Even famed Canadian actor Donald Sutherland is frustrated with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Sutherland was using batting as a metaphor on Thursday while speaking about a new Canada Post stamp that will bear his likeness when he segued into talking about Toronto’s early exit from Major League Baseball’s post-season.
“They didn’t hit the ball so well in clutch situations, the Blue Jays,” said Sutherland from his home in Quebec’s Eastern Townships.
Toronto lost back-to-back games in the best-of-three wild-card series with the Minnesota Twins earlier this month. The Blue Jays mustered only one run against the Twins, losing the first game 3-1 and getting shut out 2-0 in the second.
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Sutherland was particularly disappointed when Toronto all-star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was caught off second base by Minnesota pitcher Sonny Gray to end the fifth inning. All-star shortstop Bo Bichette, who led the Blue Jays with a .306 batting average, was at the plate when Guerrero was picked off with leadoff man George Springer on third.
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“How can you have Vladdy caught off second base with a runner on third?” said the 88-year-old Sutherland, with a frustrated sigh. “I thought I would shoot myself.”
Sutherland was born in New Brunswick before moving to Nova Scotia in his teenage years, but left the Maritimes for higher education — first at the University of Toronto and later in England — where he pursued his passion for acting.
The stamp of Sutherland features an austere photo of him in profile, overlaid with the titles of some of his most iconic projects, including “Ordinary People,” “The Italian Job,” and “M*A*S*H*.”
Although Sutherland follows the Blue Jays closely, he took solace knowing that his favourites were not eliminated from this year’s playoffs.
“Of course, my team is the Expos. They’re gone,” he said, referring to the Montreal franchise that moved to Washington, D.C., in 2005.
— With files from Nicole Thompson.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2023.
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