By: Brian Frank
Los Angeles Angels outfielder Kevin Pillar played 152 career games for the Bisons. He was promoted to Buffalo from Double-A New Hampshire in June 2013, and went on to slash .299/.341/.493 in 52 games for the Herd that season. Hoping to be a September callup to the big leagues, the then 24-year-old outfielder was awakened by an early morning, mid-August phone call from Bisons manager Marty Brown.
“I got to the big leagues maybe a little sooner than I had expected,” Pillar said in a recent interview with The Herd Chronicles at Rogers Centre in Toronto. “I think at that point, going from Double-A to Triple-A, that realistically I knew I was a phone call away. At the time, you could still call up 40 guys (in September). I thought maybe I'd get an opportunity in September. Then, through an injury, on August 14, I got a call to come up. Marty called me at 6:00 am, and said ‘You’re going to the big leagues,’ – short and sweet.”
“All my family is on the West Coast,” he continued. “I called them, which would have been 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. on the West Coast. I woke my parents up. Woke my brother up. Unfortunately, they weren't able to get out here in time. That was just unrealistic, to come from L.A. all the way out here to make it. It was probably the most memorable day of my life.”
Pillar struggled in his first stint with the Blue Jays, hitting just .206 in 36 games.
“Just getting a taste of the big leagues and not having a ton of success, and really it was the first time I had really failed at baseball at any level. It just gave me a good perspective on what the big leagues were like and what I needed to work on. I felt like it could have been a moment that could have made or broke me. Instead, I went home in the offseason and worked. I went to winter ball. I went home and worked on the things that I needed to work on.”
2014 Bisons team MVP Kevin Pillar. Photo courtesy of the Buffalo Bisons Baseball Club
He returned to Buffalo in 2014 and had a tremendous season playing for new Bisons manager Gary Allenson, who Pillar calls “one of my favorite managers I played for.” He slashed .324/.359/.509 with 10 home run, 59 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases, and was selected as the team’s MVP at season’s end.
“I wasn't gifted an opportunity to get back to the big leagues out of camp,” Pillar remembered. “I had to go earn it again and go back to Buffalo. I just kept my head down and did what I thought I could do at the Triple-A level – hit and compete and dominate, and earn a call up. I had to do that a handful of times throughout that year, until the following year, when I was able to make the team out of camp. All those up and downs in ‘14 prepared me for when the opportunity presented itself to be able to run with the job.”
Everything changed for Pillar the next season, when he was Toronto’s starting center fielder on a memorable Blue Jays team that advanced to two consecutive American League Championship Series.
“Good memories, good times,” he said as he stood on the turf at Rogers Centre soaking in the memories. “This is where it all started. I mean nothing but positive, pure joy, a sense of accomplishment. At the time, it felt a little bit like failure, because we didn't win a World Series, but you look up and you see the banners, and you feel like you accomplished something real and tangible and exciting. It wasn't our ultimate goal, but I think a lot of us took a lot of pride in knowing baseball wasn't exactly super popular at the time when we were playing here. It had died a little bit from the early 1990s. You know, baseball wasn't king here anymore, and I felt like we were a big part of reviving baseball in Canada and Toronto, and getting people excited about the Toronto Blue Jays and what they can be. You think about stadium renovations – without some of the success we had, do people even care? Do they spend money on this place to update it? But I love being here. It's a great city. The stadium looks great and it will always be home. It will always be home.”
Known for making acrobatic, highlight-reel catches in the outfield, Pillar had a tough time picking his best ever defensive play.
“It's hard for me to really pinpoint,” he said. “Robbing the homer on Jackie Robinson Day (in 2015) changed my career. There's no secret about that. I think it really put me on the map and showed I could be an elite defender. I think about some plays I made in the playoffs that if you don't make alters the game. Obviously, a ton of plays in the regular season that are great plays, whether or not they impact the game. You know, at some point when it's all said and done, I'll be able to sit down, kind of go through some stuff, maybe put together, like a ranking of difficulty, importance, memorable, whatever those criteria might be.”
“But I will tell you,” he added. “I look forward to coming back here and trying to make a new memory. So, if the opportunity presents itself today, I'll be ready to go out there and try to make a play.”
Pillar robs Tim Beckham on Jackie Robinson Day in 2015.
Pillar recently reached 10 years of major-league service time. He recognizes what a major achievement that is. Not only does it qualify him for a major-league pension, but the accomplishment also represents so much more.
“It's just a testament to hard work, believing in myself,” he said. “Surviving this game for 10 years. Outlasting, outwilling at times. It wasn't always easy. It still isn't easy. There were times where I was very successful and really good, and there were times where I wasn't. But to be able to be valued and employed for 10 years, and to bring value to an organization, a team. They don't hand these jobs out. The game’s getting younger and younger. So to be older and older, to continue to have one of the 750 or so jobs in the entire world and to hold one of those for 10 years is not easy to do. Especially never being an All-Star, never winning a Golden Glove, not having any sort of statistical accomplishments like that just shows that I bring value and people care about more than what goes on out there, you know, (they care about) what I bring in here (pointing at the clubhouse), and I'm proud of that.”
At the beginning of July, Pillar told Bob Nightengale of USA Today that he would likely retire at the end of this season. However, with the strong year he’s having on the field and the enjoyment he’s getting from playing the game – he’s now considering returning next season.
“I'm still on the fence,” he explained. “I mean, I think my stance has changed a little bit. I'm definitely at a point in my career where I can enjoy it a little bit more. I'm not so stressed about trying to get 10 years, or trying to provide for my family, or accomplishing X, Y and Z. I've gotten past that point. I can kind of play for the love of the game and the enjoyment and for helping these guys get better. But there's still a lot of things I want to accomplish. I'm 35. I'll be 36 – not that that says I can't play this anymore, but I'm still young enough where I have interest in other things besides baseball.”
“More importantly,” he continued, “I have two young kids that most likely want their dad at home every day. So, it's going to be a conversation with my wife and with my kids. And if things align, and a job presents itself, and my kids are all for it, then I'm in. But everyone's been riding backseat for my career. My wife and I will be married 10 years this year. I've known my wife for 13. She's taken a backseat to her dreams and wants and wishes, and what she wants to do in life and what she may want to accomplish in life. And obviously my kids for the last six and four years have taken a massive backseat to dad's career. It might be time for me to take that back seat and let them hop in the front seat and kind of steer the ship for a little bit. But if my kids are still willing to watch dad play and they're okay delaying certain things in life – friends and stability and outside activities, then we'll have that conversation.”
Pillar is still beloved by fans in Buffalo, Toronto, and other cities he’s called home. Whatever decision he makes at the end of the season, he’s already had a remarkable big-league career.
Pillar and Andy LaRoche after another Bisons win in 2013. Photo Courtesy of the Buffalo Bisons Baseball Club
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