Home opener an event Blue Jays rookie Alan Roden will never forget

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As time goes by, the box landscape with the humiliating details of Alan Roden’s career debut will disappear, and so will the final result of the Blue Jays’ haunting season opener.

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But memories will always exist.

A young draft pick that soon became the story of the team’s spring training – a prospect that he came to Dunningtin with huge expectations and then blew an impressive buzz – brought back Toronto’s major league debut.

Managers John Schneider and Jay Schneider and Jays Management not only rewarded Roden, but his roster came out of Florida, but also started the left field in the season’s opener.

Schneider said before Game 2 of the season against the Orioles: “When I told him he made up the team, I went back to (Dunedin) and was like, ‘Let’s (bragging) go.’ “And I told him I was playing in the opener, that was ‘Okay, that’s great. ‘He handled it.

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“Thinking it was a game, I wish he had some bigger positions here, but so far he’s been impressive. He’s been consistent and I think he handled the whole thing very well.”

He did it. The walk was 2-2 in the middle of Jays’ sixth inning loss to O’s starter Zach Eflin. The debut comes with a few small statistics footnotes – Roden became the 14th player in franchise history, recording a hit song and a walk in his MLB debut. It is also worth noting that he is Jay who first started his career on the first opening day of the Devon Travis opening ten years ago.

Roden was excited about the night, sharing the moment with his family and absorbing the atmosphere. He might one day tell the kids that he brought the rockets for the first knock, rather than effectively enjoying the reality of a hole.

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“You can get it any way you can,” Roden said after Thursday’s game. “Obviously, it’s a good feeling – and it’s exciting that it happens.”

Roden admitted to playing some nerves in front of the sold-out crowd on the opening day, but the 2022 third-round draft pick did everything he could.

“I’m ready. I’ve been ready for a long time,” the 24-year-old said. “I’ve been excited about it for the past week. So when (Schneider told him he’s in the roster), it’s just what I expect from what I want to do.

“I’ve never played in front of so many people, so there must be some shocking people out there. But for the most part, I feel good and comfortable. Just use my experience and I will help.”

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Roden returned to the left field for Friday’s game, again ranked ninth in Jays’ orders. Looking ahead, Schneider’s advice is to continue what he has done so far, rather than trying to force him into the major league star.

“Like who you are, don’t try to be anything you don’t have,” Schneider said. “Whether it’s him, Guerrero, George, Bo (Bichettte), it’s just doing what you do and what you are good at.

“For him, it’s the foundation and hit the ball hard. Expect him not to ask him to hit 30 home runs or do anything crazy. It’s been doing what he’s doing and so good so far.”

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Game 2 of 162

Obviously, Schneider doesn’t like the results of the opening match, but has the chance to exhale after the distraction caused by the event, so a certain dose of normal state may be encountered.

“I was exhausted and I hope the results were different, but you didn’t really feel it until after it was finished,” Schneider said of the push and pull on the opening day. “There are also people who feel. There are a lot of things on the opening day that you can’t really measure.

“I don’t think it’s a fallen thing, really, it’s back to normal. So (Friday) it’s OK, it’s baseball, and not all the lights and stuff, so let’s back to normal.”

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