UVA Baseball alum Ernie Clement was in the news on Thursday, for connecting with an eye-high fastball from Los Angeles Angels righty Mike Baumann for a two-run homer in Toronto’s 5-3 win.
“I probably shouldn’t be swinging at pitches like that one,” Clement said. “I’ve struck out on that pitch a couple of times this year. I just try to get the barrel to the ball with two strikes.”
Per Statcast, the pitch from Baumann was 4.6 feet off the ground. It was the second-highest pitch hit for a homer in the Statcast era, which dates to 2015.
Clement, who slashed .306/.345/.377 with four homers and 86 RBIs in three seasons at Virginia, from 2015-2017, is having a breakthrough season in 2024 with the Blue Jays.
The 2017 fourth-round pick of the Cleveland Indians is slashing .272/.295/.437, with 10 homers, 42 RBIs and 3.0 WAR, which ranks fourth on the Blue Jays team in 2024 – at a bargain-basement salary ($757,700).
He’s done this while emerging as Toronto’s everyday guy at third base.
The homer in Thursday’s win gave Clement homers in three straight games, a first for him in his four-year MLB career, and he’s slashing .292/.329/.514 in August, with four homers and 14 RBIs this month.
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Chris Graham
