Finding Balance in the Beat: A Conversation with MLB.com's Keegan Matheson

I had the chance to sit down with Blue Jays beat writer, and author of The Franchise, Keegan Matheson, for a wide-ranging conversation that covered many topics, which will be unpacked in a few parts.

Before getting into media, he was a kid from Halifax who loved both the Blue Jays and Red Sox. “Mo Vaughn was my favourite player growing up,” he said. His fandom eventually gave way to his career after he attended journalism school in 2016. “That’s when I started to take this seriously as something I could pursue,” he said. “Instead of something I was kind of doing on the side.”

Robbie: Do you ever find it hard to keep that spark alive? You obviously can’t be a fan of the Jays anymore, but to do what you do, you still need to love the game.

Keegan: I screwed it up. I let myself go too far on that, and I really burnt myself out when I was a bit younger. I'm thinking, like, 2018, '19, through the pandemic years. I started to have a pretty unhealthy relationship with baseball, which sounds hard to do, but… when it becomes work, it can become very all-consuming.

A Conversation with MLB.com's Keegan Matheson

“If I wasn't at the stadium, I was watching baseball, I was talking about baseball, I was doing 20 radio interviews a day. I think I made the mistake of letting baseball become my entire identity. And when that happens, there's not much else. And that really led me to burnout.”

What helped him recover, he said, was taking a step back away from the daily grind and reconnecting with the reasons that led him to get into the game in the first place, something the process of writing his book forced him to do.

“Honestly, writing those stories kinda energized me again and woke me up again. Talking to players about the best days of their lives and meaningful emotional things kind of perked me up again and shook me up. I find so much joy in my job again now. And it’s fun again.”

When I asked him who he wanted to write more about, but couldn't, he highlighted Buck Martinez, although he also pointed out how amazing it was to talk to Carlos Delgado and Dave Steib.

"Buck has really come to mean a lot to me. Buck has treated me from day one the same as he treats Dan Shulman or José Bautista, or Vladdy. He would have every reason in the world to have an ego and be a big timer, and he's not. Everything that people love about him—multiply it by 100, man. He's incredible."

This year’s Jays feel different, and I wanted Keegan’s take on what’s changed off the field.

Robbie: The common fan isn't around the field like you are. What do you feel is different off the field about how the guys are interacting with each other? Is there a vocal leader who stepped up?

Keegan: It’s the perfect balance of veterans who know they might not have more chances at this and young guys who are either energized or just don’t know better, or whatever it is. And there's a beauty to that. George Springer is a big one now. You see it a lot with Vladdy, who is emerging as a leader, and he's much more comfortable now doing that in English as well.

Matheson also pointed out the coaching staff, specifically John Schneider, and what he has meant to this team. “I think John Schneider is doing a hell of a job,” he said. “He’s not being Rogers employee number 6842 anymore, he’s being John Schneider. And it’s working. That whole coaching staff is working right now.”

Matheson went on to describe this team by using the word 'magic'.

"And there's some sort of magic, man. The Blue Jays are no better on paper this year at all. It's my job every day to try to figure out what that is. And some days, I feel like I'm close. Some days, I feel like I have no clue, and that's the great part of this."

Robbie: Speaking of magic, you have Heineman who's batting .341. You got Ernie, at .272, Loperfido, .333, so you have these depth guys making strides, but did the the front office expect any of this? How sustainable is this without Vladdy and Bo producing the power we're used to?

Keegan: They thought they'd be a little better, but they couldn't have thought this, man. Someone like Ernie, sure, because you can play the platoons. But this is, like, five or six pleasant surprises all on top of each other.

Although the magic we are seeing from the depth guys has been special, Matheson then pointed to the sustainability of it all as being a concern. "I don't know. Like, especially in the playoffs where you're gonna be facing, like, Max Fried followed by their best two relievers. What's that gonna look like? Maybe different. Which is why they need Vladdy, and they need Bo. I think Bo is going to start to turn the corner here soon. I need to see that from Vladdy too."

In terms of who's impressed Matheson the most? It was a quick answer, Ernie Clement.

"I don't even think I bothered writing a whole story when the Blue Jays got him. He's genuinely one of the most underrated players in Major League Baseball right now. He is such a valuable member of that clubhouse. And what he brings as a base runner, sneaky fast, and as a defender where he's elite is just so valuable."

In Part 2 of my conversation with Matheson, we'll dive into the Blue Jays’ trade deadline outlook, what buttons the front office might press, and some prospect talk.