Tony Fernandez, thy name is defence

From a late September tilt versus the soon to be crowned 1986 AL East winners, the magnificent one put his signature play on display.

That's it, right?

If you were a fan of the blue bird in that era, that long side-armed flip is the memory that takes you back to when you were a fan of grown men in stirrups whose exploits were ever so exciting.

Artistic.

Graceful.

The epitome of everything that tugged on your young fan's interest when pennant races didn't always result in the hometeam striking the winning blows.

Tony Fernandez racing into the hole between his birth-right position and that of whichever third baseman was manning the hot corner is the definition of summer's play in my mind. So beautiful. So majestic. So perfectly aligned between seeming impossibility and the roar of amazement from the crowds that gathered, whether they be of Lake Shore origin or of that Fenway persuasion. The pencil-thin man from San Pedro de Macoris was seemingly sent to us from the gods of baseball.

He was meant to dazzel in and around the 6-position. He was sent north of the border to give Toronto-the-staid-and-reserved reason to rise up out of our seats when that little seamed sphere dared challenge his glove, arm, and reputation built on infield turf and dirt. The left-side of the diamond has rarely been so stylistically partrolled and defended; with apologies to St. Louis' Ozzy. All of 'that' is why I can't help but smile when running into the virtual forever-definition of Tony Fernandez' time in baseball. Though his time on this planet is passed, we, those of us who remember, those of us who were young enough to mimic and practice that exact play when he was just a young man himself, can't forget what Tony meant to our childhood and baseball in Toronto.

Aw jez....

He was such a wonderful player to follow along to.

Such a grand performer in powder blue.

#TonyFernandez #BlueJays #Toronto #MLB #legend #80sbaseball

[CanadianMike]

Tony Fernandez loved to field ground balls! One of the favorite sons of San Pedro de Macoris, the famous cradle of SS. Smooth, like Jimmy Key’s pickoff move.