Every young baseball player wants to make the major leagues as a player, but Luis Hurtado realized that wasn’t in his future and he took a more unique road to a big-league job. The title of Toronto Blue Jays bullpen catcher is what the 36-year-old is best known for, but his day-to-day role behind the scenes extends far beyond that. From bullpen sto…

An under-the-radar 16th-round pick of the Chicago White Sox 14 years ago, Chris Bassitt wasn’t supposed to make it here. A bullpen arm in college, the Ohio product not only found a way to beat the odds and make it to the majors, but he’s been able to carve out a memorable career along the way. From taking a dramatic line drive to the face while wit…

The New York Yankees are back in the World Series for the first time since 2009, and while Don Mattingly now bleeds Toronto Blue Jays blue, Donnie Baseball will always be a NYY legend. It’s also a good segue into the fact he played 14 seasons for the storied franchise without winning a ring, as he watched an epic run for the franchise start right a…

It’s an infielder-themed show on EP20, as current Blue Jays utilityman Ernie Clement and former Jays infielder Santiago Espinal sit down to talk about their respective paths to the big leagues. The pride of Rochester, NY, Clement was drafted in the fourth round by the Cleveland Indians back in 2017, but it took the 28-year-old seven years and three…

Since being drafted in 2019 and arriving in the big leagues in 2021, there’s been no shortage of storylines surrounding Alek Manoah — both good and bad. From a dominant debut for the first-round pick to a dream season in 2022 that ended up in Manoah being nominated for the American League Cy Young Award at the age of 24, the Florida righty was ridi…

*This episode is dedicated to Pat Montgomery and Andrieana Montgomery. Rest in peace.* On episode 18 of The SMS, we're joined by Blue Jays hurler Bowden Francis. The 28-year-old right-hander sits down to talk about everything from his thrifting addiction to how his parents influenced his career in different ways. When we get into baseball talk, the…

The definition of a baseball lifer and a legend in Toronto Blue Jays circles for many reasons, the man on EP17 needs no introduction. John Albert Martinez, better known as Buck, sits down for 45 minutes to go over an entire life that’s revolved around the sport of baseball. From a player to a coach to a broadcaster, Buck talks about everything from…

Episode 16 of The SMS features an hour with Oakland A's legend Dave Stewart, who walks us through his three World Series wins, a World Series MVP, an earthquake and so much more from his 16-year major-league career. —— The second guest needs no introduction, as former Blue Jays centre fielder Kevin Pillar joins the show as he drives through the Ari…

Fresh off a turkey hunt and a round of golf in retirement, former Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak joins the show to reminisce about an 11-year career that featured stops in Texas, Seattle and a memorable five seasons north of the border. Included in his Jays run is a pair of ALCS appearances and a career-best 38-homer campaign in 2017 …

Baseball season is back and to kick things off we sit down in Dunedin with Toronto Blue Jays reliever Erik Swanson on the windiest day possible to go over the ins and outs of the 30-year-old high-leverage reliever’s career. From growing up and living in a place made movie famous — Fargo, North Dakota, don’t yah know? — to being traded three times e…

A chance encounter at the 2023 MLB winter meetings in Nashville led to our first guest’s SMS appearance, as former Oakland A’s utilityman Chad Pinder starts his metamorphosis from baseball player to mental health advocate. At the age of 31, Pinder walked away from the sport in 2023, deciding to call it a career for very personal reasons. A candid P…

We are back for the first episode of 2024 and it’s a prospects-heavy edition. Toronto’s own Tyler Black joins the show fresh off a batting practice session thrown by his broadcaster father, Rod, and ahead of a huge spring training for the Milwaukee Brewers infielder, as heads into camp with a legit chance to crack the opening day roster for the fir…

We finish off season 1 and the year 2023 with the newest head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, as Corey Mace joins the show to reminisce with Scott Mitchell about their time in Calgary together and look forward to the job that lies ahead for the 38-year-old native of Port Moody, B.C. Mace goes over his three years in the NFL with the Buffalo …

We get into double-digit episodes with a special guest in the form of SportsCentre anchor Jennifer Hedger, who joins The SMS for a wide-ranging chat covering everything from the highlights of her 25+ year career, what challenges have been presented to her over the years, and everything in between. From The Lofters to the partnership with Dutchy to …

Our first guest needs no introduction as Jay Onrait is — in the opinion of The SMS — the funniest man on television. Jay joins the show to talk about a career that’s 25-plus years and still going strong. Everything from the origin of Jay and Dan to his run at Fox Sports 1 is touched on, and Jay pulls back the curtain on how a midnight sports anchor…

It’s about time we finally got MLB insider Steve Phillips on the show and there’s no better time than November right around the yearly top 50 free agents project. Link to top 50: https://www.tsn.ca/mlb/tsn-s-top-50-mlb-free-agents-of-2023-1.2032354 Now 60, Phillips was just 34 years old at the start of his GM tenure, spending parts of seven seasons…

Joined by 2x all-star closer Jordan Romano for another fun one, the Markham, Ont., product details his transition from minor-league starter to reliever, a move that changed the course of his career and has led to locking down the 9th inning for his hometown Toronto Blue Jays bullpen. From the time he blew out his elbow on the mound and knew immedia…

Drafted in the 28th round in 2017, Davis Schneider was mostly an afterthought as a prospect for most of his minor-league career. A breakout 2022 season led to continued success this year, followed by a 25-game MLB debut for the ages. The 24-year-old showed up at Fenway Park out of Triple-A in August and just recently posted the highest-ever OPS thr…

Drafted in 2008 by the Chicago Cubs, South Carolina native Jay Jackson spent years grinding, moving from place to place in search of his big-league dream. It took longer than most, and many give up way before Jackson even considered it. Nine MLB organizations — and many additional stops — later, Jackson is penning a story of fortitude and persevera…

Now in his second season as a big-league manager, 43-year-old Toronto Blue Jays skipper John Schneider joins the show for a wide-ranging 45-minute chat about family, the Delaware Blue Hens, his own minor-league journey as a player, the injuries that led him into coaching, Bo and Vladdy, last October’s postseason heartbreak against the Seattle Marin…

Joining The SMS for episode three is former Toronto Blue Jays first-round pick Travis Snider, who was taken 14th overall in 2006 and quickly became one of the best prospects in baseball over the next two years. A cautionary tale of not every career going the way it’s predicted to go, Snider ended up seeing MLB time in eight seasons, making $5.1 mil…

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman, a former LSU Tiger and MLB veteran of 11 seasons, leads off episode two of The SMS, chatting about what it was like growing up with an NCAA college football official for a father, his sideline replay debut in a bowl game as a teenager, stories from his LSU days, why he idolized Roy Halladay, and his expectat…

ESPN baseball insider Jeff Passan leads off the debut episode of The SMS, chatting about press box mishaps, the World Baseball Classic, expectations for the Toronto Blue Jays this year, and whether or not Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will ink long-term deals before hitting free agency. ———— Fresh off a career year that saw him finish top 1…