Michael Saunders was a part of the Toronto Blue Jays鈥� greatest season last summer since the back-to-back World Series glory years.
Kinda.
It was hard hovering around the edges, admitted the 29-year-old left-fielder from Victoria, known as the Condor because of his swooping, six-foot-four frame.
鈥淚t was really rough, more so mentally and emotionally than physically,鈥� said Saunders, by phone from his off-season home in Colorado.
鈥淚n the playoffs, it was especially tough to sit back and watch, especially when you see all the support for the Blue Jays from across sa国际传媒. It鈥檚 not Toronto鈥檚 team. It鈥檚 sa国际传媒鈥檚 team. It was tough for me not to be a part of that. I just tried to be there for the guys anyway I could on the bench.鈥�
Saunders, the 2004 sa国际传媒 Premier League MVP with the Victoria Mariners, stepped on a partially-risen sprinkler head and tore his left knee before spring training last February in Florida and the freak accident cost him all but nine games of the 2015 MLB season.
鈥淭he rehab has been great . . . I鈥檓 in great shape,鈥� said Saunders, of his current health.
A couple of crucial off-season moves have indicated the Blue Jays agree and still believe in the Lambrick Park Secondary all-rounder, who also starred in basketball and volleyball for the Lions during his high school years.
Toronto traded outfielder Ben Revere to the Washington Nationals this month in exchange for relief pitcher Drew Storen, leaving the Jays鈥� left-field starting position open for Saunders, with Dalton Pompey and Ezequiel Carrera as his understudies.
The Blue Jays last weekend cemented their faith in the Islander for 2016 by inking Saunders to a one-year deal for $2.9 million.
鈥淚鈥檓 not approaching anything differently,鈥� said Saunders.
鈥淏aseball is all about consistency.鈥�
Pompey can play any outfield position and is from Mississauga, Ont., giving the Jays plenty of Canadian content, along with Saunders and starting catcher Russell Martin from East York, Ont.
鈥淐anadian baseball is a tight fraternity,鈥� said Saunders, who represented his nation in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and 2013 World Baseball Classic.
鈥淲e love each other as Canadian players and want each other to succeed. In the WBC and Olympics, we may not have had the most talented roster, but nobody had more heart and will to win than we did. We鈥檙e not just a hockey country anymore. And sa国际传媒 is one of the powerhouses of Canadian baseball, with players like Larry Walker, Justin Morneau and Jeff Francis.鈥�
Saunders led Gordon Head to the Canadian title and 1999 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He won the sa国际传媒 double-A high school basketball championship with Lambrick Park. In many ways, that background remains his sounding board.
鈥淲here I grew up meant everything to me. My old Victoria Mariners coach, Mike Chewpoy, is still a virtual shoulder to cry on in tough times like last season,鈥� said Saunders.
Saunders has had a unique pro career in that not many MLB players get to perform for the teams they rooted for while growing up. He has played for both of his, beginning his major-league career during six seasons with the Seattle Mariners, who are followed regionally by Island fans, logging 553 games in Seattle with a .231 average, 182 RBIs, 51 homers and 54 stolen bases. A trade in December of 2014 sent Saunders to the Blue Jays in exchange for pitcher J.A. Happ.
Saunders鈥� first Blue Jays campaign turned out to be a triumph for the club, but personally, a season deferred. All because of something as innocuous as a sprinkler head. Now back to health, Saunders is planning on making the most of his second-chance 2016 season in Toronto.
