Kevin Gregg was not promised the closer's role when he penned his name on a one-year pact with the Blue Jays last winter. The veteran reliever was not awarded the job after piecing together a strong showing in Spring Training, either.
Gregg did not complain. He just waited for his opportunity.
Now, with roughly one month left on the schedule, Gregg is entrenched as the Jays' stopper, quietly fashioning the best season of his career. There have been a handful of ugly turns along the way, but Gregg's overall body of work has been solid in his inaugural tour with Toronto.
"He's done a good job for us," Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said. "Without him, we wouldn't have a lot of these wins. He's had trouble at times, but most of of the time he's done a good job. He's only had a few bad times out there."
No one is perfect.
On Saturday, Gregg took the mound at Rogers Centre, clinging to a 5-4 lead over the Tigers with two outs and a man on second base. One run had just crossed the plate on a double yielded by the closer. Unfazed, Gregg needed only four pitches to strike out Detroit's Ramon Santiago, sealing the win and collecting a save.
It was not necessarily pretty, but it was effective.
That, in a sense, has been the story of Gregg's season.
That save against the Tigers was the 30th of the year for Gregg, marking his most since saving a career-best 32 as a closer for the Marlins in 2007. Gregg's total this year is made more impressive when considering he did not receive the primary ninth-inning duties until mid-April.
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