Glew: Like Votto, Jenkins would’ve liked to have played for the Blue Jays

Canadian baseball legend Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.) would’ve liked to have pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays.

March 22, 2024

By Kevin Glew

Cooperstowners in Canada

When the Chicago Cubs released Fergie Jenkins on March 17, 1984, the then 41-year-old right-hander went home to his farm in Blenheim, Ont.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Indians called to try to convince him to keep playing, but Jenkins, just 16 wins shy of 300 for his major league career, decided to stay home.

“I told Cleveland’s general manager when he phoned that the fire is out,” recalled Jenkins in a phone interview on Wednesday. “I didn’t think I had that intestinal fortitude to go out there and win and be a dominant pitcher. So, I was happy to be at home.”

But the Chatham, Ont., native admits the answer might have been different had one of the Canadian major league teams – the Toronto Blue Jays or Montreal Expos – called.

“I would’ve liked to have played for a Canadian team,” said Jenkins. “I had a lot of opportunities to pitch in the U.S., but I had only pitched in Toronto or Montreal as a member of the visiting team. It would’ve been nice to put on the home uniform [for the Blue Jays or Expos].”

Unfortunately, neither the Blue Jays or Expos reached out to him in 1984. Nor were the Blue Jays interested three years earlier when Jenkins was a free agent.

“My attorneys tried to negotiate with Toronto [after the 1981 season], but I was 38 years old, and they said I was too old. So, it didn’t work out,” recalled Jenkins.

(Editor’s Note: Jenkins would re-sign with the Cubs and go 14-15 with a 3.15 ERA and toss 217 1/3 innings and four complete games in 34 starts in 1982).

So, Jenkins can definitely understand why Etobicoke, Ont., native Joey Votto, at age 40, would want to sign a minor league contract with his hometown Blue Jays.

“I’m pretty happy for Joey,” said Jenkins.

The Canadian pitching legend thinks Votto can still play and that we will see the Canadian slugger competing at the Rogers Centre this season.

“I think Joey is going to feel really comfortable playing in Toronto and he might put together a pretty good season for the ball club,” said Jenkins.

The first time Jenkins met Votto was when he managed the World Team at the 2006 MLB Futures Game at PNC Park in Pittsburgh prior to the All-Star Game. Votto impressed Jenkins in that contest, and he has continued to follow Votto’s career.

“When he was playing the Cubs, I would see how he was performing,” said Jenkins. “He was always a hitter that gave the opponents some trouble. He wasn’t up there to be a strikeout victim. He was up there to get base hits or possibly a home run because that’s the kind of hitter he was.”

When Jenkins retired in 1984, it was important for him to retire as a Cub – the team he registered six consecutive 20-win seasons with from 1967 to 1972. Given Votto’s age and the injuries he has battled in recent years, many felt he should have retired as a Cincinnati Red after the 2023 campaign, his 17th with the club.

But similar to Jenkins being only 16 wins short of 300 when he retired, Votto also has some significant career milestones in sight. With 26 more hits, he will pass Larry Walker (Maple Ridge, B.C.) for the most by a Canadian big leaguer. Votto is also just 12 doubles and 27 home runs behind Walker.

“If he’s able to pass Larry Walker, that’s a helluva career,” said Jenkins.

One that Jenkins feels should eventually make Votto the third Canadian (along with Jenkins and Walker) to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

“I’m pretty sure he’s going to make the Hall of Fame because he’s got some great numbers,” said Jenkins.