Article: Nolan Reimold, Wolfpac 4 Life

[Mac]

Before fans began filing into Houston’s Minute Maid Park, it had already been an interesting day at field level for the visiting Toronto Blue Jays.

In the away dugout, José Bautista spoke freely with reporters about the sourness of the occasion. Fresh off sweeping the Red Sox at Fenway, Toronto trailed in the division by a small margin when they arrived in Houston on 2014’s trade deadline day. Rumours swirled around the Blue Jays, with fans and players alike hoping for the addition of a big arm (or Martin Prado), but when the deadline came and went without a move, Bautista expressed his disappointment:

Quote

“We are in striking distance with not many games left and we could have used a little boost, just like some of the other teams that went out and got some additions. It’s not that you don’t feel that your team is good enough, it’s just everybody figures out a way to improve the roster. We somehow didn’t.”

Casey Janssen voiced similar frustrations, and the two veterans were speaking for their teammates, who were likewise frustrated by the inactivity. It was also a clubhouse that Colby Rasmus had been absent from earlier in the day. Rasmus took his time getting back from lunch, and his tardiness cost him a spot in John Gibbons’ lineup. As Nolan Reimold made his way onto the field for batting practice, he was told he would be starting in Rasmus’ place.

A few days later, Tony Rasmus went on the Toronto airwaves and spoke wisdom about Colby, including this gem about his son’s early career with the Cardinals:
“I feel like he had a huge ego, and I felt like he was a real [unintelligible] - he reminded me a lot of Brett Lawrie.” (photo credit: NBC Sports)

Indirectly, Reimold was going to be linked to the quiet deadline, being one of the few players general manager Alex Anthopoulos did bring in during the month of July. A waiver claim from Baltimore, Reimold had debuted as one of the hottest bats in the junior circuit back in 2009 with the Orioles. He won AL Rookie of the Month in June, and before an injury ended his season prematurely, Reimold established himself as a middle-of-the-order bat for the 64-win Orioles. 

His rookie year production (.279/.365/.831 with 15 home runs) vanished at the start of 2010, a year he would spend most of in Triple A before working his way back into the Orioles’ starting outfield the following season. Reimold’s 2012 was cut short after he dove into the stands for a foul ball in April. He underwent surgery for a herniated disc, but the injury would cloud the rest of his career. He struggled mightily at the plate the following season before it was discovered that a corrective, season-ending surgery was required. (Reimold eventually reached a settlement with Johns Hopkins over the first procedure.)

Reimold had yet to appear in the majors during the 2014 season, but that would change when Toronto acquired him on July 6. Injuries to Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, and Adam Lind had shifted Joey Bats temporarily to first base. This plan created a growing void in an outfield that already saw starts from the likes of Brad Glenn, Cole Gillespie, and Darin Mastroianni in July. Reimold took advantage of his opportunity to play. He started every game in his first series as a Blue Jay, hitting two doubles in the middle contest and finishing with a two-hit, three-RBI day in the finale. 

Just as his Jays' tenure was taking flight, Reimold suffered another injury setback. Starting his fourth straight game, Reimold pulled up while running the bases and was forced to leave the game. He would miss a few weeks with a calf strain before returning prior to the deadline. He had yet to play a home game, so the injury delayed the Toronto debut of an all-time great walk-up song, with Reimold striding to the plate to the nWo Wolfpac theme. 

I am a big advocate for more wrestling themes in pro sports. Game ops at Rogers Centre missed an opportunity to use Ken Shamrock’s Titantron theme to warn the home crowd when Kevin Gregg entered in the ninth inning.

For fans distressed by Toronto's muted deadline, Reimold’s previous success, albeit brief, provided some hope as the team moved forward, starting in Houston. Toronto was down 4-2 when Reimold came to the plate in the fifth inning, and he cut the Astros' lead in half with a solo shot to left. The Blue Jays fought back twice to tie the game leading into the ninth, with Reimold due up second. Danny Valencia, acquired by Toronto three days earlier, led off the inning and struck out against Chad Qualls, who tried to get a first-pitch fastball by Reimold:

Gibbons took the two big flies as a chance to save face for Rasmus by claiming credit for good managerial instincts. “I had a hunch that Reimold would have a big day.”

