It should have been a marriage made in baseball heaven for Victoria鈥檚 Michael Saunders 鈥� a Canadian player on the Toronto Blue Jays during a season in which the resurgent club has captured the imagination of the nation in a way comparable to the World Series years of 1992 and 1993.
But instead of a tale to add to Island sporting lore, the year has turned into a nightmare for Saunders, as the club announced Tuesday that he will not be returning to the Blue Jays lineup this season.
It鈥檚 all because of the most innocuous-seeming of things 鈥� a partially-risen sprinkler head. Saunders stepped on one in Florida while catching fly balls in February before training camp started. The results were catastrophic for Saunders as he tore his left knee.
It was estimated the Islander would be out until at least the all-star break in July but he was steadfast in rehabilitation and defied the odds by taking a chance on surgery to deal with the mangled knee. Saunders returned in April but the comeback was short-lived and lasted only nine games, as he hit .191 with three RBIs. He has been on the shelf since.
Saunders did not return calls from the sa国际传媒 on Tuesday.
鈥淸Saunders] went out for a run [Monday] for the first time, and it wasn鈥檛 very good. He texted me that his season was over,鈥� said Mike Chewpoy, who coached Saunders on the sa国际传媒 Premier League鈥檚 Victoria Mariners.
鈥淗e鈥檚 not happy about it, but he鈥檚 fought a lot of battles before and won them. I can鈥檛 see why he can鈥檛 overcome this one, too.鈥�
He has had a unique career in that not many big-league professional athletes get to perform for the teams they rooted for while growing up. Saunders got to play for both of his, beginning his major-league career during six seasons with the Seattle Mariners before the off-season trade that sent him to the Blue Jays in December in exchange for left-handed pitcher J.A. Happ.
鈥淚 grew up watching the Blue Jays. I鈥檓 excited 鈥� actually ecstatic,鈥� the 28-year-old told the sa国际传媒, on the night of the trade. 鈥淧ut aside being Canadian, which is big enough, but for the opportunity, as well. The Blue Jays are going for it. They have the talent to go all the way to the world championship.鈥�
The 6-foot-4 Saunders represented sa国际传媒 in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and 2013 World Baseball Classic.
A talented all-rounder, Saunders won the sa国际传媒 Double-A high school basketball championship at Lambrick Park Secondary and was also a standout on the Lambrick Park volleyball team. As a 12-year-old, Saunders led Gordon Head to the Canadian title and 1999 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Saunders鈥� rise on the diamond continued with the Victoria Mariners as the 2004 sa国际传媒 Premier Baseball League MVP. He went on to play 553 major-league games for the big-league Mariners in Seattle with a .231 average, 182 RBIs, 51 homers and 54 stolen bases.
