A Week In The Life of Rob Ducey
Beanballs, homers, and an eight day cross-country trip
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Rob Ducey played 112 games in his 2000 season. He played 70 for the Phillies, 5 for the Blue Jays, and 37 for the Phillies.
Wednesday July 26, 2000
The Toronto-born outfielder was already a Blue Jay once in his career. In fact, he’d started there, playing parts of six seasons from 1987 to 1992 to begin his big-league life. Hanging around the fringes of the Philadelphia roster at this point, Ducey was mostly a pinch-hitter, occasionally patrolling left and right field when need be.
Today, however, he’d change things up. When Philadelphia General Manager Ed Wade comes down to the clubhouse, he tells Ducey he’s been traded. Toronto had expressed interest; they’ll send a player to be named later—we’ll find out soon enough that it’s pitcher John Sneed—Wade’s way for Ducey. He’ll be going home. Well, not exactly. He’s joining the Jays on a road trip.
Thursday July 27, 2000
I assume July 27 was a travel day. The trade was announced the night before, and Ducey doesn’t play on this night. He probably flies into Seattle, and does that thing where, maybe he showed up part way through the game and gives everyone a hug because he’s so happy to be there. I don’t know. I’ve got nothing. The Jays win, though, by a score of 7 to 2.
Friday July 28, 2000
Manager Jim Fregosi slots Ducey into the lineup tonight, hitting eighth and playing right field. He’s back with the Blue Jays, the team that first signed him in 1984 out of Seminole Community College. In 1986, while hanging around in minor league outfields, Ducey wins the Tip O’Neill Award for the greatest Canadian baseball player of the year.
In the top of the third, Mariners starting pitcher Freddy Garcia walks Ducey, who moves to second later in the inning on a Shannon Stewart walk, all before coming in to score on a beautiful Jose Cruz Jr. home run. That’s really all Ducey does for the night. He goes 0-3, and the Jays team loses in his debut.
Saturday July 29, 2000
The top of the third again proves crucial to Rob Ducey’s night, which, this time, he was supposed to have off. When Shannon Stewart is caught stealing to end that frame, and we head to the bottom half of the inning, all seems well. But, a few batters in, Stewart is hit by a flyball.
Out comes Ducey. He’ll take over for the injured Stewart from here.
In the fifth, Ducey doubles in a run. That’s all he does in a thirteen-inning loss, when Hall-of-Famer Edgar Martinez singles off Hall-of-Famer Roy Halladay to end it. Except, I’m sure he was involved in the benches-clearing spat after Jays reliever John Frascatore hit Mariners SS Alex Rodriguez, whom Geoff Baker of the Toronto Star described as “becoming known around the league as a yapper.”
Sunday July 30, 2000
In the third inning, Rodriguez steps up to the plate and hammers a line drive toward left field. Shannon Stewart isn’t in the lineup tonight—he’s hurt, remember?—but Rob Ducey is. The outfielder tries to make a play on the ball, but drops it for his fourth error of the season. A run scores.
Ducey goes 0 for 3 with a walk.
Monday July 31, 2000
Ducey gets the day off as Stewart returns to the lineup in a 6-1 Oakland win. But, second baseman Homer Bush gets hurt. He breaks his hand and is out four-to-six weeks.
Tuesday August 1, 2000
Ducey gets the day off once more. Randy Velarde of the Oakland Athletics hammers a two-run walkoff homer in the bottom of the 10th.
Wednesday August 2, 2000
Guess who’s back? After the Athletics take a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the 8th, Ducey pops in to say hello. He pinch hits for right fielder Marty Cordova in the top of the ninth, and flies out against Athletics closer Jason Isringhausen. The Jays go on to lose.
Thursday August 3, 2000
Ducey gets the night off, as the Jays return home to face the Texas Rangers.
Friday August 4, 2000
Rob Ducey’s final appearance in a Toronto Blue Jays uniform is swift. On a 1-1 pitch in the bottom of the 7th, pinch-hitting for Chris Woodward, Ducey pops the ball up. Rangers shortstop Royce Clayton catches it. It seems inconsequential, and it kind of is.
He’s designated for assignment by the Blue Jays, who “go down the hall” to grab Dave Martinez from the Texas Rangers.
Saturday August 5, 2000
The Blue Jays would like Mickey Morandini from the Phillies. Homer Bush is hurt; Raul Mondesi is hurt. The Jays need Morandini to play second base, they decide, and, so, the Blue Jays trade Rob Ducey for him. Ducey packs his bags and rejoins his new old Phillies team.
“Rob Ducey’s a neighbour of mine [in the Clearwater area], I like the guy,” Blue Jays manager Jim Fregosi said. “But what we got him for was not what we needed him for once we got here.”
In his return to Philadelphia, he lost his locker, and, it seems, his apartment. But, he did not lose it all.
"I'm surprised I still have my number," Ducey said to ESPN’s Jayson Stark.
All in all, it seems like most came out happy with Ducey’s eight days in a Blue Jays uniform, even the front office.
"It's value for value," said Phillies general manager Ed Wade in the same ESPN column. "Their tools are very similar. The guy we got in return is a little older. But he's got less left on his contract. So it's a good tradeoff."
June 15, 2001
On June 7, the Phillies release Ducey. On June 12, the Montreal Expos pick Ducey up, and he becomes the 15th Canadian to suit up for the Expos. (4 Canadians total would, eventually, wear both Jays and Expos uniforms in their career: Ducey, Shawn Hill, Denis Boucher, and Matt Stairs.)
Ducey joins the team for a series against Toronto, and starts his first game in left field, later shifting to play some centre. He leads off.
In the fifth inning, after Expos pitcher Javier Vazquez smacks a double off Jays pitcher Chris Carpenter, Ducey steps to the plate. He homers. A majestic shot to deep right field cuts the Blue Jays lead to 4-3. He’s the only Canadian to hit homers for both Canadian franchises.
And, one month later, the Expos release him. His big league career, which played out over the course of fourteen seasons, is over.
Sources:
Jayson Stark’s ESPN column was helpful! Baseball-Reference, too, of course for all the stats. The Toronto Star game reports and articles from the week by Allan Ryan and Geoff Baker proved immensely useful for this article. Baseball card photo from Baseball Almanac. The Ducey Expos photo is from CP and taken by RYAN REMIORZ. I found it on CooperstownersInCanada.com, again, a great website for Canadian baseball history.
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Gabe