No, not the opposite-field home run to give the Blue Jays the jolt of life they desperately needed in the seventh. No, not the clutch, bases-loaded single to complete the comeback in the eighth and give the Blue Jays a 6-5 win over the Rangers Friday night at Rogers Centre. We’ve seen these things from Kirk before.
It’s what happened next that got the loudest cheer of the night, maybe of the season. Kirk took off.
On an 0-2 pitch to Myles Straw, Kirk bolted for second base, scampering as quickly as those legs would let him and slid in without a throw. There was a pause, almost a moment of confusion, before the sellout crowd exploded. “First career stolen base” rolled across the big screen hanging over center field.
“This should go down in Major League history,” said manager John Schneider, laughing at the podium after the win.
As the Blue Jays celebrated, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. bolted out from the handshake line with an idea. He ran back onto the infield dirt and ripped second base right out of the ground, then ran to Kirk and handed the base to him. Kirk carried it around like a trophy, still being mobbed by his teammates, still receiving a standing ovation from the fans behind the Blue Jays’ dugout.
“He’s catching Rickey [Henderson] slowly, I think,” said Chris Bassitt. “He’s got to play a bit longer. As crazy as it is, I’ve always thought … this is no disrespect to Albert Pujols, but I had him steal on me at 40 years old. That’s just a veteran taking advantage of me in that situation, so that just opened my eyes to never letting your guard down, no matter who’s on base. I think Kirky could easily steal five, six, seven bases a year, honestly. Pitchers aren’t even paying attention when he’s on base.”
Oddly enough, Schneider said that he and first-base coach Mark Budzinski had been talking about the same thing over the past few days. They felt like there had been some openings for Kirk to take a free bag and shock everyone. Every little conversation matters, even the strangest ones.
“It was a call from Mark. He told me and I just turned around and looked at him,” Kirk said through a club interpreter, breaking into a big grin. “I was like … ‘Are you serious?’”
Asked if it’s something he’d always wanted to do, Kirk doesn’t even wait for the translation. He’s still smiling, nodding his head. We typically see the steady, reserved Kirk, never too high and never too low, but Friday night’s magic cracked him open. He even let a fist pump slip out after the single in the eighth. By Kirk’s standards, that’s practically cartwheeling up the first-base line.
This Blue Jays team is full of surprises, a little magic woven through each one, but Kirk’s performance Friday stands as one of this season’s shining moments.
These things are contagious, too. Out of 539 qualified runners this season in Major League Baseball, Kirk’s average sprint speed (24.1 ft/sec) ranks him 533rd. If this guy can steal a base in a big moment, what can everyone else do?
“The more you do this, someone flips the first domino down and guys kind of feel like, ‘OK, it’s my turn to do something to help us win,’” Schneider said. “This is a special group, man. I can’t speak highly enough about them.”
By the time Jeff Hoffman slammed the door shut on another Blue Jays win, Rogers Centre erupted into one of its loudest roars of the season. Schneider feels like it’s getting louder each night, the momentum of a postseason race quickly taking over a city and a country. Who better than to have this season’s unlikeliest moment than the cult hero himself.
Maybe he has a taste for it now. Besides, he’s only 1,405 behind Henderson.
“If they give me the green light …” Kirk said. “I’m taking it.”
