![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761730697_160_indicator-big.gif\")
<\/p>\n\u201cI couldn\u2019t wait to come to the field every day and just hang with everybody. I\u2019ve been crying for, like, probably an hour, so I thought I was done with the tears.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
Clement\u2019s flyout in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded was one of Toronto\u2019s best chances to win the game after Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas tied the game 4-4 with a solo home run in the top of the inning.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was so much fun coming to work every day and battling with these guys,\u201d said an emotional Clement. \u201cWe have so much to be proud of, even though it didn\u2019t go our way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll I care about is just hanging with these guys for another couple hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 29-year-old Clement considers himself fortunate to even be on a big league roster, let alone a significant contributor to a World Series finalist.<\/p>\n
Clement was selected in the fourth round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the Cleveland Indians. After four years in Cleveland\u2019s minor-league system, Clement made his MLB debut in June 2021 but he only lasted a year with that organization, getting designated for assignment on Sept. 21, 2022. <\/p>\n
Two days later, the Oakland Athletics claimed him off waivers and he played out the rest of that season in Northern California.<\/p>\n
The Athletics waived him on March 13, 2023, and the Blue Jays scooped him up the next day, sending him to their triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, N.Y.<\/p>\n
He spent most of 2023 in Buffalo, but did get 29 games in Toronto. The next year, he played 139 games for the Blue Jays \u2014 more than his entire time with Cleveland and Oakland combined \u2014 and he was a regular for Toronto in 2025, appearing in 157 games and getting nominated for a Gold Glove both at third base and as a utility player.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always believed in myself. That\u2019s something that I\u2019ve never wavered from,\u201d said Clement. \u201cThrough the lowest of lows and the highest of highs, I\u2019ve always just brought it back to just believing in myself and knowing that I was ready for any opportunity that I got.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really grateful that the Blue Jays have believed in me and given me a good chance. The least I can do is get a couple hits in the playoffs for them, for him for giving me such a cool opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s done a little more than get \u201ca couple hits.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clement has hit .276 in his three seasons in Toronto with 22 home runs, 111 runs batted in, and a .305 on-base percentage. He hit a stellar .411 over three rounds of the 2025 post-season, with a home run, six doubles, and nine RBIs. He had a .416 OBP in 18 playoff games.<\/p>\n
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Clement\u2019s playoff performance was historic. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re talking about really good pitchers, right-handers, left-handers. Ernie had a phenomenal year. I hope he wins a Gold Glove. He should,\u201d said Schneider. \u201cHe became one of the faces of our team because of the way he plays.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnbelievable run that he was on this entire post-season. He\u2019s turned himself into what people think was a waiver wire pickup or a guy that\u2019s kicked around the minors, he\u2019s turned himself into an everyday Major Leaguer that is going to contribute to win a world championship.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2025.<\/p>\n
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI couldn\u2019t wait to come to the field every day and just hang with everybody. I\u2019ve been crying…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256669,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-256668","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}