Tim Mayza

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Timothy Gerard Mayza

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Biographical Information[edit]

Left-handed reliever Tim Mayza became a footnote to history on September 28, 2022, he surrendered Aaron Judge's 61st homer of the season, allowing him to tie the American League record set by Roger Maris in 1961 and had stood for six decades. The home run, hit with a man on base in the 6th inning, broke a 3-3 tie and burdened Mayza with his first loss of the year, after being the winning pitcher in his first eight decisions, as the New York Yankees ended up as 8-3 winners. There had been quite a frenzy around the record, as Judge had hit #60 more than a week before: special baseballs were used for each of Judge's at-bats, and opposing pitchers had been pitching him carefully, normally aiming for the lower end of the strike zone. Howeve, Judge had been very disciplined, drawing a lot of walks while waiting for his opportunity. Mayza thought he had got him to miss at strike three just before leaving a ball a bit too high in the zone, and Judge crushed it to left field at the Rogers Centre for a no-doubt homer.

Mayza first reached the majors with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2017 after the team had selected him in the 12th round of the 2013 amateur draft. He did not do particularly well that first year, going 1-0, 6.88 in 19 games, but in 2018 emerged as a reliable reliever, going 2-0, 3.28 in 37 outings. He then spent a full season with the Jays in 2019 and was 1-3, 4.91 in 51 1/3 innings as he struggled with arm issues in September. He had to undergo Tommy John surgery and missed all of 2020 as a result.

He had become a bit of a forgotten man by the time he made it back to the majors in 2021, but established himself as the top lefty in the bullpen with his best season to date, finishing at 5-2, 3.40 in 61 games and earning his first career save. He was on his way to another very good season in 2022 when he suffered a scare on August 6th, dislocating his right shoulder when he dived to attempt to tag a baserunner at home plate in a game against the Minnesota Twins. At first, it looked like he was done for the season, but once the shoulder was popped back in place, he was able to work out and was back on a major league mound on August 24th. He was part of the small group of high impact relievers who carried the Blue Jays for a good part of the season when the offense was going through fits and starts and the starting rotation was having trouble pitching deep into games with the exception of ace Alek Manoah. He, closer Jordan Romano, and right-handed set-up men Yimi Garcia, Adam Cimber and Anthony Bass were all pitching exceptionally well and keeping the Blue Jays in the postseason race. He finished the season at 8-1, 3.14 in 63 games, with 2 saves. He also appeared in the postseason for the first time, pitching in both of Toronto's losses to the Seattle Mariners in the Wild Card Series; he allowed 1 run in 1 2/3 innings.

In 2023, he reprised his role as the top lefty out of the Jays' bullpen and had another excellent season, finishing at 3-1, 1.52 with 1 save in 69 innings. In spite of the adoption of the "three-batter rule" a few years earlier, he was still used pretty much as a traditional LOOGY, albeit not an extreme one: in 69 games, he totaled 53 1/3 innings, after logging 48 2/3 in 63 games the year before. He averaged around one strikeout per inning both years, and was able to retire the occasional righty batter if needed, even if his preferred usage was to face the opposition's top lefty He returned to the postseason in the Wild Card Series against the Minnesota Twins but faced only two batters as the Jays were swept once again, allowing one hit and retiring the other in the 5th inning of Game 1 on October 3rd. Taking over for Erik Swanson with two outs and Royce Lewis on first, he allowed a single to Max Kepler before retiring pinch-hitter Donovan Solano on a fly ball to end the inning. Chad Green took over for him in the 6th.

At the start of spring training in 2024, he had to act as the team's bat boy for its first Grapefruit League game: it was a punishment meted on him by teammates after he had finished at the bottom of their fantasy football league during the winter. Not only did he have to suffer this public humiliation, but he also wore number "4-10", a reminder to everyone of his poor final record in said league. He was the object of his teammates' ribbing in other ways, in part because they felt he was "too generic", thus not earning enough respect, for example by always wearing a collared shirt off the field, not having any tattoos or driving a sensible mid-sized car. The group led by closer Jordan Romano had all sorts of suggestions for spicing up Mayza's image and giving him some edge, although it wasn't clear that it was a direction Mayza wanted to take. But no makeover could hide the warts on his performance on the mound that season. In 35 games, he allowed 36 hits and 12 walks in 24 2/3 innings, for a WHIP of 1.95 and an ERA of 8.03. It was quickly evident that he wasn't the same pitcher who had given Toronto so many good outings over the years, but manager John Schneider kept using him because injuries had depleted his options, and he still hoped that he would manage to find his groove, given that nothing appeared to be physically wrong with him. Finally, after a particularly disastrous turn on the mound against the New York Yankees on June 28th, in which he allowed five runs without retiring a single batter, he was designated for assignment the next day. He was pitching so poorly that the Jays did not expect him to be picked up by another team, and that he thus would be able to work things out in the minors after clearing waivers.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Keegan Matheson: "What's it like to give up a historic HR? Let this Blue Jay tell it", mlb.com, September 29, 2022. [1]
  • Keegan Matheson: "Tim Mayza serves as bat boy as fantasy football punishment", mlb.com, February 24, 2024. [2]
  • Keegan Matheson: "Why the Blue Jays think teammate needs a full makeover: Toronto relievers propose rebrand for beloved teammate to help him earn respect", mlb.com, March 12, 2024. [3]

Related Sites[edit]

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