Kevin Kiermaier just can't quit Toronto.
The love affair between the city and the new Toronto Blue Jays special assistant continued Thursday as the team began their first season without Kiermaier in the lineup since 2022.
Kiermaier was tabbed to throw out the first pitch for Opening Day from Rogers Centre as part of the pre-game festivities.
Over 211 games with Toronto, Kiermaier posted a .673 OPS with 12 home runs while providing elite centre-field defence, winning the 2023 AL Gold Glove.
Given a warm welcome from the Toronto faithful and a video tribute from the Blue Jays, the newly retired Kiermaier took the field and threw a strike to former outfield-mate Daulton Varsho.
After Varsho received the pitch, George Springer joined the duo on the field for one final "outfield hugs" celebration.
Kiermaier was traded ahead of last season's trade deadline to the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he helped Shohei Ohtani and co. to a World Series title.
In the off-season, the four-time Gold Glover re-joined the Blue Jays organization in a coaching role. He will assist the organization in teaching defence as a self-proclaimed "outfield whisperer."
So, even though he's retired, this likely isn't the last Toronto fans will be hearing from Kiermaier.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.