Three years ago, Nathan Lukes was ready to walk away from baseball.
Drafted in the seventh round by the Cleveland Guardians in 2015, Lukes had bounced around both the Cleveland and the Tampa Bay Rays farm systems for years, waiting for a shot at the majors. But after waiting for the call to the show Lukes, now married with a young daughter, was ready to make a different call at the end of the 2022 season.
“It had always gone through my mind when I hadn’t debuted [in MLB] yet — I told my wife in my first year of free agency [2022], ‘Let’s do this year, see where it leads, and then I think it could be time to just be a dad,’” Lukes recalled earlier this series. “It was at the end of that year Ross [Atkins, the Blue Jays General Manager] called me and told me I was on the 40-man roster. So, I mean, that’s the golden ticket.”
Yet there he was at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night, digging into the batter’s box for the Toronto Blue Jays, in what might have been the biggest at-bat of not just the game, but his life.
That “golden ticket” led to Lukes appearing in 29 games for the Blue Jays in 2023. Despite suffering a torn ligament in his left thumb that cost him all but 22 MLB games in 2024, Lukes was with the big club to start the year and was Toronto’s fourth outfielder as well as a left-handed bat off the bench for the Blue Jays.
He was in the starting lineup for Game 1 of the ALDS, and he went 2-for-5 with a two-run double as Toronto took Game 1 against the Yankees. The veteran was back in the starting lineup for Game 4 at Yankee Stadium on Thursday.
In the top of the seventh, Toronto held a slim 2-1 lead, and had a pair of runners on and first base open when Lukes came to the plate with two outs. The outfielder had gone 0-for-3 to that point against starter Cam Schlittler, but with the rookie right-hander at 88 pitches and the Yankees’ season hanging in the balance, Aaron Boone called on Devin Williams to get the final out of the inning against Lukes.
This was a critical moment in the contest. With the dangerous Vladimir Guerrero Jr. lurking on deck, New York needed to get out of the top of the frame still trailing by one to keep their hopes alive. To do that, they needed to get Lukes, the journeyman who had almost walked away from the game, out.
After taking a fastball up for ball one, Lukes got another fastball up and away in the zone, and he made the most of it:
The lefty went the other way with the pitch, lacing a single over the leaping Anthony Volpe. The hit brought both Ernie Clement and Andrés Giménez to the plate, and staked Toronto to a 4-1 lead.
The Blue Jays would not look back, securing a 5-1 win to book their spot in the ALCS. The road to the World Series in the American League now runs through Toronto.
After the game, Lukes was a big topic of conversation, starting with manager John Schneider’s post-game press conference.
“Couldn’t be happier for Nathan Lukes with the series that he had, the season he’s had really,” started the Toronto manager.
Asked about Toronto’s ability to make contact at the plate, not just during the series but all season long, Schneider again pointed to Lukes.
“I think kind of the epitome of it is Nathan Lukes facing Devin Williams knowing he’s probably going to get a fastball with Vlad sitting on deck and not being afraid to commit to it when the change-up is his best pitch,” said Schneider. “So I think guys have a plan when they go up there, and we try to utilize everyone’s skill set to the best that we can.”
In the locker room celebration that followed, Schneider again mentioned Lukes.
Albeit in a much different fashion.
“Every single one of you, f***ing bullpen game, Nathan Lukes, Myles Straw, all you motherf***ers, it takes everybody, every day,” Schneider said.
“Start spreading the news, *******.”
Before the game Lukes met with the media, and was asked if there was a moment this season that convinced him he was an everyday player.
His answer highlighted his journey.
“Oh, man, I don’t even know. There’s plenty. I’m trying to think to the beginning of the season. Any swing that helps the team, I guess, every RBI, every sac bunt, drag bunt, squeeze, hit and run, kind of they all just blend together,“ said Lukes.
Now that journey, which has taken him from the minors all the way to Yankee Stadium, is making its next stop: The ALCS.
With a spot in the World Series on the line.
Thanks in large part to the biggest swing of his life.
