TORONTO — Even as he was being carried off the field, George Springer was still able to bring the sellout Rogers Centre crowd to its feet.
The Blue Jays outfielder had just been involved in a very scary collision with shortstop Bo Bichette, remained on the ground for minutes and had to be helped onto a medical cart. As it was being driven toward the open gate in the left field corner, Springer realized he was being shown on the video board and raised his right arm repeatedly, encouraging anxious fans to make noise while at the same time showing them he was OK.
Results of the game aside, it was a pretty epic moment and one that was emblematic of the toughness that Springer exuded all season.
However, while that moment will certainly be shown on highlight reels for years, it’ll forever be linked to a heartbreaking elimination loss for the Blue Jays at the hands of the Seattle Mariners, who captured their wild-card series with a comeback 10-9 victory on Saturday.
“Reliving it and mapping it out, yeah, I think it was the play in the eighth inning that fell in centre probably changed the momentum, for sure,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider.
Springer was not available to media following the game, but Schneider said that “he’s doing OK,” and was going to be “evaluated for a couple of different things,” adding that the team should know more about his status in the next few days.
Editor’s Note: We have included the video as a publicly available record of what took place. Though efforts were taken to minimize the presence of graphic footage, the remaining sequences may be distressing for some viewers. Please exercise discretion before watching.
The Blue Jays held an 8-1 lead at one point in the game but the Mariners had cut the score to 9-6 by the eighth frame. With the bases loaded, two outs and closer Jordan Romano on the mound, Seattle shortstop J.P. Crawford slapped a blooper to centre-field. Bichette and Springer gave chase and collided with each other as the ball dropped and three runners scored, knotting the game at nine.
“I haven’t even had a chance to look at it on video yet, but I think it was Bo’s elbow to George’s shoulder or head area,” said Schneider. “I’m not quite sure. At that point you’re still trying to navigate through the rest of the game.”
Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman, who also tracked the fly ball in the air, said he was startled when he saw that his teammates were hurt.
“Once the run scored and time was called, I saw [Springer] still on the ground,” Chapman said. “George is obviously very banged up and same with Bo. You never want to see that happen in the playoffs. You know, everybody’s going as hard as they can to try to make plays, try to make outs. It’s a huge situation. We catch the ball and who knows? We might not be talking right now.”
“I’m glad that they’re both OK,” he added. “I’m glad that they might be able to not go into the off-season with a significant injury. But that was the big momentum shift in this game. And tip your cap to the Mariners. They deserve it.”
In the ninth inning, Adam Frazier smacked a double to right field off Romano to plate the game-winning run for the Mariners, ending the Blue Jays’ season.
Following the loss, Schneider said that Springer shared some encouraging words with his teammates in the Blue Jays clubhouse. Chapman was asked about that and said Springer’s messaging was positive.
“Appreciating the journey that we’ve gone on this season,” said Chapman. “We kind of had a lot of things thrown our way this season and [wanted] to accomplish a goal. Obviously, I wasn’t here when they set their goal last season to make the playoffs, but I joined in spring training and jumped on board because that’s exactly what I wanted to do. But, I think, just be proud of the fact that they did take the next step, use this experience to continue to go forward.
“Not everybody busts into the playoffs right away and just runs the table. So, I think you learn from the losses.”
Bichette, who stayed in the game following the collision, said that he didn’t see Springer motioning to the crowd of 47,156 while on the medical cart because he was preparing himself for the game to resume.
He shared his thoughts on the veteran’s contributions to the team, saying that Springer was vital during the club’s pursuit of this playoff run.
“He’s meant a lot, especially going down this stretch,” Bichette said. “He really steps up and he was one of the few people here that had been in these situations before. I think he brought kind of a constant [presence] and just a staple to us.”