TORONTO -- Ernie Clement leading the American League in All-Star voting is only surprising if you live on the other side of the border.
The man could run for Prime Minister tomorrow – he’s one of Canada’s favorite athletes and has now been launched into superstardom. After passing Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez for the top spot in the AL with 2,054,130 votes, only Shohei Ohtani (2,310,735) has more votes than Clement in Major League Baseball.
There’s a performance element to this, but any public voting is also a popularity contest at some level, too. Clement is a powerhouse on both sides, and at this point, he’s one of Canada’s most beloved sports figures. All of this from a player whom the Blue Jays picked up as Minor League depth late in the spring of 2023. That’s all part of the story.
“It’s his style of play and his grittiness,” said manager John Schneider. “He’s an open book with fans. He doesn’t really say no to people’s requests, whether he’s going good or going bad. He’s a likeable guy who got put on the stage in the postseason, and he’s carried it over. For a guy who we picked up off the waiver wire from Oakland a few years ago, to be here right now? It’s pretty cool.”
This isn’t how the story was supposed to go, though. When Clement bounced from Cleveland to the A’s and was eventually scooped up by the Blue Jays, he was never supposed to play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. He was never supposed to set the all-time single-postseason record for hits, with 30. Clement was just trying to cling to a roster spot in the big leagues, forget All-Star Games.
This is why fans love Clement. They see themselves in Clement, but even more than that, they see possibility. They see a reason to believe that this game can still surprise us.
“There’s not a lot to not like about the guy,” said Nathan Lukes. “His playing style gives us -- the guys who don’t have the big tools, big power and big arm -- it puts a light on all of us. He deserves this. He’s hitting .300 and playing every single game. He deserves it.”
Everyone in that clubhouse would go to war for Clement. Sure, there are born stars like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and veterans who have known a decade-plus of big-league success, but most players in the Major Leagues are more like Clement and Lukes, players who have had to fight for every single opportunity they’ve ever been given.
“That’s what the Blue Jays are. His playing style is exactly what we are,” Lukes said. “He explains the Blue Jays. That’s about it.”
Clement will be the last person to bring this up, though. It feels like, at heart, Clement is still the last man on the roster, just trying to do his job and not draw too much attention to himself.
“It’s wild. I appreciate the love from Blue Jays fans, it’s huge,” Clement said recently on TSN 1050’s OverDrive. “It’s a cool honor. There’s a lot of baseball left. That’s all I’ll say.”
Kevin Gausman politely called Clement “not a crazy physical” guy, and he’s right. If you see Clement making his daily walk through downtown Toronto to the ballpark, the average person wouldn’t point at Clement and peg him as an MLB All-Star. Not even close.
Clement is a gifted athlete, though, that kid we all remember from gym class who’s just good at everything. He’s one of the best golfers in baseball and a good hockey player, even if his own scouting reports suggest he spends more time floating at the other blueline for breakout passes than playing defense.
He is, in every way, just a natural.
“If you watch him for an extended period of time, like Blue Jays fans have been lucky to, he really embodies that kid mentality of really having fun,” said Gausman. “He thrives by not making moments too big. He always has this knack for coming up big in big spots. He’s just a likeable guy. Fans seem to root for him when he’s up. What an easy guy to root for, too.”
Clement is running away with voting at second base in the AL, his over 2 million votes well above Ezequiel Duran of the Rangers (531,182). Guerrero is leading AL first basemen, while catcher Alejandro Kirk, DH George Springer, shortstop Andrés Giménez and third baseman Kazuma Okamoto rank second at their respective positions.