Now six years into his career as a big leaguer, Alejandro Kirk's path to becoming a World Series catcher was anything but traditional. The Blue Jays are said to have discovered Kirk mostly by accident.
But what you probably notice first about Kirk is what the Blue Jays scout who first identified him noticed as well.
"I’ve got to be honest with you, though ... it’s not a great body," Dean Decillis, Blue Jays scout told Andrew Tinnish, VP of international scouting, after lauding Kirk with compliments according to reporting by Keegan Matheson in a lengthy profile earlier this month.
The real funny part of the story is that Decillis was on-site to see a different player, but ended up enamored with Kirk's play instead.
"He can catch, he can throw, he’s got really good hands, he’s got a line-drive bat and a really simple swing and he controls the strike zone," Decillis relayed of Kirk before pointing out his body.
Alejandro Kirk uses his height and physique as motivation
Kirk is just 5’8” and 245 pounds, per the team's website. He has used that to motivate his drive.
“My physique, obviously I wanted to be taller. I wanted to have better tools. But this is what God gave me. I never was upset about this,” Kirk said in Decillis's profile. “I am very happy with what I have. I actually used my physique to push myself. I made myself get better. I wouldn’t use it as an excuse, that I was different from the other guys and their physiques. I wasn’t going to give this up. It made me push myself harder than anybody else.”
Kirk was named an All-Star for the second time this season, with an above-average year offensively (111 OPS) and the second-best catcher by framing runs according to Statcast.
Going into Game 6 with the Blue Jays leading the series 3-2, Kirk has six hits and six RBIs in the World Series.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Alejandro Kirk Has Inspiring Perspective on His Stature, Physique.
