Ernie Clement swore he’d never skate again.
He was five or six years old and already a little sports fiend as he took the ice for the first time at a cousin’s birthday party. Everyone else on the rink made it look easy — that side of the family was big into hockey. Clement couldn’t even stand up.
“I was by far the worst one,†Clement said, sitting in the Blue Jays’ dugout fresh off batting practice. “I was miserable and I hated it. I went home crying and said I never wanted to skate again. That same winter, my dad signed me up for hockey.â€
It was far from a punishment.
Mike Wilner talks to Jays manager John Schneider the day after they swept the New York Yankees to take sole possession of first place in the AL East. Schneider talks about how it feels to be here, the resurgence of George Springer and a host of other unexpected heroes. Listen to the Star’s podcast, Deep Left Field at /podcasts/deep-left-field
Clement always had a knack for baseball, but he grew up playing every sport imaginable. That was in part because the weather in Rochester, N.Y., didn’t lend itself well to year-round baseball, but it was also because his parents were quick to identify something in their naturally gifted child: Ernie needed to be challenged. He needed a good struggle.
Sometimes, that came from doing homework. Other times, it was playing a musical instrument. For a short while, hockey fit the bill.
The first practice went about as well as the birthday party, prompting Clement once again to say he wanted to quit. His father, Peter, had a different proposal.
“He’s like, ‘You have to make it the next four weeks. After four weeks, if you still don’t want to do it, you never have to play again, but you have to make it through four weeks,’†Ernie said. “I improved, and I ended up just loving it. And it ended up being my second-favourite sport.â€
Ernie Clement played hockey growing up and enjoys playing mini-sticks with his Jays teammates.
Cole Burston Getty ImagesOver 20 years later, Clement’s love for baseball remains undefeated. But all of those other experiences, and the challenges that came with them, are still showing their worth today.
“He seems to kind of just evolve,†said George Springer, who’s played with Clement since 2023. “He seems to be kind of a chameleon. He can just do anything that you want him to do, or anything he wants to do.â€
That makes things interesting in a major-league clubhouse, a space where anything can turn into a competition. There’s card games, ping pong, video games, mini-stick hockey and endless made-up sweepstakes. Clement is right in the middle of it all.
Ernie went 9 for 11 after rippin’ some ched ðŸ’
On an off-day, you might find Clement on the golf course — something he didn’t pick up until a couple of years ago — or maybe playing basketball with his buddies. Sign him up for anything that involves athleticism and competitiveness.
Blue Jays foursome Justin Turner, left, Chris Bassitt, Davis Schneider and Ernie Clement play golf at Torrey Pines last season.
@redturn2 / Instagram“When we talk about the best athletes in the clubhouse, he’s probably the first guy that everyone mentions,†said Davis Schneider, one of Clement’s closest friends in the Blue Jays’ clubhouse. “ … Any time that we play golf is annoying because he’s just so good. I can never beat him. He’s always clutch. Pick-up basketball, too. He has a good jumper. He’s very agile. You see him on the field, he can run, he can move left or right really well. He’s just annoying. Like, he’s always that guy. He’s good at everything.â€
It’s part of what’s made Clement so valuable for the Blue Jays.
The 29-year-old Clement is listed as a third baseman, but he’s turned himself into the ultimate utility infielder. When Andrés Giménez landed on the injured list with a quad strain, Clement turned into ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½â€™s everyday second baseman. When Bo Bichette had to sit a whole series due to knee discomfort, Clement took over at shortstop. And when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. needed a couple of DH days after being hit in the arm by a pitch, guess who got those first-base reps.
Over 84 games, Clement has put himself firmly in the conversation for a utility Gold Glove, posting 12 outs above average — the fourth-best mark in the big leagues — and nine runs prevented, per Baseball Savant. You’ll hear that his athleticism makes up for a lack of experience at certain positions, but those numbers also point to preparation, and a willingness to make every play beyond diving catches and spin throws.
Ernie Clement’s speed and contact skills are fitting nicely into the Blue Jays’ offensive identity.
Steve Russell ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ StarThat reliable versatility is part of what’s kept Clement in the mix as an everyday player. The bat is taking care of the rest — he has a .342 on-base percentage heading into Friday’s game against the Angels — and his speed and contact skills are fitting nicely into the Blue Jays’ offensive identity.
Of course, Clement is far from this team’s most important contributor — even if his 2.4 wins-above replacement is a team-best mark this season, per Baseball Reference — and that’s a good thing. It’s been key to his development since his clumsy foray into hockey.
“I always did better when I wasn’t the best guy on the team,†said Clement. “Even now, that’s exactly how I feel. And I can thank my old man for that, for pushing me to be challenged.â€
He needed that resilience to get his career back on track.
Clement’s arrival in the Blue Jays’ organization didn’t exactly grab the headlines. Designated for assignment twice in short order, first by the Guardians and later by the Athletics, Clement signed a minor-league deal with ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ and spent most of the 2023 season at Triple-A Buffalo. He took that as a chance to put everything he had into baseball again.
“I got such a good opportunity in Cleveland, and I didn’t take advantage of it,†said Clement. “[My time in] Oakland was really short, but there’s obviously some more I could have done there. … As soon as ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ signed me, I was just so focused and kind of on a mission to get back to playing baseball and not taking it for granted. I’m really enjoying being out here. I’ve kept that approach the last couple years, and it’s really worked.â€
“I’m really enjoying being out here,” Ernie Clement said of his time with the Blue Jays.
Richard Lautens ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ StarWhen Clement came close to being the best player on the Bisons, the Blue Jays gave him a promotion. He’s been raising his own ceiling ever since.
It’s not that he hasn’t struggled — that much is clear with one look at his April stats. But he’s staying with it, learning from it.
Take it from a former teammate who once competed with Clement for an everyday infield spot in Cleveland.
“Seeing him here, established, maybe even with the numbers to make the all-star game, I’m honestly so happy with how much he’s grown,†Giménez said in Spanish. “He’s made a lot of changes. He seems much more mature and focused.â€
Teammates Andrés Giménez, left, and George Springer, right, are impressed with Ernie Clement’s evolution as a baseball player.
Richard Lautens ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ StarAnd yet Clement is still that same sports-crazed kid, eager to prove himself on the field and on the rink, at the cards table or at rock-paper-scissors. Anything to set off that competitive flow.
Well, almost anything.
“I’m a really bad swimmer,†Clement said with a laugh.
Maybe in another life Clement could’ve pursued a different career. Hockey and lacrosse are two sports that come to mind. But there’s something about putting bat to ball, making a play, and building lifetime bonds. Nothing ever came close to baseball.
“I love it,†said Clement. “We just hang out. We’re all just buddies at the end of the day. It’s way easier going to work for someone you care about, someone you know on a personal level, than if it was just a random guy that you don’t really have a relationship with. Everybody on this team is really close, and I think right now we’re really playing for each other and playing for all the guys out there.â€
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