Blue Jays' Ernie Clement completes improbable rise to Team USA for World Baseball Classic

Billy Heyen

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Blue Jays' Ernie Clement completes improbable rise to Team USA for World Baseball Classic image

Ernie Clement's baseball career changed forever the day he skipped a U.S. History Regents exam during his junior year of high school.

That's the day the Brighton (NY) standout attended the camp that earned the attention of the University of Virginia. And each step of his improbable journey since has led to the greatest honor of his career: The Toronto Blue Jays' standout Clement will be a member of Team USA at the World Baseball Classic in March.

If not for that missed exam, Clement may have never made it to this point.

But his high school soccer coach was also his history teacher, and he did him a solid, giving him a chance to make the test up at a later date.

Clement isn't a home run hitter, but he hit three home runs at the showcase he attended. 

"(Adam Hiller, the teacher) was cool enough to help me out there," Clement said in 2020. "That was monumental."

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Clement could always hit. He was swinging an adult-sized wooden bat in his backyard when he was 2. He was hitting socks around the house, and needing more for Christmas because they got lost, when he was 4.

"He hit as if he had come down from a higher league," his American Legion coach, Tom Sapienza, once said.

But Clement wasn't the biggest guy. He wasn't a home run hitter. He came from the Northeast, limiting the chances for scouts to see him. Besides, he was a three-sport guy, a hockey standout and a soccer player, too. That was great for his athletic development, but nothing was working in his favor to impress big names.

That one day in front of the Virginia coaching staff changed everything, though. Clement seized his chance, and he hasn't stopped seizing his chances since.

He won a national title as a starting centerfielder at Virginia as a freshman. After three seasons there, he was a fourth-round pick by Cleveland.

Clement didn't make it work in Cleveland or Oakland, but third time was the charm. He hasn't stopped hitting since he showed up in Toronto.

This postseason was his finest work yet, 30 hits in the playoffs, a new MLB record.

And now, he'll be a fascinating puzzle piece for Team USA. Clement won't need to start on a star-studded roster. But he mashes against left-handed pitching, and he can play any position on the diamond besides catcher. 

Clement will have a role as the United States tries to avenge its 2023 championship loss to Japan.

Ernie Clement always had believers, but every special journey needs the timing to be right, too. And for Clement, he's always found a way to arrive right on time.

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