Ernie Clement has taken his performance from his history-making postseason into the regular season.
When the Toronto Blue Jays won their first American League pennant since 1993 last October and advanced to Game 7 of the World Series, Ernie Clement's fingerprints were all over the team's success.
In 18 playoff games, Clement slashed .411/.416/.562 with a .978 OPS. He also connected for six doubles, a triple, a home run and nine RBIs. He had 77 plate appearances across the postseason and struck out just five times.
But what made the 30-year-old infielder's playoff run all the more impressive was the record he set.
Clement finished the postseason with 30 hits, which broke the previous MLB record held by Seattle Mariners outfielder Randy Arozarena for the most in a single postseason. Arozarena's prior mark was 29, which he had with the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 playoffs.
So far this season, Clement has continued where he left off.
Through 27 games, Clement has slashed .321/.327/.438 with a .765 OPS and has hit 13 doubles with seven RBIs. He's struck out just nine times in 113 plate appearances.
Clement is top 10 in the MLB this season in doubles, hits and batting average, as noted by Mitch Bannon of The Athletic.
The last four year has been a true solidification of Clement as a focal member of Toronto, after he had spent the majority of his career trying to carve out a role on a major league roster.
Clement was originally selected in the fourth round of the 2017 MLB Draft by Cleveland.
Clement made his major league debut in 2021 and played 104 total games from '21-22 with Cleveland. He was designated for assignment on Sept. 21, 2022, and claimed off waivers by the Oakland Athletics two days later.
Clement played six games with Oakland in 2022 and was released by the organization on March 12, 2023.
The Blue Jays signed Clement to a minor league contract March 14, 2023. That year, he played just 30 games with Toronto and has seen his role steadily progress with the organization since.
Clement played 127 games with the Blue Jays in 2024 and a career-high 157 games last season.
The former Virginia Cavalier is earning $4.6 million this season in his second year of arbitration, per Spotrac. He's under arbitration for two more years through the 2028 season.
It took almost a decade, but Clement has finally found his home in the Great North. And Toronto has been the better for it.
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