Davidi takes readers on entertaining ride through Blue Jays history

By: Danny Gallagher

Canadian Baseball Network

I found out more about Blue Jays’ history after sifting through a 368-page book written by veteran Jays’ beat man Shi Davidi and published by the reputable Chicago firm Triumph Books.

What struck me about the softcover book from the start was not only the expertly written copy but the superior cover design and the glossy inside pages, which make them stand out from standard paper.

With a Foreword by esteemed announcer Dan Shulman, The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the Toronto Blue Jays was timely because the 2016 season marked the 40th in franchise history.

From the first game played by the Jays in 1977 to the unforgettable 2015 playoffs, Davidi takes readers on an entertaining ride through the decades with a series of colourful vignettes.

You will read about general manager Pat Gillick’s acquisition of Joe Carter, Roberto Alomar, Tom Henke and others. And yes, “The Bat Flip and Holy Trinity of Blue Jays Home Runs’’ comprises one chapter. Read up on the Josh Donaldson trade.

How Gillick ended up with Henke had its twists and turns. Going into the 1985 free-agent compensation draft, the Jays were looking to find someone to take the place of outfielder Cliff Johnson, who had signed with the Texas Rangers.

As Gillick told Davidi, he wanted to take pitcher Donnie Moore but the Angels beat him to the punch. Then the focus was on obscure Expos’ pitching prospect Bill Cutshall, a name I must admit I’ve never heard of until I saw it in this book.

During the 1984 season, Cutshall had impressed Gillick and his scouts in Instructional League play. Just when the Jays were ready to select Cutshall, the Cardinals intervened and took shortsop Angel Salazar from the Expos.

There was a rule that teams could only lose one player in the draft so the Jays no longer had a shot at Cutshall. Somewhat irritated, Gillick asked scout Moose Johnson who the Jays should take after they had gone 0-for-2.

“There’s a guy down in Texas,’’ Johnson replied. I saw him late in the season. A hard-throwing guy. His name is Tom Henke.’’

Cutshall bounced around the minors and never made it to the majors. Henke went on to become a Jays’ reliever for eight seasons and was elected into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011.

Davidi zeroes in on what he calls “Franchise Icons’’ in Alomar, Carter, Cito Gaston, George Bell, Roy Halladay, Dave Stieb, Carlos Delgado, Tony Fernandez and Tom Cheek.

Davidi deals with Buck Martinez’s broken-leg double play, John McDonald’s emotional home run following the death of his father, and a host of other memorable occasions, including Devon White’s famous catch.

“My favourite part of the book is probably the chapter on John McDonald's Father's Day home run, mostly because it's the most touching and human moment I've ever witnessed on a baseball field,’’ Davidi said in an email exchange. “

When Dee Gordon homered for the Marlins the other day following the death of Jose Fernandez, he got very emotional as he ran around the bases and it was something that reminded Davidi of the McDonald blast.

“There's a poignancy to that McDonald homer that resonates with anyone who's connected with a parent or child over baseball,’’ Davidi said. “So I really enjoyed digging out more of the backstory and recreating that homer.

“There are lots of details in the book big and small that I didn't know beforehand, from little things like Dave Stieb having trouble finding an apartment in Syracuse when he first got promoted to triple-A to the Bill Cutshall/Tom Henke story. Pat at first had trouble remembering Cutshall's name and when I picked it out for him from a baseball-reference.com page, he was so excited and started detailing his bio info.

We won’t tip you off on everything in the book but it’s all a pleasurable read. It’s one for your bookshelf.

Davidi covers the Jays for Sportsnet as a baseball columnist and television analyst. He joined Sportsnet in 2011 after being lured away from The Canadian Press.

At a time when U.S.-based reporters are breaking a lot of Blue Jays’ news, Davidi holds his own with story-breakers from his end. He’s glued into what is going on and has sources spilling him news from time to time. I found out more about Blue Jays’ history after sifting through a 368-page book written by veteran Jays’ beat man Shi Davidi and published by the reputable Chicago firm Triumph Books.