Rance Mulliniks turns 70 today.
Rance was one of my favourite players because he seemed to get the absolute most out of his natural abilities. He wasn’t big or fast. He wore glasses. A left-handed hitter,
geeky looking, wore glasses. How could I not like him?
You didn’t think ‘professional athlete’ when you looked at him. I often say he looked like an accountant (I do not mean to insult him or accountants; I imagine many accountants in Canada look more like athletes than Rance did).
But he became a good baseball player because he worked hard and was smart.
I also consider him a success story for Cito Gaston, our hitting coach at the time. Cito had guys with whom he could have worked better (Shawn Green, John Olerud) because he sometimes had a ‘one size fits all’ philosophy. But for some, I count Rance and Ernie Whitt among those, Cito was great. Though Rance didn’t seem to go full-out, pull the ball all the time
In Rance’s 5-part seasons before joining the Blue Jays, he hit .232/.288/.309 with 5 home runs in 619 PA. He hit .280/.365/.424 with 68 home runs in 3470 at-bats with the Jays. He became so much better, some much more patient. He learned to turn on his pitch and was smart enough to wait for it or take a walk if offered. Part of that was his ability to learn; part of it was learning from Cito. I’m not smart enough to know how much came from each.
He spent most of his time with the Jays in a platoon with Garth Iorg. The team may have been better off using Mulliniks as a full-time third baseman.
I wasn’t a fan of his work as an analyst on the Jays’ broadcasts. He knew the game but seemed afraid to let any dead air in. I prefer them to allow the game breathe at times. But then, I’m less of a fan of Pat Tabler. I remind myself that the analyst isn’t talking to you or me, but to casual baseball fans.
The book ”The Wax Pack” had a chapter on Rance. He called Rance “a scrappy overachiever with the physique of a librarian who managed to play sixteen seasons in the big leagues.” He told us that Rance was a realtor and had a baseball academy.
Happy Birthday, Rance. I hope it is a good one.
It is Tim Mayza’s 34th birthday.
Tim was a 12th-round draft pick in 2013. He made it to the majors in 2017 and spent that season and 2018 bouncing back and forth between Toronto and Buffalo.
In 2019, he spent the whole season in the Jays’ bullpen, or he did until September 13th, when he blew out his elbow on the mound, one of the ugliest injuries we’ve ever witnessed during a Jays game. After that, he didn’t pitch in 2020 after Tommy John surgery.
He turned into an excellent reliever in 2021. Tim posted a 3.40 ERA and a 5-2 record with a save. In 53 innings, he had 57 strikeouts and held batters to a .206/.263/.309 line (lefties hit .181/.224/.222 against him). 2022 was more similar, putting up a 3.14 ERA in 63 games (and getting 8 wins). In 2023, he was even better, with a 1.52 ERA in 69 games.
He had a rough start in 2024, with an 8.03 ERA in 35 games, before the Jays released him on July 12th. The Yankees picked him up, and he was better with them, with a 4.00 ERA in 15 games. In 2025, he split time between the Pirates and Phillies, pitching in 15 games.
In his eight-year career, Tim has pitched in 382 games, with a 3.87 ERA and 87 career holds (all with the Jays), which would give him the Jays’ career high in holds.
Happy Birthday, Tim.
