In an epic World Series that came to a thrilling conclusion in a classic Game 7 on Saturday night at Rogers Centre, the Blue Jays lost a heartbreaker to the Dodgers after being within two outs of their first championship in 32 years.
Despite the loss, Toronto made history with tremendous performances from several players, particularly at the plate — the Blue Jays set a postseason record by scoring 105 runs. Much of that was fueled by names you would expect, like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and George Springer.
But especially in the playoffs, there are often surprising heroes. In this case, the one that stood out the most was third baseman Ernie Clement, who set a single-postseason record with 30 hits and ran his postseason hitting streak up to 13. Clement, who posted a .277/.313/.398 slash line over 157 games in the regular season, picked up three hits in World Series Game 7 to eclipse the mark of 29 set by the Rays’ Randy Arozarena in 2020.
Overall this postseason, Clement produced a slash line of .411/.416/.562 in 18 games.
“Historic,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “You don’t see that very often. We’re talking about really good pitchers — right-handers, left-handers. Ernie had a phenomenal year. I hope he wins a Gold Glove. He should. And he kind of became one of the faces of our team because of the way he plays.”
Clement hit .387 (12-for-31) with three doubles in the Fall Classic and set a single-postseason record with 10 multi-hit games, playing a major role in Toronto’s historic offensive performance in the 2025 playoffs.
It all began inauspiciously for Clement when he went 0-for-3 in Game 1 of the AL Division Series against the Yankees. But from there, he caught fire, going nine for his next 11 with a double and a homer as Toronto dispatched New York in four games.
It was a similar story in the AL Championship Series against the Mariners. After going hitless in Game 1, Clement hit .360 (9-for-25) with two doubles and a triple the rest of the series, which the Blue Jays won in seven.
Clement, a utility player who has seen time at every infield position but catcher and has also appeared in the outfield, was a fourth-round pick by Cleveland in the 2017 Draft. He made his MLB debut with Cleveland in 2021, but he was placed on waivers the following year and picked up by the A’s.
The A’s released Clement in March 2023, and the Blue Jays signed him two days later. He turned things around with Toronto, becoming an everyday player with strong defense at multiple infield positions.
While Clement and the Blue Jays fell just short of winning it all this year, Schneider sees a bright future for his ballclub, with Clement playing a key role.
“Unbelievable run that he was on this entire postseason and, man, he’s turned himself from what people think was a waiver wire pickup or a guy that’s kicked around the Minors,” Schneider said, “he’s turned himself into an everyday Major Leaguer that is going to contribute to win a world championship.”
