THE OUTLIER ALL-STAR: How the Blue Jays landed a gem in Alejandro Kirk-صحيفة الصوت

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Depending on the degree of the Southern California traffic mayhem or the backup at the border, the drive from Tijuana, Mexico north to Dodger Stadium is three hours, give or take.

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But for the family of Alejandro Kirk, the 23-year-old catching (and hitting) sensation for the Toronto Blue Jays, what a road trip it will be this week.

Of all the stories of the five Toronto stars headed to the midsummer classic, Kirk’s may be the most remarkable, given his unique physique, his sublime skill and his rapid rise to the sport’s biggest stage.

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Add to it a clan that has shared every one of his successes and it’s going to be a special couple of days at Chavez Ravine.

“His family is a big piece of who he is and being closer to home, that part in itself is going to mean so much to him,” Jays assistant hitting coach, Hunter Mense, said of Kirk. “But from a baseball standpoint and setting goals, being recognized by everyone in baseball that he is one of the best in the league, it’s reassurance.

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And it means the world to him. It really does.

“This is going to be a really great moment for Alejandro,” said Mense.

Fitting, then, that in the shadows of Hollywood and an afternoon’s drive from the hometown where he was discovered by Blue Jays special assignment scout Dean Decillis, Kirk will showcase his talents to his biggest audience yet.

Just by appearance, Kirk is the baseball everyman, a 5-foot-8, 265-pound barrel of a guy who you’d want for your beer league slo-pitch team. That is, until you realize the damage he can inflict on a big-league offering, much as he did on his two-run homer back in Toronto on Sunday to give the Jays a 4-2 win over the Royals.

Toronto Blue Jays’ designated hitter Alejandro Kirk runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run, scoring Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in eighth inning against the Royals on Sunday, July 17, 2022. JON BLACKER/THE CANADIAN PRESS

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His smile, his running style, his icy cool approach all win fans over, making him one of the more popular Blue Jays on a team bursting with them.

But of all the great things that have happened to Kirk in the 22 months since he made his big-league debut, the first chapter of his professional story may be the topper.

It’s also one that Jays vice- president of international scouting and baseball operations, Andrew Tinnish, loves to tell.

It begins with a report filed by Decillis, who was at a talent showcase in Tijuana to scout another catcher.

The phone report back to the boss was interesting, to say the least.

“It’s the best part of the whole story,” Tinnish begins. “I called Dean after that event and asked about the catcher. He’s like: ‘He’s fine, but there’s this other catcher, his name is Alex Kirk.’’

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Yes, ‘Alex’ was what Kirk was listed on the roster, further indication of how far off the radar the soon-to-be star was at that point. But Decillis had more.

“He was basically, like, this is not your prototypical build,” Tinnish said. “It’s a short, squatty guy and player development is probably going to look at this guy and wonder what the deal is there. But he said: ‘I’m telling you, this guy can hit and this guy can catch.’”

And thus began the rapid ascent of Alejandro Kirk, squat as his is, but super-talented and fuelled by a drive only those who have seen him at work know. One of the first (and best) lessons Tinnish learned in his position was to trust the voice (and eyes) of his top scouts. So he listened, then sprung into action.

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Within hours of the Decillis report, Kirk was signed for an insanely bargain price of $30,000 US, the scouting equivalent of throwing a chip on a $5 blackjack table as a lark.

“And here he is starting in the all-star game,” Tinnish said. “That’s part of the risk and part of the beauty of international scouting, that you can do that.”

The meteoric rise is probably the most compelling part of the journey as Kirk has defied the accepted norms of baseball development. And almost everyone along the way has a story that helps explain just how it would happen.

Frankly, the first time you see Kirk, you wonder what the deal is with the dude.

There were more than a few whose initial glimpse of Kirk at Jays spring training in 2020 led them to the conclusion that he might be the new clubhouse attendant.

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Even seasoned baseball folks have had similar reactions, until he gets a bat in his hand.

Mense was the hitting coach in New Hampshire in 2018 when he first heard of Kirk after talking to then organizational hitting coach, Guillermo Martinez.

“Guillermo called me and said: ‘I think I just saw the best hitter in the organization,’ Mense recalled. “And then he sent me a picture of him and I said: ‘Really? I would not have guessed that.’”

Like most who had thought it, that opinion would soon change.

“I’ll never forget him walking to the plate the first time I saw him,” Mense said. “It was at spring training and he walks so methodically and controlled into the box. And then I’ll never forget the first swing he took and how explosive it was. It was so different than anyone else at his level.

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“You combine that with some really impressive athleticism that I don’t think he gets enough credit for. When you combine that with the way he moves in the box and coupled with some really good bat to ball skills … he just takes off.”

The more the organization became familiar with Kirk, the more it recognized and was impressed by the depth of his skill. Those quick hands are matched by an incredible eye that leads to such versatility that it has perplexed big-league pitchers trying to find a way to challenge him.

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“His general ability to process the ball out of hand, pitch type, spin type, location … it’s literally one of the best in the world,” Tinnish said. “I don’t want to say it’s easy for him, but there’s no panic in the box.

“Part of that has to do with his swing and his actual physical approach. But it’s also the ability to see the ball and process what’s happening.”

It was all those things —the skills, the steely mindset and an impressive work ethic — that fuelled Kirk’s trajectory. After concluding the 2019 season at high-A Dunedin, he spent much of 2020 at the pandemic alt-site before getting his late-season promotion to the big team.

And he’s never looked back.

Kirk heads here to California with teammates Vlad Guerrero Jr., Santiago Espinal, Alek Manoah and Jordan Romano and he does so as the team’s leading hitter by average, hitting .315 with 11 homers and 37 RBIs.

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He’s certainly the most consistent at the plate for what offensively has been an uneven Jays season.
And, yes, he is looking forward to sharing the all-star moments with his family.

“Definitely my dad,” Kirk said when we asked him who will get the biggest charge out of seeing him with the brightest stars in the game. “It’s going to be the best day of his life.”

On his journey to date, Kirk has dazzled teammates, fans, coaches and the entire Jays development hierarchy. An outlier in build and background he’s an all-star in every measurable way.

“He’s quiet. He’s funny. He’s got a lovable look to him, which is the first thing everyone sees,” says new Jays manager John Schneider, a former catcher himself, who has helped refine Kirk’s skills at the big-league level.

“He has a lovable walkout song and then he goes out and hits a couple of lasers.

“Everybody wins.”