Takin' a T/O with BT: The Resurgence of Eric Hinske

Years ago, fans of the Toronto Blue Jays were begging for mediocre players to be shipped out, the General Manager to be fired, the manager to be replaced, and the team to finally start taking themselves seriously.

JP Ricciardi was brought in and he reshaped the roster—ridding it, slowly but surely, of the high priced veterans that littered the field for the Jays, and bringing in cheaper, promising young players who offered the team stability for the future, while relying on some of the young guys brought in by the previous regime.

"This is a team that can compete on a small budget" Ricciardi said, as he gave Jays fans everywhere hope that, despite the minute payroll, our Blue Birds would compete with the powerhouse New York Yankees and the developing behemoth that is the Boston Red Sox.

He placed faith in younger players where other teams wouldn't, and assured us that they would help us win. He claimed to only want "real Major-League talent, talent that can help us win today and tomorrow".

Boy did that sound good in 2001. 

It's seven years later, and all of Ricciardi's work has proven to be useless.

For a team ensured to compete with a small payroll, the dollars have escalated close to the vaunted $100 million mark, as we all bought into the used-car salesman aura of John Paul Ricciardi.

Gone are the promising youngsters of the future, as they either didn't pan out, or were dumped when Ricciardi folded on his plan and decided that, to compete in the AL East, you had to spend cash.

I'm fine with spending the money to try and win, so long as you don't promise us you need to beforehand.

Orlando Hudson was moved in favor of Troy Glaus, because of our team's lust for power, and the fact that with both Russ Adams and Aaron Hill, they figured they'd be fine at shortstop and second base for years to come.

Needless to say, Russ Adams suddenly forgot where first base was, while Guillermo Quiroz and Kevin Cash—the catchers of the future—were held onto until their value was exonerated, and they weren't worth much to anyone. 

Josh Phelps was supposed to be the replacement for Carlos Delgado, except he inexplicably fell apart.

Meanwhile, Chad Gaudin, who threw 199 innings last season, was traded to Oakland for Dustin Majewski. Granted, there were few options for him here in Toronto, but I'd like to meet someone who thinks we got the better end of that deal.

The one guy that was shipped out of Toronto that no one seemed to bat an eyelash at however, was Eric Hinske.

For Hinske, his fall from grace in Toronto was long and painful. He was brought over in the trade that sent 'Wild Thing' Billy Koch to Oakland, and JP immediately declared him to be our third baseman of the future.

Following the 2002 season, the future looked bright, too. Playing in 151 games, Hinske hit 24 homers, along with 84 RBI on his way to capturing the American League's Rookie of the Year award.

In 2003 however, injury problems hit the high-flying Jay, as he missed time with a broken bone in his hand, following the signing of a new five-year contract.

From then on, Hinske's career in Toronto was tumultuous. His average never came close to the .284 of his rookie season, and his power numbers fell into a downward spiral, while his defense would seemingly come and go. Along with that, Hinske was forced to move from third base, to first base, and then the outfield, all in a span of three years.  

Come hell or high-water however, Hinske never spoke ill towards the team. He came in each day, hit the cage, shagged some fly balls, and checked his ego at the door. Despite the fact his career had come to a crashing halt in Toronto, his personality and team-first mentality hadn't.

Sidenote: It's sad on my part that I didn't realize Hinske's commitment to the team until after he left. Turns out, when you get caught up in the rush of a great rookie season and then the kid doesn't turn out, that sours you on him for the rest of his time in your city, and in some cases, his career (let's face it, I could be bitter about him turning the corner in Tampa Bay, but I won't be). 

Since his final days in Toronto, things have started to look up for Hinske though. In a reserve role with the Boston Red Sox, Hinske was able to capture a World Series ring (along with Kevin Cash ironically enough) on the 2007 Championship team, while seeing some of that promise return to his game.

Sidenote Numero Dos: Ok, so I don't speak Spanish, but it's time for some trivia! I've given you the names of two of the four former Jays that were with the Red Sox when they won their title last year. Who were the other two? Bonus points if you can name the now-unemployed, former Jays shortstop who was also on the roster but inactive at the time of the victory.

In 2008 however, Hinske seems to have come full circle.

Following an invitation to Spring Training with the Tampa Bay Rays, Hinske was driven to make the team, and earned himself a roster spot splitting time in the outfield and as a DH.

Since then, Hinske has belted seven homers and eighteen RBI, while tying his stolen base totals from the last two seasons with three. He's on pace to slam a career-high 32 home runs, and although that doesn't seem realistic (especially given his 2/18 slump as of late) it's great to see Hinske rebound as he has so far this season.

Besides, with the way the Jays season is going this year, it's only a matter of time before we start blaming our failings on injuries. If living vicariously through the success of a former player so I can enjoy this season is wrong, then I don't want to be right.

Congratulations Eric, whether it was just for the month of April, or if it's for the rest of the season, it's nice to see that you can still bring it when you need to.