Last Tuesday, much to my dismay, the Toronto Blue Jays optioned fan-favorite Munenori “Muni" Kawasaki to the Buffalo Bisons AAA ball club, but thankfully on Thursday, he came back.
For those who haven't had the joy of watching any of Kawasaki's antics, on or off the ball field, the Japanese baseball player was called up to the Jays roster when the recently acquired Jose Reyes suffered an ankle injury, and Muni quickly made his way into the hearts of Jays fans across the globe. Reyes returned for last Wednesday game, leaving Muni to fall to the minors, but it only lasted two Jays games as Melky Cabrera was placed on the 15 day disabled list on Thursday evening.
A few months ago, interest in the Jays peaked due to a number of high-profile offseason acquisitions like Reyes, R.A. Dickie, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle and more. However, leading into the Jays recent 11-game winning streak, interest in the team was still at a high, not because of the under-performing big names, but because of Muni, who came in to replace perhaps the biggest name on the list.
When Reyes, the only adequately performing Jay at the time, cringed after injuring his ankle sliding into second base back in April, a nation of Jays fans cringed with him, fearing that the chance of the first post season since 1993 had just disappeared. But when Kawasaki came in to replace him, he brought more life to the Jays dugout, and the stands at the Rogers Centre, than any name could.
If you haven't seen an interview with Kawasaki, do yourself a favor and look one up. He loves to dance, he seems to be having a great time learning English and chatting with fans, and it seems everyone loves his trademark bow to teammates and spectators. But it's not the dancing that makes me love Muni, it's the fact that I have never seen anyone who seems happier to be a professional sports player, and his happiness is highly contagious.
We all knew Reyes would return sooner or later, so will Cabrera, and no real Jays fan will try to tell you that Kawasaki should stay at short stop over Reyes, but did he need to be sent down, and does he need to be sent down when Cabrera returns? I say no, even if he has to stay on the bench.
Sure, Kawasaki doesn't have the greatest average on the team, and he may not be one of the best infielders in the league, but he brings something to the Jays organization that they have been lacking, a positive attitude.
Without Muni, the Jays have an attitude problem, and will likely resort back to it when the tension strikes. Jose Bautista can be a bit of a drama queen, and over the past two seasons he's become a lot more vocal with the umpires, which has yet to help his case. Brett Lawrie can act like a selfish child over smart baseball plays that don't have a positive impact on his personal statistics, and while we haven't seen it from him in a Jays uniform yet, Reyes is known to have one of the worst attitudes in baseball.
Is Muni as skilled as any of the above? No, but in my opinion, the way that he approaches the game was a major factor in resuscitating the Blue Jays chances when it seemed hope for the season was lost.
At least there is a bright silver lining in this situation in the form of Reyes, and with any luck, we'll see Muni remain on the Jays roster as October approaches.
