If you just came out of a coma, Matt Stairs is the short, pudgy, unapologetically balding Super Canuck LF/1B/DH who has brought unqualified joy to fans of a 2007 Jays club that is challenged in the run scoring department.  He looks like he’d be a great softball player; when acquired by Detroit in September of 2006 his new Tiger teammates reportedly greeted him to the club by leaving 3 neon softballs and a 6-pack of beer in his locker before his first game in Motown.  They can’t really be blamed.  If Matt Stairs was your dad, none of your friends would guess that he made his living as a pro athlete.

Though he broke in with the Expos back in ’92, Montreal ended up as a short 19-game stint playing on home soil.  His return to the Great White North as a Jay in ’07 marked a homecoming of sorts and Stairsy hasn’t let his new fans down.  We’ve got a pretty good explanation as to why he’s been a fan favourite at every stop (MON, BOS, OAK, CHC, MIL, PIT, KCR, TEX, DET: he’s been around) along the way through his 15 year major league career.

Matt Stairs just f'n givin'er, as usual.

Stairs filled in like Zeus Hercules when Sparky and then Overbay went down to injuries, socking dingers like there was no tomorrow through May and June.  Since then, he's embarrassed the Big Hurt production-wise with half as many ABs and 10% of the salary, is leading the team in OPS+ by a HUGE margin, and is one of the few players on this club who hits with runners in scoring position.  Who amongst you predicted that sort of production from someone who entered the season as a pinch hitter and emergency outfielder?

But the best Matt Stairs moment this year came in the aftermath of A-Rod’s infamous “A-Ha!” shout that confused hapless 3B fill-in Howie Clark, who promptly dropped an easy infield pop fly.  Stairs charged in from the outfield and made it abundantly clear that if the benches emptied, he’d be the one to wipe the smirk off A-Rod’s beak with extreme prejudice.  One can only guess that he’d have pulled A-Rod’s jersey over his head and given him a Tie Domi special.

So, in honour of Matt Stairs, a great Jay and one of the greatest Canadians to play the game, here’s an worthy read from thesoulofbaseball on the ‘could have been’ hall of fame, of which Stairs is a member:

http://thesoulofbaseball.blogspot.com/2007/04/hall-of-could-have-been.html

Enjoy.

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