The Strange Paradigm of Watching Troy Tulowitzki in Toronto

Once I found out I was heading to Toronto for a business trip, the first thing I did was check the Toronto Blue Jays schedule. My hope was to see an old friend in his new environment … and to see exactly how Troy Tulowitzki was fitting in north of the border.

As you probably well know, after years of patrolling the infield for the Colorado Rockies, Tulo had been sent to Toronto in a trade that seemed to, at the time at least, shake the baseball world. Tulo went from teaming with Nolan Arenado on the left side of the Rockies infield to fighting to win the American League East pennant. One of the franchise’s icons had moved on and Tulo suddenly wasn’t “our shortstop” any more.

Suddenly, thanks to the trade, Jose Reyes was “our shortstop” and he made it very clear early on that he wasn’t real happy about that. He didn’t like coming to Colorado in the trade … and what fans still were finding positives about having Reyes on the team quickly went into hiding when Reyes was accused of a domestic disturbance in the offseason. The spectre of Reyes still lingers over the franchise as MLB commissioner Rob Manfred (hopefully) draws near to releasing his findings on the case.

But this isn’t a story about Reyes … or even Trevor Story, who has been claimed by Rockies fans as “our shortstop,” especially after a record-setting month in April by the rookie. He not only captured the national spotlight with his home run binge but made many Rockies supporters believe the future of the position was safe in his care.

This is about Tulo … and about walking into the stadium that Tulo now calls home on a chilly Wednesday night in Toronto. Honestly, it was a little strange.

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I’ve talked to Tulo many times in the Rockies locker room and please understand that I wish him nothing but the best in Toronto. But seeing him introduced at the Rogers Centre that night, I had this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was almost like seeing your ex-girlfriend with another guy and you still have some feelings for her. It’s not like you all hate each other. It’s just you all grew apart and decided it would be better to go your separate ways. You immediately start measuring up “the other guy” and thinking about how you’re better. Absolutely, looking back, Tulo didn’t demand a trade and seemed surprised that it was happening. Still, here he was on another team … not our team. He was playing on turf (the audacity!) indoors (the roof was closed that night) with a bunch of people leaning out of hotel rooms in center field (at least that’s all they were doing that night as opposed to some past incidents that have been witnessed).

Don’t get me wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Toronto. It’s a great city and the Rogers Centre is right in the middle of it … but these were the thoughts I was suddenly having as I watched the game. It was odd to say the least.

Tulo ended up going 0-for-3 with a walk on the night and the Blue Jays were beaten by the Chicago White Sox, 4-0. Each time Tulo came to the plate there was no semblance of the “Tu-LO” claps and chant from the crowd. It was more of a murmur, more of a “we’ll check back with you in September” moment. I sat there taking it all in with mixed feelings each time Tulo didn’t reach base.

It’s been part of a rough season for Tulo, who’s hitting just .160 with 33 strikeouts heading into Thursday night’s action. Folks in Toronto seem less-than-pleased with his start to the season.

I walked out of the Rogers Centre that night with a couple of thoughts.

First, would Rockies fans feel differently now about Tulo being in Toronto if Story hadn’t exploded onto the scene this spring? It’s easy for Rockies fans to sit back now and mockingly say, “Troy Who?” and add a 7 after the 2 of our jerseys and use a little (OK, maybe more than that) masking tape to cover up Tulowitzki and mark in Story. It’s also easy for us to like how things turned out with Jeff Hoffman terrorizing Triple-A and Miguel Castro already in a Rockies uniform and making an impact. It certainly makes it seem that Colorado won the trade, right?

Second, what will it be like when Troy Tulowitzki comes back to Coors Field this summer when the Blue Jays pay a visit (June 27-29)? It will be a media circus and I have no doubt that Tulo will receive a big ovation. My guess, however, is that Story receives a bigger one. I will also guess that each time Tulo doesn’t get a hit, many will look at each other and talk about how he never came through in the clutch situations in Denver.

Also, let’s not forget that Story and Tulo worked together in offseason conditioning long before the trade. Simple fact is that the two players are always going to be linked to each other and there will be comparisons, both good and bad.

Jerry Seinfeld once said that we don’t really root for people when it comes to sports, we only root for clothes. Different shirt? Booooo! When you’re not wearing our jersey any more, it’s amazing the flaws that we remember that were somehow overlooked when we were cheering you on.

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For those couple of days, Tulo will be back at shortstop on the Coors Field soil. We’ll reminisce. We’ll compare him to Story, both in good and bad ways. We’ll watch him make plays and reflect back on his time with the Rockies. But in the end, he’s moved on and in another relationship. Maybe we’ll still wish him well. Just not for those three days when we have to see him in LoDo.

He’s not “our shortstop” any more … and that’s OK.

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