Vibe Check: Blue Jays answer (not so) pressing questions ahead of Game 3

LOS ANGELES — Don Mattingly and Myles Straw were playing in centre field at Dodger Stadium with a group of kids as Mattingly served up pitches and Straw and the kids — including John Schneider’s two sons — chased after balls while the Toronto Blue Jays manager looked on. 

When they were done playing, Schneider ran out to centre field and they all got together for a group photo. 

It was a relaxed practice for the Blue Jays on Sunday following Toronto’s early-morning arrival in L.A., fresh off Saturday night’s Game 2 loss that evened the World Series at a game apiece as it shifts to Dodger Stadium for the next three.  

And it was during that calm ahead of Monday night’s Game 3 (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT) that Sportsnet asked a handful of Blue Jays players and staff some pressing questions that could determine the fate of the Fall Classic. Or perhaps they’ll just serve as a West Coast vibe check. Either way, questions were asked and answered, as you’ll see below. 

SPORTSNET: What’s the most intense thing you’ve ever seen Max Scherzer do? [He’s starting Game 3].

Brendon Little: His bullpen antics. The first time I ever saw him do it was spring training and he’s treating it like it was Game 3 of the World Series. He’s just shootin’ his guns [with his hands], doing everything in between the pitches when he hits his spots. And then when he goes over his scouting reports, it’s just hilarious. He has a binder with all the reports, and he’s just crazy. 

Straw: Oh yeah, it’s something you’ve never seen. It’s a great scouting report. 

Little: But the bullpen antics are the best. If he wants a low and away fastball and he hits his spot perfectly, he shoots it. And he has like seven bullpen coaches during his sessions. 

Tyler Heineman, catcher: Game 4 [of the ALCS], when he came off the mound against Seattle and screamed “yeah!” at Schneids heading to the dugout is probably the craziest thing I’ve seen. 

Pete Walker, pitching coach:  I think it’s screaming at the top of his lungs underneath the tunnel about something, nothing in particular. Something’s not right, could be a mechanical thing, could be a particular pitch, and he has to fix it immediately. So he’ll just scream at the top of his lungs. 

Straw: He’s crazy every day. I love it. We all love him. He’s like the team dad. He’s always intense. He lives intense. It’s fun, though — we need someone like that. 

Mark Budzinski, first base coach: Oh man, we don’t have time for all that. He’s intense in everything he does, honestly. He’s constantly thinking about the next thing, so when we clinched the ALCS, he went to Schneids, I think right after the game, he’s like: ‘All right, what are you thinking, when am I pitching? I’ve got to start planning out my bullpens, my workouts, all that.’ His brain is always going. 

Andres Gimenez: I think his last game in Seattle, that’s a perfect example of what Max can bring to the table. He’s extremely competitive and obviously he wants to pitch in Game 3. So I’m really excited for him [Monday].

SPORTNET: What’s your favourite thing about Vladdy, unrelated to baseball?

Little: He’s a natural leader. Super encouraging.

Straw: He’s always happy and it’s just always a good vibe to be around Vladdy. He’s always positive. I’ve never seen him be negative once. 

Heineman: Probably his style. It’s very eclectic, and also very bold. Before Game 1, he came into the stadium with that red leather jacket thing. I could never pull that off, but it looks good on him. 

Budzinski: I would say his heart. He cares so much about everybody. I’ll give you an example: When we lost our daughter in 2022, the next year he had a local artist in the Dominican, I believe, paint a picture that he found online of my family. And this is not just a little picture. It’s probably four or five feet tall, four feet wide — it’s enormous. So it’s literally a painting of my family. It just happened to be a picture of my birthday — I think it was my 47th. That was really sweet and he had that delivered to the house, so very cool…. We all cried. It was just so touching, and it’s just the kind of human being he is, how much he thinks about others. He’s got people that travel with him, family, friends that he takes a lot of good care of. He’s a good human being.

Walker: His exuberance for life. Just watching him bounce around at times. He always seems like he’s got a smile on his face and is welcoming to people. He’s not your typical superstar that’s kind of standoffish. He’s very welcoming and extremely friendly.

SPORTSNET: What’s your go-to meal to crush before a World Series game? 

Little: At home, it’s this French onion steak grilled cheese, they call it. And they use milk bread for it, so it’s sweet. It’s so good. 

Heineman: I can’t really eat too much pre-game now, just because of jitters and nerves. So it’s just gonna be an Uncrustable — like a pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And a protein smoothie. 

Straw: It’s not my favourite, but I’ve been eating scrambled eggs. I eat like six scrambled eggs when I get to the field, at least at home. I don’t have that luxury here but our chefs are amazing back in Toronto and they’ve been hooking me up for at least ¾ of the year. We’ve got the best chefs in the league. 

Walker: A little General Tso’s chicken with pork fried rice. I crush that. It’s a lot of calories.

Which teammate best suits Hollywood life? 

Straw: If we’re talking fashion, Vladdy’s always got something good. He’s always coming in with a nice outfit — something I’ve never seen before. I feel like every day he comes in, it’s always my new favourite outfit. The big baggy pants with the jackets and stuff. Super flash and designer-ish. So as far as dress-wise, he’s doing it well. Let’s see, who else? Maybe Bo. Bo comes in with some drip every once in a while. 

