Advertisement

Troy Tulowitzki goes deep in first at-bat as a Yankee... against Blue Jays

Troy Tulowitzki hasn’t played since 2017 and hasn’t been a true star since 2014, so when he signed with the New York Yankees it was fair to wonder what he had left.

In his first opportunity to show he’s still got it, the 34-year-old went deep against the team that is paying him handsomely not to play for them. Former teammate and clubhouse neighbour Marcus Stroman served up a thigh-high fastball to Tulowitzki and he cranked it the opposite way.

In the greater scheme of things it’s pretty hard to assign much meaning to this. We’re talking about a single hit in a spring training game. It really doesn’t get any more trivial than that. There’s still plenty of reason to be skeptical of Tulowitzki’s ability to contribute in 2019, and it’s still pretty hard to fault the Blue Jays for moving on.

That said, from Tulowitzki’s perspective it’s probably nice to be able to give his former team a little gut punch for cutting him loose.

The 34-year-old told Shi Davidi as much after the game.

No doubt about it. Extra special. That was the team that basically told me I couldn’t play any more. It’s spring training, it is what it is, but it was a big day for myself.

It’s also great fodder for any Blue Jays fans who really don’t like the idea of watching their former shortstop thrive in pinstripes. More likely than not, that won’t be a storyline worth worrying about a few months from now, but it’s fun to watch it play out for a day.

Troy Tulowitkzi is out to prove he’s got something left in the tank. (AP)
Troy Tulowitkzi is out to prove he’s got something left in the tank. (AP)