Former Toronto Blue Jays centre fielder Kevin Pillar has nothing but good things to say about the city he called home for seven years.
Toronto has taken some heat in the sports world as of late, with former Raptor Thad Young expressing how difficult it was to play north of the border. The 36-year-old, who played with the Raptors from 2022 to 2024, is one of several former Raptors who have complained about playing in Toronto.
“I ain’t gonna lie, being in Toronto was kinda tough,” Young said. “It’s cool to visit, be there for like four or five days, but to live there, it was tough. It was tough on my family.
“It’s almost like you’re at a disadvantage. We had to go through the airport every single time. You gotta go through the airport, it’s the customs part of it. It’s like, you mean to tell me I just paid for the package, and now I’ve got to pay more money to get my package from you? Like, c’mon, man. Customs? Then getting stuck at the border. I got stuck at the border for like three or four hours.”
Young was the most recent former Raptor to voice his disapproval of playing and living in Toronto. Lou Williams, who won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award with the Raptors in 2015, and Goran Dragic have also had rather negative views of the city in the past. Pillar, however, seems to disagree with their sentiment.
Pillar was asked about these comments in a recent appearance on The JD Bunkis Podcast, and had a much different perspective. While he acknowledged there is an inconvenience that comes with the travel, the love and support he felt from a whole country seemingly outweighed any potential negatives.
“I’ve never really understood when people complain about that,” Pillar said. “I never saw [those issues] as enough to not want me or my family to be able to play there. There’s an additional challenge for your families to travel and have to clear customs. I could see how some people could see how that’s an issue.
“There’s not a lot of places where you’re generally a big deal, like movie star status in a city… I felt like as an athlete in Toronto, you’re at the top of the totem pole in terms of popularity and the ability to just have access to anything that you want to have access to. I thought that was well worth the price of occasionally having a little more difficulty travelling.”
These remarks are part of what made Pillar such a fan favourite during his lengthy Blue Jays tenure. He brought a heart-and-soul type approach that made it evident how much it meant to him to play in Toronto.
The man dubbed “Superman” during his time with the Blue Jays will be returning for a 13th season, as he was able to crack the Texas Rangers roster after initially planning to retire at the conclusion of the 2024 campaign.
