Blue Jays players affected by Mother Nature’s wrath

Even though the Blue Jays play their home games north of the border much of the team has been affected in one way or another by Hurricane Harvey that caused extreme flooding in Houston and Hurricane Irma that is now sweeping through Florida.

Manager John Gibbons was away from the team for much of last week due to personal reasons but the skipper hails from San Antonio, Texas so probably safe to assume he went back home to be with family as his hometown is only a 2-hour jaunt up the I-10 freeway to Houston.

Bullpen coach Dane Johnson is now away from the team for personal reasons as former Jays hurler Pat Hentgen has stepped up to man the bullpen in his absence. Johnson was born in Coral Gables, Florida so no doubt storm Irma is the reason he is not with the team.

Gibbons spoke to the media ahead of last night’s contest and advised that most of the guys who have homes in Florida have their families with them in Toronto.

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Outfielder Jose Bautista informed the media that Irma missed most of the Dominican Republic and did not affect the south coast where most of his family is located. Roberto Osuna confirmed his family was safe after the strongest earthquake in over a century hit Mexico, he did confirm his family was on their way to Canada due to the forecasted tsunami.

Both Aaron Sanchez and Russell Martin flew back from Dunedin to Toronto to continue their rehab due to the inclement weather in Florida.

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As baseball fans, we often forget that these guys have families and lives to tend to off the field and how those life stressors can weigh on their mind while at the diamond. Glad to see that all the players and their families are safe.