Toronto Blue Jays: Top 10 moments from the 2020 season

3. Hernandez’s breakout at the plate

The Blue Jays squeaked into the playoffs as it is, but who knows where they’d be without the emergence of Teoscar Hernandez. Yes, his defence remains suspect, and yes, the lack of sunflower seeds in big league dugouts these days does take away from the home run celebrations, but Hernandez is still having fun. He finished the season on pace to smash his career highs in home runs and RBI.

With his breakout year coming so late in his development stage (Hernandez is 27), comparisons have already been drawn to another late bloomer.

Jose Bautista was a well below average MLB player before exploding with the Blue Jays in his age-29 season in 2010.

Coming into the 2010 season, Bautista’s career-high in home runs was 16. In 113 games with the Jays in 2009, he managed only 13 dingers. He hit 54 in 2010, and 45 in 2011, garnering MVP votes and Silver Slugger nods.

Bautista attributes his sudden success to a change in approach at the plate. He decided to focus on hitting the ball to his pull side, and because of this decision, his name will be on the Level of Excellence one day.

Hernandez too changed up his approach this season. Under the tutelage of clubhouse sounding board Dante Bichette and hitting coach Guillermo Martínez, Hernandez has let the ball travel much more this season, allowing him that extra half-second to determine if the pitch warrants a swing.

And many of them have. Hernandez has clobbered 16 home runs this season. But, what might be even more impressive is his batting average. I know, I know, analytics say that it’s archaic, but Hernandez never profiled as a near .300 hitter. Now that he’s being more particular, making contact, and not trying to hit everything to the moon, Hernandez has tapped into that potential that Blue Jays Nation has been waiting for.