They were once the most feared duo in Major League Baseball.
This year, separated by a lake and different uniforms, they appear to be lost.
Is the reasoning that simple for why Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion are struggling so mightily in 2017?
Edwin’s first game back in Toronto on Monday night, since he signed with Cleveland as a free agent in the off-season, only magnified the drop-off in production he and Bautista have endured over the first month of the MLB campaign.
Eddie is batting just .229 this spring while hitting only five home runs and 11 RBI’s.
Joey Bats is having an even tougher time at the dish, hitting just .169 with two homers and nine runs batted in.
They’re on pace to launch a combined 36 home runs into the bleachers this year, far fewer than the 64 longballs they combined for as Blue Jays teammates in 2016, 42 of which came off the bat of Encarnacion.
Becoming accustomed to new surroundings in sports, heck in life, can be tough.
In Edwin’s case, after eight seasons in Toronto, it looks like that adjustment phase is still ongoing.
Perhaps Monday’s visit to the Dome and getting his return to Toronto out of the way will kick-start Encarnacion’s game in a positive direction.
As for Joey Bats, Father Time may have caught up to the two-time American League home-run champion.
And the only thing he may be able to do is accept it.
Rick Zamperin is an Assistant Program/News/Senior Sports Director at AM900 CHML and a commentator for Global News.
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