Los Angeles Angels outfielder Kevin Pillar was in the uniform of one of his former teams as he warmed up for a game against the Blue Jays on Friday night. Pillar doesn’t know if he will play next year. The former Jays centre-fielder entered this season thinking it might be his last. He’s still not sure.
In what might have been his final major-league at-bat in Toronto, Kevin Pillar was all that stood between the Blue Jays and a season sweep of his Los Angeles Angels. The Jays’ former Superman, who patrolled centre field with reckless abandon in the glory days of 2015 and 2016, had a rough weekend in his old stomping grounds, going 1-for-13 with a run scored and a stolen base, and he finished it off by swinging through a 97.9-m.p.h. sinker from Zach Pop to end Sunday’s game, an 8-2 victory for the home side.
The win gave the Jays a seven-game sweep of their season series with the Angels. Addison Barger and Alejandro Kirk hit two-run homers to extend the club’s home run streak to 14 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the major leagues, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in a pair or runs with a single and a double while also being intentionally walked twice.
Kevin Gausman set down the first nine hitters he faced as well as the final dozen, picking up his 12th win of the season. The only damage against him was a Taylor Ward triple leading off the fourth that was followed by Zach Neto’s RBI single.
In his heyday, Pillar would probably have made one of his patented dazzling catches on that Ward triple. It just eluded the leap of Jays’ centre-fielder Joey Loperfido at the wall. The 35-year-old Pillar, who reached 10 years of major-league service time earlier this season, was talking retirement when he was released by the Chicago White Sox after a 4-for-25 start in April.
But he signed with the Angels the next day, hit .409 in May with five home runs and a 1.147 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, and is now having second thoughts. “I made a conscious decision going into this season that there was a good chance it could be my last,” Pillar said in an interview that can be heard on the next episode of ”Deep Left Field,” the Star’s baseball podcast. “And even with some of the recent success I’ve had, there’s still an opportunity for me to get the rare chance in this game to say goodbye as opposed to (being told) you’re no longer wanted or needed. But with some of that success, some of that joy I’ve found over the last couple of months, the future’s kind of uncertain.”
Pillar's Plans for the Future
Pillar, his wife Amanda and their children, aged 7 and 4, are moving to Texas in the off-season so Pillar can “become this cowboy farmer that I always thought I could be” and the family will decide as a unit whether he will seek to continue his baseball career. “It’s so up in the air right now, what I want to do,” he said. “I know from a human standpoint, from a father standpoint, from a husband standpoint … my wife and my kids have taken a back seat to my dream and to my career. It might be time for me to take that back seat.”
But Pillar notes his kids still love coming to the ballpark with him and things can seem different when you’re in the middle of an 11-day road trip, as the Angels are now. Whether Pillar has played his last game in Toronto or not, he left town with a souvenir: a maple leaf tattoo on the inside of his right forearm.
A Lasting Legacy
“I wasn’t even one of those guys that’s worthy of being on the Level of Excellence here,” he said, “but to be part of such a fun and exciting and successful team … it’s always going to feel like home.” Pillar’s time in Toronto was marked by his impressive defensive skills and his clutch hitting. He was a fan favorite, and his contributions to the team’s success in 2015 and 2016 are still fondly remembered by Blue Jays fans.
A Final Farewell?
Pillar's departure from Toronto marked the end of an era for the Blue Jays. He was a beloved player who brought energy and excitement to the team. While his future remains uncertain, his legacy in Toronto is secure. He will always be remembered as one of the most exciting and passionate players to wear the Blue Jays uniform. His impact on the team and its fans will be felt for years to come.
