Blue Jays’ Ezequiel Carrera to drop puck at Friday’s Pats game

Ezequiel Carrera is more known for his skills on the baseball field, but tonight he’ll be centre ice at a Regina Pats game.

The Blue Jays outfielder is in town for the Regina Pats Blue Jays night. The Pats will be wearing special jerseys that feature the Jays logo on the front as well as the Jays font and numbers on the back. The Pats logos will be featured on the jersey’s shoulders.

Carrera donned one of the jerseys himself when he met with the media Friday afternoon. He spoke mostly through a translator, but did have this to say in English about the jersey.

“It’s all good, it’s a little big but it’s okay, I love it.”

It’s the first time in western Canada for the Venezuelan-born Carrera, so the cold came as a bit of a shock. There may be a bit of culture shock at the ice rink as well, since Carrera mentioned he’s not exactly a hockey expert.

“I do enjoy watching the fights,” he said through the translator. “I know there is a lot of people that follow hockey, but I don’t know much about it.”

What he does know is that he was saddened to see his teammate Edwin Encarnacion sign with the Cleveland Indians this past week. Carrera and Encarnacion seemed to enjoy a very friendly relationship throughout the season. Carrera often presented the slugger with a parrot after he hit a home run – a homage to the way Encarnacion runs the bases with one arm up in the air like a wing – often referred to as “walking the parrot.”

“(He is) someone I appreciated very much as one of the persons I admired and played the best since I’ve been playing baseball,” Carrera said. “(I’ll) really miss him and I wish him the best.”

Carrera also expressed his gratitude to all of Canada for being so supportive of the team.

“For me it is very special and it is an honour that when I come out of Toronto seeing that a lot of people appreciate and love the sport and the team,” he said.

Carrera will drop the puck at the Pats game against the Hitmen at 7pm. He will also sign autographs for a limited time during the first intermission.