Reminders can be great catalysts.
As Bo Bichette and the Blue Jays prepare for a showdown against the MLB-best Brewers this weekend, such is the case for Toronto's star shortstop.
Bichette can pinpoint exactly when it all clicked -- the pivotal moment when he was reminded of something that enabled him to regain what made him the American League leader in hits from 2021-23.
The moment he was “back” after a 2024 season marred by injuries and the lowest offensive output of his career.
“I had an at-bat that reminded me that it’s not only about your approach,” Bichette said. “It’s about never giving in. When I figured that out, it just got me back to competing and just playing the game.
“I think I remembered my identity.”
The plate appearance was against reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal in Detroit on July 26. In the sixth inning, Bichette fell behind in the count against the flamethrowing left-hander, 0-2, after fouling off the first three pitches he saw.
It turned into an epic 13-pitch battle. In all, Bichette fouled nine pitches. He saw five fastballs (including two that exceeded 100 mph), five changeups, a slider and a knuckle curve before taking a ball up and in to draw a walk.
That’s when Bo knew.
“I would say that it might’ve taken like three months during the season to kind of figure out,” Bichette said. “I had little spurts, but I wouldn’t say I really knew exactly why it was happening. Eventually, when it all came back was when I locked in my two-strike approach.”
Following that game in Detroit, Bichette went 9 for his next 10, and over the month or so since that game, he’s batting .400 with a 1.000 OPS. And that two-strike approach he mentioned? On July 26, he was already hitting a respectable .211 with two strikes (the MLB average with two strikes this season is .170). But since then, he's batting an incredible .404 in that scenario.
Bichette had been heating up even before facing Skubal and shifting to an even higher gear -- in fact, his resurgence has coincided with Toronto’s surge to the top of the AL East standings.
The last time the Jays were below .500 was on May 28, when they were 27-28. On that day, Bichette had a slash line of .273/.321/.407. Since then, his slash line is .331/.371/.516, and Toronto has gone 51-28 to build a comfortable lead atop the division.
Like Bichette, it seems the Blue Jays have rediscovered who they are after following back-to-back postseason appearances with a last-place finish in the AL East in 2024.
“I think last year we hit rock bottom, really,” Bichette said. “It’s kind of like with my career -- I looked at myself in the mirror, and it was kind of ‘do or die.’ It was the same with the team: We had to decide what we wanted to be.”
Bichette, who posted a .598 OPS last year following a pair of All-Star selections over his first three full seasons, noted that much like individual players, teams have growth pains even when infused with young talent like Bichette and slugging first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
When Guerrero made his MLB debut in 2019, with Bichette knocking on the door to the big leagues, there was a palpable sense of excitement about what Toronto could accomplish in the years ahead.
But since then, the club has only finished higher than third place in the division once. And while the Jays did make the playoffs as a Wild Card team in 2020, ’22 and ’23, they haven’t won a postseason game since 2016.
“We thought [in those first couple of seasons] that we were the best team and that we were just going to win,” he said. “But we weren’t like a couple young players who came to a veteran team that was winning.
“I think [Guerrero and I] probably succeeded a little bit quicker than people anticipated, which made the expectations a little bit more quick. I think that’s normal for great players, but it’s also normal for us to experience the ups and downs and to be humbled and to learn how to lose -- and learn how to win.”
With Bichette, Guerrero and veteran outfielder/DH George Springer -- who himself is enjoying a tremendous renaissance this year -- leading the way, one thing that hasn’t been an obstacle for Toronto is Bichette’s impending free agency.
When the Jays inked Guerrero to a 14-year, $500 million contract extension this past spring, the spotlight shifted to Bichette. While there hasn’t been any reported movement toward a contract extension, that hasn’t distracted the club on the field.
“I think the biggest reason we’re playing well right now is because we’re in the day to day -- we’re in the moment,” Bichette said. “We’re coming here to win every day, and then turning the page to tomorrow whether we won or lost. So I don’t see any [distraction in the clubhouse].”
As for his personal feelings on the matter, Bichette says that he loves playing in Toronto and that he’s “reached a good point” in his relationship with the organization. So he’s comfortable leaving his future in the future.
“At the end of the day, I’ve been with this organization for my whole career,” he said. "I’ve been through ups and downs. I’ve kind of been through it all. … It would be tough to leave, but all that stuff is in the future, and whatever happens, happens.”
For now, reminders are enough. For Bichette himself, and for those who might have wondered if he and the Blue Jays would rebound from a difficult 2024 campaign.
“My two things coming into this year were to remind everybody I’m a winner and remind everybody I’m a great player,” he said. “I’ve never been motivated by the big contract I’m gonna get or anything like that. I’ve been motivated by winning and being a great player.
“When I think about it that way, it’s been pretty easy to stay in the moment.”