Reimold’s second Crawford Box-bound baseball of the evening gave Toronto a 6-5 lead, one they closed out for the win. But any thoughts of Reimold continuing to mash were quickly tempered with a 3-for-22 stretch at the plate. One of those hits did walk off Detroit on August 9 after a pitching duel between Marcus Stroman and Max Scherzer. In the 10th, Reimold caused some mass destruction with a double into the left-centre gap, scoring Valencia all the way from first for a 3-2 win.

Gibbons reduced Reimold’s playing time following his slump, but he was not the only Blue Jay struggling. On August 24, Toronto looked for a series win against Tampa Bay, much needed with a 6-13 record so far in the month. The Blue Jays’ playoff hopes had faded, and they sat 4.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot. They were without a run in the sixth inning when Bautista laid off a full count slider from Chris Archer that was called strike three by Bill Welke behind the plate. The pitch was borderline, but Bautista was thrown out for expressing otherwise.

“I didn't use curse words!” pleaded Joey Bats, to which Welke responded that he didn’t, but “I told you twice to go!” (photo credit: MLB)

Gibbons was not impressed with his slugger, and with Reimold taking his place in right field, maybe the manager had a premonition. In the 10th, Reimold misplayed a flyball by the line to give the Rays runners on second and third with no outs. Tampa Bay went ahead on the unearned run off Sergio Santos, but Toronto had a chance to answer and extend the game in their half. Down to their last out, the tying run stood 90 feet away with Bautista’s spot up. In lieu, Reimold struck out to end the game and ultimately his time with the Blue Jays. 

Reimold made one more appearance before being designated for assignment. He finished out the year with Arizona before returning to Baltimore in 2015, where he would remain for the 2016 American League Wild Card Game: a game that needs little introduction, and the stakes of the game needed little introduction to Reimold. In his first stint with Baltimore, Reimold started the final game of the 2011 regular season, a night for baseball’s history books. 

The Orioles were dreadful, but their finale against Boston had major playoff implications, with the Red Sox tied for the final AL playoff spot with Tampa Bay. Boston went ahead and looked to be postseason-bound with the Rays down seven to the Yankees. However, the Rays clawed back to force extra innings, while Boston was simultaneously having trouble getting the final out at Camden Yards. With two outs, Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon gave up a double to bring Reimold to the plate. Down to his last strike, Reimold belted a game-tying ground-rule double off the warning track in centre. He would come around to score the winning run, and minutes later, the Red Sox's season came to a sudden, hilarious, just perfect end when Evan Longoria’s home run sent Tampa Bay to the playoffs.

In 2016, Reimold had a .664 OPS in 227 plate appearances and had been playing off the bench for Buck Showalter as Baltimore’s season came down to one game in Toronto. Showalter was about to short-circuit, but his prior move brought Reimold into the game for his first career postseason at-bat. With the left-handed Francisco Liriano on the mound in the 11th, Showalter pinch-hit Reimold for Hyun Soo Kim. Kim had been shielded against lefties all season, with no hits in 18 at-bats, but Reimold fared no better against Liriano, striking out on three pitches. He headed out to field a position for the first time all night, soon to be joined by Ubaldo Jiménez.

This is what the Fingerpoke of Doom means in Baltimore. (photo credit: Eutaw Street Report)

Reimold took Kim’s place in left field and didn’t merely watch as Baltimore’s season went down in flames. He was forced to play Devon Travis’ sharp single off Jiménez on a hop, and then he bobbled the subsequent Josh Donaldson hit to allow Travis to reach third. In the next at-bat, all Reimold could do was take a few meaningless steps and watch the ball sail off the bat of Edwin Encarnacion towards the left field stands:

The Wild Card loss was the final game of Reimold’s major league career. He signed with the independent Long Island Ducks to start the 2017 season, where his teammates included 34-year-old Rubén Gotay, 40-year-old Lew Ford, and 41-year-old Eric Gagné. Reimold retired two months into the season, and a promising career that was cut down by surgeries was officially over.

 

View full article