TORONTO — It all started with a tweet.
On the eve of returning to England, Sandy Domingos-Shipley wanted to let Chicago Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman know a big fan would be in the stands Monday at Rogers Centre. She tweeted a photo of the sign her eight-year-old son Ethan created — “I love baseball because of Stroman” — that he was bringing to the game in hopes of catching Stroman’s attention.
For the last 10 years, the Shipley family has made an annual three-week summer trip to Sandy’s hometown of Toronto. This year, their visit included attending eight Blue Jays games, including Monday’s which coincided with the Cubs coming to town for the first time since 2014.
Ethan attended his first Blue Jays game six years ago, the same season Stroman pitched his first full year in Toronto. Although Sandy and her husband, Mike, and their kids Luis, 16, Lauren, 13, and Ethan live in Leeds, England, the MLB TV app has kept them connected to baseball and the Blue Jays. And ever since Ethan was little, he gravitated toward Stroman.
“I can’t put my finger on it, but there has always been something that has pushed Ethan towards Stroman and his personality,” Sandy told the Tribune. “He’s always had an interest in who is he playing for, did he win today, did he pitch today? He’s always had an interest in the person, not necessarily who he plays for.”
The Shipleys got their tickets for Monday’s game months ago, long before knowing whether Stroman would be lined up to pitch. So when they realized he would not be starting for their last game at the ballpark before flying back to England Tuesday night, Sandy thought it would be worth a shot to let Stroman know on Twitter that Ethan would be at the game to support him.
Stroman responded to her tweet, telling them to come down to field level pregame and to tweet him once they arrived.
“It was just a genuine little boy that wants to say hello, wave on the Jumbotron because he knows that you can see posters on the Jumbotron,” Shipley said. “I told Ethan that Stroman said he wanted to say hello to you, but didn’t want to get his hopes up because there would be a lot of other fans there.”
Ethan, in a red Blue Jays jersey donning Stroman’s name and No. 6, and his family moved down from their seats in Section 116 to the first row by the camera well next to the Cubs dugout. Sandy sent another tweet to give Stroman a heads up but still didn’t think the Cubs pitcher was actually going to follow through.
When Stroman emerged from the dugout, ballpark personnel directed him toward Ethan, who started crying. The ensuing interaction was captured by a Toronto TV camera and shared on social media by ESPN’s SportsCenter. Stroman signed Ethan’s poster, jersey and a baseball while chatting with the young fan. He thanked Ethan for his support promised to see them again in June when the Cubs play a two-game series in London, even offering to give Ethan, his family and friends tickets.
Ethan, who also got two foul balls during Monday’s game, plans to have his signed Stroman Jays jersey framed and displayed in his bedroom.
“It was quite emotional because it was never intentional,” Sandy said. “We don’t live here, he doesn’t see baseball every day like most kids do. They’re not surrounded by baseball academies or baseball clubs. So to actually meet him meant a lot more because it is so rare. I never thought Stroman would read it during his work day and promise this kid he’d meet him.
“He didn’t speak to Ethan like he’s a baseball player, he just spoke to him like he is a guy that plays baseball, and that’s what made Ethan love the moment even more.”
Connection-building efforts like Stroman’s interaction with Ethan are what baseball needs for their vision to go global. Stroman’s homecoming to Toronto — the organization that drafted him in the first round in 2012 — highlighted his continuing bond with the city and fans. He spent time pregame Monday meeting other fans, too, signing autographs and taking photos. The Blue Jays aired a welcome back video after the national anthems.
Sandy, whose Blue Jays and sport fandom traces back to Toronto before her move to England 21 years ago, believes teams and players investing in their communities can lay the groundwork for a deeper investment in baseball on a local, national and international level.
“You can’t just count on the teams individually doing it because there’s got to be a collective for it to really have an impact,” Sandy said. “In Europe, sometimes sports people are more approachable because there’s more connections to communities with professional clubs than there are North America. To have someone like (Stroman) actually do something out of his way to meet a fan, you don’t see it often because a lot of sports people in North America are on a pedestal. For it to happen, I’m like, wow, it says even more about Stroman’s character.”
Stroman appreciated the love he has received from Canadians since returning. He plans to continue to visit Toronto whenever he can with his Canadian girlfriend and their son, Kai. He was a vital piece of the Blue Jays’ return to the postseason with back-to-back appearances in the American League Championship Series in 2015 and 2016, the organization’s first postseason appearances since winning the World Series in 1993. Stroman memorably returned for the final three weeks of the 2015 season and playoffs only six months after tearing his ACL.
In 5 1/2 seasons with Toronto, Stroman had a 3.76 ERA in 135 appearances — including 129 starts — and made an All-Star team.
“This game can be really hard at times and you focus so much being success related that we truly forget the journey,” Stroman said. “It just showed me to really just respect and enjoy the journey and everything that comes with it. The fact that I can have a positive impact on a kid, on an adult, anybody’s life is truly remarkable. I’m just thankful and grateful honestly for my time spent here.”
Tuesday represented his first start at the Rogers Centre as a visitor. Fans cheered when Stroman ran to right field to begin his pregame routine. He escaped a two-out, bases-loaded situation in the first inning and held the Blue Jays to one run over five innings. The Blue Jays erased the one-run lead after Stroman departed, tagging left-hander Brendon Little for a three-run homer in his big-league debut to send the Cubs to a 5-3 loss.
“It’s just been overwhelming with the show of support and love,” Stroman said after his start. “It’s truly an incredible experience playing for the Blue Jays and having a whole country rooting for you. I’ll always feel Canadian.”
