, too?
The goal is obviously to be the last team standing, but that’s not something I’m going to focus on. I want to take it one day at a time.
Recent days have been tough for this team — lots of injuries and a losing streak. What have you learned in your career that can help navigate tough moments like these during a season?
Obviously, it’s very early. It’s not the most ideal start that you would want, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to keep going. And I think ultimately what I’ve said is, “Tough times don’t last, tough people do.” And you just have to weather the storm, you have to ride it out, you have to stick to your processes. You obviously can make adjustments along the way, but you’ve just got to show up to work every day, put your hard hat on and go.
Have you said that to the team recently? “Tough times don’t last, tough people do.”
Yes, it’s just as easy as that.
Would you say the same to Jays fans who might be a little worried? No panic, right?
I mean, I understand why. Everybody wants us to win every game and to play the best that we possibly can every day, and I heartily understand that, right? And there’s nobody that wants us to win more than the guys in that locker room. So, I know that everyone’s going to do everything that we can to make sure we get this thing right and to be where everybody wants to be at the end of the day.
We’ve got 150-something games to go. Everyone’s going to do whatever it is that we have to do to make sure that we get this ship righted, and it’ll happen. There’s probably going to be another time over the course of the season where things don’t go right, but that’s why you play 162 games.
One of your newer teammates, Tyler Rogers, mentioned your voice is the most impactful in the clubhouse. He said: “When he talks, people listen.” What’s it like to hear that?
That’s an honour. It’s special. My job within the confines of the clubhouse is to help and to try and shed any wisdom or whatever I can to kind of make guys’ jobs easier. I’m an open book, I’ll talk to whoever.
What do you talk to Daulton about, your closest neighbour in the clubhouse?
It depends on how much I annoy him. I try to annoy Daulton as much as I can. Daulton is younger than me, but he tries to act older, and I’m older than Daulton, and I definitely act way younger than he does.
What’s the easiest way to annoy Daulton?
I have multiple ways, but I can’t reveal them.
Fair. In your five seasons here, how have you seen Vladdy mature, on and off the field?
He’s really come into his own, making sure he understands that his voice holds weight and anything he says or does, you know, guys will listen to. And for him, he’s not a very vocal guy, so for him to really come into his own and to use his voice has been awesome.
Since there’s a bobblehead being given to fans Friday of you jumping after you hit the homer to send the Jays to the World Series, can you relive that moment a bit? What was it like?
I don’t remember. I have no idea. I didn’t even know that that’s what happened.
You don’t remember jumping?
No, I honestly don’t. I do remember hitting the ball, but after that, I’ve got nothing. I don’t remember hearing anything, feeling anything.
That’s kind of sad. It looked like pure joy… but you blacked out.
I did. I mean, it happens in sports. It’s just one of those moments.
I hope you’ve watched the replay multiple times.
I have seen it, and it’s emotional, right? It’s not that I didn’t believe I could do it. It’s just one of those times where, for me, that’s an unthinkable thing, right? You dream of stuff like that, and for it to actually happen was awesome.
You’ll have the moment in bobblehead form now to help you remember. You’ll keep one, right?
Oh yeah, absolutely. For the kids.