For the first time in his career, Ernie Clement is an All-Star. A sentence you might not have expected to hear three years ago when the Jays signed him to a minor league contract prior to the 2023 season. Clement was drafted by Cleveland in the 4th round of the 2017 draft and made his MLB debut in 2021. He spent parts of two seasons with the Guardians before being DFA’s by them midway through 2022. He was then claimed by the Athletics, only to be released by them at the end of the season. In March of 2023, the Jays would sign him to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. The signing was looked at as nothing more than just a depth move, and Clement would only play 29 games with the big-league club in 2023.
Being looked at as just a utility bench player, a guy that you could plug and play at multiple positions, any day of the week, got more opportunities in 2024 due to his versatility. He played in 139 games that season, but still wasn’t quite looked at as an everyday player. That would change in 2025 as he played in 157 regular season games and was a massive piece of the team’s incredible run to the World Series. He hit .411 in the playoffs last year, and holds the record for most hits in a postseason with 30. His incredible performance helped put his name on the map across MLB and led him to being selected to Team USA in the World Baseball Classic earlier this year.
Between his postseason heroics and fun personality, Clement has become a fan favourite. This was evident during the All-Star voting as he led all American League players with 3,232,932 votes, and was second in MLB, only behind Shohei Ohtani. He will now be the starting second baseman in Philly for the All-Star game, an honour he rightfully deserves. “A really cool honour”, Clement said when asked about being named the starting second baseman in the All-Star Game. “I feel the love from Canada and all the Blue Jays fans. It means a lot, it’s a cool honour.”
While having a whole country behind you certainly helps increase the vote total, he’s also very deserving of this selection. He is currently hitting .296 which is best in the AL amongst all second baseman, and is tied for the AL lead in doubles with 23. Known for his elite bat-to-ball skills, he finds a way to get the bat to the baseball wherever it’s pitched. He is in the 98th percentile of strikeout percentage, and 90% percentile of Whiff percentage. He doesn’t walk much, but he also doesn’t swing-and-miss often either, meaning he hardly strikes out. He’s going to go up to the plate ready to swing away and make contact with anything and everything.
Now in his 6th big league season, Clement has developed into a very good major league player, and this All-Star nomination is a much-deserved reward for all the hard work put in. From being released by two teams, to a record setting postseason performance, to now being an All-Star four years later, is an incredible story, and couldn’t have happened to a better guy.