Fans enthralled by Blue Jays during Kinsmen dinner

Three Toronto Blue Jays stars stopped in Saskatoon Friday for an interactive evening many in attendance won’t soon forget.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alek Manoah and Jordan Romano were joined by Sportnet’s Jamie Campbell for a fundraiser dinner for the Kinsmen Club of Saskatoon at TCU Place.

More than 1,000 people were on hand, and some fans were able to meet the players at a special gathering beforehand. They also answered questions from fans throughout the evening.

It was an opportunity for fans to get into the players’ minds and find out how they feel about certain topics.

One fan asked the players how they felt about analytics in baseball, and if they are beneficial or if it takes away from the feel of the game. Manoah described analytics using a synonym for manure, which drew laughs from the crowd.

Fans were also able to see the camaraderie between the teammates as they answered questions. Manoah was able to answer for Guerrero Jr., for example, when asked if he had a favourite home run that he hit so far in his career.

After a brief pause while Guerrero Jr. thought about his answer, Manoah piped up and said his favourites are the two home runs Guerrero Jr. hit off of New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole at Yankee Stadium last April. The pair of players smiled and laughed in acknowledgment of being on the same page.

There were a number of other memorable moments for fans, who even got to learn about Romano’s Saskatchewan connections.

His grandparents live in Saskatchewan, he said, and he spent many summers coming to visit them and his aunts and uncles in Saskatoon. Romano said he was unfazed by the winter weather, unlike Manoah and Guerrero Jr.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for fans, who got to see a side of the athletes not often shown on TV or during games.

One fan said he felt like he was a kid again after the experience.

“When I first saw Alek Manoah, I was speechless. I had no words. He just grabbed me and gave me a big hug,” said Donavin Veszeli.

“It’s like your high school crush, when you don’t know what to say, so for him to just grab me and pull me in, it was unreal.”

The event even attracted people from out of town as well.

Steven Tang, who recently moved to B.C. from Saskatoon, said he had to come back as soon as he heard who was going to be here.

“There’s no way I wasn’t going to make the trip back to Saskatoon to come see this. It was awesome,” Tang said.

The icing on the cake, Tang said, is the fact all the money raised will go to support youth sports in Saskatoon.

It also hit home for Veszeli.

“When I was young, my mom used to always sign us up for sports, and she couldn’t afford them. She worked two, three, four jobs just to get me to play what I wanted, so to grow up and pay back to something meant a lot,” Veszeli said.

But the trio of Blue Jays weren’t the only celebrities in attendance.

They were joined by Saskatchewan-born MLB pitchers Dustin Molleken and Andrew Albers, who spoke about their experiences getting to the majors.

And it wouldn’t be a sports event in Saskatchewan without an appearance from the Riders. Derrick Moncrief and Brayden Lenius were joined on stage with former Rider Belton Johnson.

The athletes didn’t just visit Saskatchewan for the evening. Around 30 kids were able to get tips from the pro athletes on how to improve their games earlier in the day at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex, including 12-year-old Jackson Doell.

“Vladdy was teaching me how to swing better, and we did fielding and pitching, and I got to talk with Manoah, Guerrero Jr. and Romano,” Doell said about his experience.