On the day that he was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays, Jason Grilli didn’t shy away from social media, or his feelings about a city that embraced him so openly last season (and tried to keep doing so as best it could during this one).

There was a stronger emotional connection between player and city than most, as we all probably know. Grilli’s dad had played in the Jays organization, Jason had visited the Skydome for games when he was a kid, and he talked about playing for the Blue Jays as a dream come true. Whether that was really true or not didn’t really matter, because along with all this came a reliever who suddenly rediscovered his best form when the Blue Jays needed a bullpen saviour most, and a pitcher who could hardly glide through his tenure anonymously. It was like you could hear Grilli’s grunting throughout the stadium as he put every ounce of effort possible into each pitch. His hair was wild. His celebrations were over the top. He wore his heart on his sleeve.

And so maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that this is how he chose to go out, head held high, proud of what he’d done, appreciative for his time here, and rallying his teammates to the end.

* * *

A pro to the very end. You’ve got to appreciate it. John Gibbons obviously did.

Though, I suppose, what I most appreciated about Grilli’s stay in Toronto was that he didn’t bring the guy from fucking Train here…

#StayInTheFight #DropsOfJupiter