Today marks Colby Rasmus’s 40th birthday.
Rasmus was selected as the 28th overall pick in the first round of the 2005 draft. The Blue Jays chose Ricky Romero with the 6th pick that year.
He appeared on Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects list for three consecutive years: ranked #29 in 2007, #5 in 2008, and #3 in 2009.
In 2009, Colby made it to the majors, hitting .251/.307/.407 with 16 home runs, picking up a few Rookie of the Year votes along the way. Then, Colby had an excellent 2010 season, hitting.
276/.361/.498 with 23 home runs and posting a 4.3 bWAR. It seemed that he was becoming the player the prospect list had suggested he would become.
2011 proved more challenging. Rasmus hit .246/.332/.420 and struggled to get along with manager Tony La Russa. La Russa, known for his fast-talking ‘genius’ persona, didn’t mesh well with Colby, who often seemed like a square peg in baseball’s round-hole world.
On July 27th, the Blue Jays executed two multi-player trades. The first, with the White Sox, brought Edwin Jackson and Mark Teahen to Toronto.
The second, more significant, trade was with the Cardinals, sending Jackson, Octavio Dotel, Corey Patterson, and Marc Rzepczynski to St. Louis in exchange for Rasmus, Trever Miller, Brian Tallet, and P.J. Walters. The Cardinals were looking to strengthen their bullpen and rotation (they went on to win the World Series that year), while La Russa was eager to move Rasmus. The Jays sought a young player with considerable upside.
I reached out to DanUpBaby from Viva El Birdos for a scouting report. He described Colby as follows:
Your COLBY RASMUS comes equipped with HOME RUN ACTION, INTERMITTENTLY IMPRESSIVE DEFENSE ACTION, and DEBATABLY USEFUL SPEED ACTION. Please do not expose your COLBY RASMUS to direct sunlight, fans of MAKING THINGS HAPPEN on offense or TONY LA RUSSA.
He never fully met our expectations. While 2013 was a strong year—he hit .276/.338/.501 with 22 home runs in 118 games—overall, he was inconsistent, struggled with nagging injuries, and struck out too often.
His 2014 season was disappointing, and he was clearly unhappy. He reflected:
I’ve lost a little bit of that drive just because so many people are always just poking and prodding at me. And I felt, at times, like an animal at the zoo. You know, you keep poking at it until one day, they bite back at you.
He appeared to be struggling emotionally, perhaps dealing with issues related to his parents, especially his father. While I don’t like to blame parents, most of us hear their voices in our heads when we do things. For example, I play tennis with a younger woman whose dad often watches and coaches; she performs better when he’s absent, but she still hears his voice in her mind when she makes a mistake.
After Colby left the team, I reflected:
We all have those voices in our heads telling us we aren’t good enough. Most of us learn to get past, ignore, and get on with life. Some use it to drive them to do better, “I’ll show them.” Colby doesn’t seem to be able to do that. He remembers all the little insults and carries them with him. He still talks about his troubles with Tony LaRussa. It is easy to say he should get past it, but it is harder to do.
He played a couple of seasons with the Astros, started the 2017 season with the Rays before leaving to go home, and did the same with the Orioles in 2018. That time, the decision to step away from baseball became permanent.
I liked Colby. Occasionally, he revealed glimpses of his personality—on the winter tour, for example, he genuinely seemed to enjoy himself. I appreciated those rare moments when he smiled. There was a profile showing his condo and a stop for a chicken hot dog. I wasn’t a fan of his various hairdos, though.
Happy Birthday, Colby. Wishing you a great day.
Today is Melky Cabrera’s 42nd birthday.
Melky spent two of his 15 MLB seasons with the Blue Jays, hitting .293/.340/.421 over 227 games in Toronto.
His play with the Jays was a bit disappointing—he was slow, and his outfield defense left something to be desired. Later, it was revealed that a tumor wrapped around his spine significantly hindered his performance. He also dealt with several injuries during his time in Toronto.
Over his career, Melky hit .285/.334/.417 with 144 home runs across 15 seasons, playing for the Yankees, White Sox, Royals, Jays, Pirates, Giants, Braves, and Cleveland.
Happy Birthday, Melky.
Today, Mike Huff turns 63.
Huff spent the final three seasons of his seven-year MLB career (1994–1996) with the Blue Jays.
He enjoyed one strong season (.304/.382/.449, 3 home runs in 80 games) but struggled in the other two (.232/.337/.333 and .172/.200/.241).
I remember his good year and think of him fondly.
Happy Birthday, Mike.
Drew Storen celebrates his 39th birthday today.
The Blue Jays traded Ben Revere to the Nationals for Storen before the 2016 season, but the move didn’t work out. Storen posted a 6.21 ERA before being dealt to the Mariners for Joaquin Benoit (who didn’t fare much better).
Outside of his brief stint with the Jays, Storen was a quality reliever, earning 99 saves over his eight-year career.
Happy Birthday, Drew.
Brendon Little celebrates his 30th birthday today.
Brendon has spent the past three seasons with the Blue Jays. In 144 games, he has posted a 4.30 ERA, tallying 148 strikeouts and 80 walks over 129.1 innings. He’s having a tough 2026.
