Blue Jays shortstop Ryan Goins hits an RBI double against the Pirates on Aug. 13, 2017.Kevin Sousa
A little more than a year ago, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons peered down his diminishing bench, desperately seeking a pitcher after blowing through his bullpen during a 19-inning marathon against the Cleveland Indians.
Of course, it had to be Ryan Goins.
Over the tenure of his five-year Major League Baseball career, Goins has played practically every position on the diamond.
Shortstop is his specialty, but Goins has also logged time at second base, left field, right field and first base, not to mention filling in as designated hitter from time to time.
But pitching was a new assignment, and, when Gibbons tapped him on the shoulder, Goins was happy to oblige.
Despite loading the bases, Goins was able to record a run-less frame in a game that the Blue Jays would go on to lose 2-1 in the 19th when fellow Toronto infielder Darwin Barney gave up a home run to Carlos Santana.
"Keep my zero ERA, taking it to the house," Goins said recently while talking about the experience, which came with a heavy price.
Goins developed a sore right forearm as a result of his pitching excursion, and it landed him on the disabled list, an injury that kept him off the field for a month.
Such is the life of a "super utility player," a term that Goins doesn't really embrace, but has grudgingly come to accept, as it has provided regular employment over the years.
It has, once again, kept him busy this season. Monday night at Rogers Centre, Goins played in his 99th game – 80th as a starter – as the Blue Jays opened a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
"I guess all those names are for other people," Goins said when asked about the super-utility handle. "For me, I just see myself as a baseball player. Wherever I get put in the lineup is where I want to be. Anywhere on the field is fine with me. If it happens to be the super-utility role, it is what it is.
"I just think of myself as a baseball player that just loves to go out there and play."
Deep down, Goins still considers himself an everyday player – not just one by necessity. And even at the age of 29, he hopes he will get that chance.
"I don't know if I've got much down the road left, being 29," Goins said. "But it's now or never. If I want to prove to everyone that I can be an everyday player, it's time to start now."
Goins is getting regular playing time at shortstop now that Troy Tulowitzki is through for the year after badly twisting his ankle during a game against the Los Angeles Angels on July 29, and many believe the Blue Jays are better off for it.
Tulowitzki's range at shortstop had noticeably diminished this season, perhaps as a result of the myriad injuries he's played through, and his offence had also declined – he hit .249 with 26 runs batted in over 66 games.
That isn't the production the Blue Jays were looking for in return for the $20-million (U.S.) Tulowitzki is owed this season.
Goins, always adept with the glove, is only hitting .220, but has emerged as Mr. Clutch for the Blue Jays.
He drove in two runs in Sunday's 7-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, and, heading in to Monday's play, was batting a team-best .348 average with runners in scoring position, the ninth highest average in the American League.
That is a godsend playing for an outfit that carted a .221 runners-in-scoring-position average into the Rays game.
Goins has also knocked in 44 runs this season, one shy of the career-high 45 he set in 2015.
All that for a fraction – $548,000 – of what Tulowitzki is being paid.
"He is reliable, dependable, as an infielder and fortunately this year has gotten some big hits for us," Toronto general manager Ross Atkins said. "I'm a big fan of Ryan's; I always have been since well before I was a Toronto Blue Jay.
"You can't put a price on reliable defence and you know when the ball is hit at someone it's an out. For the most part, Ryan's been that for this organization."
Goins just shrugs when you ask him about his acumen hitting with runners in scoring position, passing it off as just being fortunate. "Honestly, I find holes," he said. "I keep saying if I get to hit with the bases loaded a bit more often, I'd be an even better player."
Gibbons, who never wastes an opportunity to take a shot at baseball's sabermetrics set, said Goins's offence has been an unexpected delight that he also can't explain.
"I don't know – some guys bear down more [with runners on base], that could be it," Gibbons said. "But he has, he's driven in a lot of runs, another thing [sabermetrics] that doesn't matter in this day and age of baseball, but it matters on the field."