Rob Ducey turns 60 today (sorry Rob, 60 happens to all of us if we live long enough).
Rob was born in Toronto. He signed as a minor league free agent with the Blue Jays in 1984. That year, Rob started his career in Medicine Hat and hit very well .302/.406/.523. He moved up the system quickly, hitting above .300 most seasons, with good power, many walks, and some stolen bases.
Rob made it to the Jays in 1987 and played for them for most of May, hitting just .148. He was sent back to Triple-A to be recalled in September. He spent bits of the next six seasons with the Jays, but it was tough to break into the Jays’ outfield when we had Bell, Moseby, and Barfield. Then, in May of 1992, the Jays traded Rob and Greg Myers to the Angels for Mark Eichhorn, a pretty good deal for the Jays.
Over the next few years, Ducey bounced around through many different teams. First, he went to the Rangers from the Angels, then to the Mariners and Phillies, back to the Jays, Phillies again, and Expos. He was the first Canadian to play for both the Jays and Expos.
Over 13 seasons, he played 703 games and hit .242/.331/.396 with 31 home runs and 146 RBI. Unfortunately, he never became the player we hoped he would, maybe because he didn’t get a real chance at the right moment.
Ducey played for Canada in the 2004 Olympics and coached for us in the 2006 WBC and the 2008 Olympics. After that, the Jays employed him as a scout for the Pacific Rim until October 2009.
I have fond memories of Rob, and it was unfortunate that he was blocked out by the best outfield we’ve ever had. And then, when it looked like he would get a full-time job, he fell on wet turf at SkyDome (they were a little slow in closing the roof that day when the rain started) and wrecked his knee. So it just wasn’t meant to be for the guy, though he had a long major league career.
Happy birthday, Rob. I hope it is a good one.
It is also Wilmer Font’s birthday. He turns 35 today.
Wilmer pitched for the Jays in 2019 and 2020. We picked him up in a trade from the Mets in July of 2019. He pitched in 23 games (14 as the opener) down the stretch. He had a 3.66 ERA. Unfortunately, 2020 didn’t go as well for Wilmer. He pitched in 21 games and had a 9.92 ERA before his release, which was the end of his MLB career.
Font pitched six seasons for six different MLB teams, with a 5.82 ERA in 96 games.
Happy Birthday, Wilmer.
Joe Kennedy was also born on this day in 1979.
Joe also ended his career with the Jays, signing at the end of August 2007 after the Diamondbacks released him. He pitched in 9 games for us.
He had a seven-year MLB career, with a 43-61 record and a 4.70 ERA in 222 games, and 139 starts playing for the Rays, Rockies, A’s, Diamondbacks, and Jays.
Joe passed away from heart disease on November 23, 2007, after finishing that season with the Jays. According to his Wikipedia page, he would be the best man at his friend’s wedding later that day. He was just 27.
And it is Chad Green’s birthday. He is 34 today.
Chad is in his third season with the Blue Jays. He’s played in 87 games and has a 3.53 ERA and 18 saves.
Before that, he played seven seasons with the Yankees. In total, he played 359 games and had a 3.23 ERA.