Pillar, an LA native, on converting family, friends to #SFGiants fans: “It’s going to take a while for my friends and family to come around.” pic.twitter.com/iN2ZXjbGBV
— KNBR (@KNBR) April 3, 2019
LOS ANGELES – Kevin Pillar just flew 2,181 miles to end up right back home. The 30-year-old Gold Glove outfielder grew up in West Hills, Los Angeles, and, as most kids from Los Angeles do, on the Dodgers.
Pillar may know this rivalry as well as anyone who’s never taken part in it, let alone never set foot in Dodger Stadium as a pro.
“It was kind of crazy to be just kind of thrown into the fire, but obviously, I grew up not too far from here and I know how historic this rivalry is,” Pillar said. “It’s really cool to be a part of something like that. In Toronto, it’s a little bit different. We didn’t really have a natural rivalry. From year to year, you kind of had teams that you had a little history with and things got a little heated, but nothing to the extent of this, so it’s really cool to be a part of something like that.”
Pillar: “I know how historic this rivalry is. It’s really cool to be a part of something like that.” pic.twitter.com/d6mIiORD0r
— KNBR (@KNBR) April 3, 2019
This is where Pillar’s love of baseball was sparked. It’s where he and his brother, Michael, and father, Mike came to “thousands” of Dodgers games, and where Pillar said the concept of becoming a baseball player was awakened in him.
“It was a surreal moment for me,” Pillar said. “I think aside from being traded early this morning, coming to play for a brand-new organization for my first time, I grew up here in Los Angeles, came to thousands of Dodger games. This is my first opportunity to step in the batters’ box. It was a pretty cool moment for me. It wasn’t the fairytale ending that I was hoping for, but it was obviously nice to get out there and get my feet wet in a new uniform. I look forward to contributing.”
That attachment to Los Angeles also comes with some trickiness in terms of family and friends. Pillar said a part of him envisioned that he’d play for the Dodgers one day, just like any Bay Area kid who loves baseball would feel the same way about the Giants and A’s. As any Giants or Dodgers fan knows, it’s not exactly an easy (or some would say, possible) switch cheering for the other side.
“It’s going to take a while for my friends to come around,” Pillar said. “In some way, it was easy when I was drafted by the Blue Jays, a team kind of forgotten on the map a little bit, a team so far from home. It was easy to convert friends and family to be Blue Jay fans. It’s going to be a little bit harder to convert some friends and family into Giants fans, but I know they’ll be cheering for me, and ultimately, we’ll win them over.”
Of course, these are all added layers upon the already emotionally taxing reality that Pillar endured. He’d been with the Blue Jays organization since he was drafted in 2011, and had been on the major league club since 2013.
When Pillar found out he was traded, he’d just spent the usual morning with his wife Amanda Gulyas, and his year-and-a-half-old daughter Kobie Ray. He was blocks from his Toronto home.
“I actually had an appointment I was on my way to at 10:30 and I got in my car and I got about two block from where I lived and I got the phone call from our general manager (Ross Atkins) and I knew it wasn’t him calling to wish me a good morning, so I knew something was up, and I picked it up and just said, ‘Where am I going?’ In some way, it was definitely shocking,” Pillar said.
He continued, adding that he was surprised the trade happened so early on.
“You don’t anticipate it happening so early in the year,” Pillar said. “I think my antennas went up a little bit when we traded (Kendrys) Morales on the eve of opening day that it could happen to anyone at any time. I kind of got tired of answering the questions with the media there. I just enjoy playing. I don’t really try to think about that stuff too much, so in some way I was relieved a little bit that I got a fresh start and got out of there and get to enjoy a full season here.”
For anyone concerned about Pillar’s attachment to the Dodgers, fear not. Pillar said the years of watching the Dodgers play the Giants created a respect for the Giants.
“I think you learn to respect this organization because they’re known for winning, and I think that’s why the rivalry is so intense because it’s two historic franchises that have a pedigree of winning, and that’s exciting,” Pillar said. “That’s what makes a Yankee-Red Sox rivalry pretty exciting because they’re both franchises that win. You don’t get rivalries unless teams are competitive and trying to accomplish the same thing, so I’ve always had the utmost respect for this organization.”
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