CBN scribe recalls day he coached with Tony Fernandez

Canadian Baseball Network writer Andrew Hendriks (left) coached a group of kids for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Kids on Deck camp with Tony Fernandez in 2010.

February 17, 2020

By Andrew Hendriks

Canadian Baseball Network

"We have a guest instructor coming in. He'll meet up with you guys at the Lind tomorrow morning."

This was the text message I received prior to going lights out for the night.

It wasn't uncommon to have guests come out for a day. Since arriving at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame's Kids on Deck summer camp in St. Marys, Ont., a week earlier, we had worked alongside members of the Canadian Jr. National team, Intercounty Baseball League talent and long-time Montreal Expos executive Jim Fanning, to name only a few.

Upon receiving our schedules the following morning, we instructors exchanged a quick grin after seeing Tony Fernandez's name listed beside ours.

Fernandez was one of the ballplayers we had all tried to play like growing up. His penchant for ranging into the deepest pockets of the infield while retaining an ability to make accurate, side sling throws over to first base was the stuff of legend. Often emulated but never perfected.

He was kind enough to meet with us prior to being introduced to the campers. Gathered around a small coffee table on the second floor of the Lind Sportsplex, the five-time All-Star fielded a variety of different questions ranging from first step to overall nutrition.

A stathead since middle school, I knew that, in addition to being enshrined on the Blue Jays’ Level of Excellence, Fernandez held a handful of the Blue Jays' franchise records, including total games played (1450), hits (1583), and triples (72).

I scrambled to think of something relative and meaningful to ask him before settling on "is it true that you told Alfredo Griffin you were coming for his job?"

As a kid, I had read that an unsigned 17-year-old Fernandez once issued the threat as a joke to his fellow countryman while training back in the Dominican Republic one winter. Six years later, he did precisely that when the Blue Jays dealt Griffin to the Oakland Athletics. For whatever reason, that anecdote had stuck with me.

He laughed and told me not to believe everything I read in books. With that, he winked and quickly changed subjects.

Once the impromptu Q and A was over, Fernandez took a couple of minutes to discuss the value of establishing a positive mindset among young ballplayers.

“An airplane doesn't rise because of the altitude,” he said. “Instead, it flies because of attitude.”

His point centred around the fact that, in a game of failure, you can't succeed without having the right attitude. He wasn't wrong.

In Martin and Sean O'Malley's 1994 release "Game Day; The Toronto Blue Jays at SkyDome," the pair interviewed Nick Poulakis, the Dome's resident DJ, during the 1993 season. He shared how, after returning to Toronto following a deal with the New York Mets, Fernandez never formally requested a song for his walkup music.

"At first Fernandez did not request his own music," wrote the O'Malley's. "So Poulakis chose Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy." It elicited a broad grin from the often sour-faced shortstop, and for a time, Fernandez was hitting at a wicked .350 clip."

The song choice was a play on how the veteran infielder often looked upset on the field. Fernandez would add validation to that years later, admitting to having a poor attitude at times throughout his career.

Upon his retirement following a fourth stint with Toronto in 2001, he would often preach the impact of positivity. That day in St. Marys was no different.

A brief yet substantial July rainstorm washed away our chances of getting outside that morning. Undeterred, Fernandez helped us coaches push cots and equipment bags out of the way so that we could utilize what little indoor space we had.

Toronto Blue Jays great Tony Fernandez conducting fielding drills at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Kids on Deck camp on July 23, 2010.

In full uniform, the four-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award recipient spent the next two-and-a-half hours walking the campers through many of the same fielding drills he used as a player.

He spoke with such a reverence for the game, taking time to point out that nothing comes easy and how hard work is the key to success. His passion, not just for baseball but also positively impacting those around him, was both evident and genuinely inspiring.

They tell you never to meet your heroes. That if you do, your perception of them is likely to change.

I met one of mine that day and can attest to the saying.

Tony Fernandez was an incredible ballplayer, that much I knew before. What I didn't know was that he was an even better person.

- Follow Andrew Hendriks on Twitter (@77hendriks)