Heineman: Bo. I just think he’s built for the spotlight and he can deal with all the cameras and everything around him, and Hollywood is the centre of the movie and television industry. 

Sportsnet: Do you think Bo could be an actor? 

Heineman: Maybe not with his acting skills, but yeah, I mean, he’s good looking [laughs] so he’s got a chance. He could learn something. 

Walker: Let’s say Bo Bichette. Just because I think he fits the mould. He’s just Hollywood, to me. He’s probably the one that’s closest.

Little: Bowden Francis. He just gives off the California vibes, loves to surf. He’s Mr. California. 

SPORTSNET: Who would be the most out of place on Rodeo Drive? 

Heineman: Probably Chris Bassitt. He’s a country guy — he likes fishing and hunting. 

Walker: That’s none of my pitchers, I know that.

Budzinski: Probably Addison Barger. He’s just not going to be comfortable in the limelight, the spotlight and all the bling and that. He’s pretty much, you know, come do your job, not have the spotlight on you, go work, work it out, but he’s not a Rodeo Drive guy, I don’t think. 

Little: Hmm, who’s outdoorsy? I couldn’t see Louis Varland there. Him or Mason [Fluharty]. I think Mason would just kind of wander around, almost like a lost puppy there, and then Louis is more outdoorsy, so it just wouldn’t be for him.

Straw: I’m gonna go Louis Varland. He doesn’t belong. Does not belong. He just doesn’t. A lot to say about that, but he just doesn’t. Him or Davis [Schneider]. He just doesn’t belong either. I don’t think he’s made for it.   

SPORTSNET: What celebrity do you most want to see at a game here? 

Little: If Mark Walhberg was here, that would be pretty cool. I love all his movies. He’s in the Teds. [Ted and Ted 2].

Straw: I’m just looking forward to seeing Louis Varland take the mound. 

Varland, who overhears that answer while he’s walking by: He’s lying right to your face. 

Straw: [laughs]Truly, I don’t care about that kind of stuff, to be honest. I don’t get super excited. I thought it was cool that we had Drake in Toronto. It’s cool, but I just like seeing our boys win, that’s it. 

Heineman: Adam Sandler, maybe? He lives in this area. Denzel Washington, maybe he comes out. I know he loves the New York Yankees, but I went to high school with his son. He’s one of my favourite actors, so that would be pretty cool. He probably would be at a game, I bet.  

Budzinski: It’s funny, as we were walking in today, we were just talking about the people who were in Toronto and who’s going to be here. There’s always an A-list here, being just outside of Hollywood. Magic Johnson. I know he’s one of the owners of the team, but growing up, I used to watch him and Larry Bird battle each other in the NBA, so that’s always good. 

Walker: Magic Johnson. I grew up with Larry Bird versus Magic. I’m a big Bird fan and unfortunately he’s not Hollywood. So it’s got to be Magic.

Budzinski: I’m a big music guy, so I think anybody music-wise that’s around. I’ve never met Geddy Lee from Rush. I’d love for him to come in the clubhouse and say hello. I’ve always loved that band and what they’ve done across the world, but obviously being from Canada.

SPORTSNET: This is a team full of glue guys, but who’s the glue-iest guy on the roster? 

Little: For me, it’s a toss-up between Ernie [Clement] and Myles Straw. Myles really bridges position players and pitchers very well. He’s just always joking around. And Ernie’s hilarious. He’s super funny, he talks to everyone. It’s kind of a coin flip for me. 

Walker: Ernie Clement, just because in a lot of ways he’s kept this team together with the way he plays, the way he’s willing to do everything, play different positions, comes up with big hits, keeps the line moving, just always bouncing around. Springer would obviously be another one, but I think Ernie, the unsung guy.

Heineman: Myles Straw. He does a really good job of mixing baseball with outside activity and/or team camaraderie. He tries to make everybody come together, like hang out off the field, and if you don’t hang out off the field, he gives you a little bit of crap for it, which can be annoying at times, but I ultimately think it brings together the team. He’s done a really good job. 

Ernie too, right. This year in one of our pre-game meetings, I want to say in late April maybe, he was like, ‘Hey, I just want to let everyone know that win, lose, doesn’t matter, get blown out, blow out a team, I’m just gonna be at my locker at the end of the game drinking a beer and we can talk, hang out, just for 15-20 minutes, decompress after the game.’ A lot of people started doing that. 

Budzinski: Myles Straw is into everything with everybody, gets along with everybody. Talks smack to everybody, keeps it fun, but obviously he’s a winner. He came from the Astros organization, it’s a winning organization. That’s one for me, that he keeps everybody loose on their toes, and also ready, and he wants to win, obviously. 

Straw, after he was told many people named him: Bassitt, by far. Not me at all. It’s Bassitt. He’s just always floating around, talking to everybody, giving everyone a hard time. I’ll talk to Bassitt forever; he’s one of the best personalities that I’ve ever come across in the game of baseball or just in general. He’s always having a good time, just making people laugh. I would love to go on a road trip with Bassitt and spend like a week with him, and you know you’re probably going to come back with no voice from laughing so much. Yeah, he’s the man. 

With files from Shi Davidi, David Singh and Ben Nicholson-Smith.