Toronto Mike

Todd Stottlemyre: I Met Him at the Ex

blue jays

I'm featuring 1988 Topps Cards featuring members of my beloved Blue Jays that are featured on this blog.

Todd Stottlemyre was here for seven years and played a key role in our back-to-back titles.  He was never the ace, but he was fairly solid, particularly in his later years here.

In 1990, my Jays were in a heated pennant race with the Boston Red Sox.  Boston came to town for a crucial four game series in late August or early September, I can't quite recall that detail.  I do remember we got swept and Todd Stottlemyre pitched one of those games and got pummelled.

The Saturday night after Stottlemyre laid an egg in that key game, I saw him walking with his wife by the game booth I was managing at the Canadian National Exhibition.  I jumped out of the booth and introduced myself.  I almost didn't, knowing that he had to be in a super foul mood, but I was a massive Jays fan so I went for it.  He didn't smile and he didn't seem interested in small talk, but he did give me his autograph.  I was actually happy to see he was in a shitty mood, because it told me he actually cared that he pitched like shit with the division leader in town.  I think I would have been dismayed if he was jovial.

Todd Stottlemyre

I can't find my Todd Stottlemyre autograph, but here's Todd Gill who I met that same summer when he was signing autographs outside the old Hockey Hall of Fame on the Exhibition grounds.

Todd Gill Autograph
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