It is getting to that time of the year when many are beginning to prepare for their annual NFL fantasy football draft — and the Toronto Blue Jays are no different from the average sports fan in that regard.
The team runs its own football pool, with several players competing against each for gridiron bragging rights — and maybe even a little bit of financial gain as well.
But as many fantasy football players know, it’s often not enough to simply hit randomize on your league’s platform to set the all-important draft order for the managers involved. Many leagues come up with unique ways to sort out who picks when, and the Jays had a little contest up their sleeves.
As documented by Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae, the players each drew the name of a member of the team’s support staff, and whoever threw the hardest pitch would get the first pick.
Mae shared a video on Sunday of Jays manager John Schneider operating the radar gun behind home plate as a few staff members fired pitches toward the backstop.
She later shared an update congratulating assistant pitching coach Sam Greene — a former collegiate pitcher at McGill University and with the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball club — for winning the contest.
Greene was reportedly able to dial it up to 90 mph to secure the win and the top pick for Kazuma Okamoto, who very likely is participating in his first NFL fantasy football pool.
During Sunday’s game against the Yankees, Sportsnet also showed some footage of the contest with the players. Reliever Louis Varland drew some laughs by psyching up one of the hurlers for a pitch with a backslap similar to his own bullpen tradition.
During an interview, Max Scherzer also shared that Shane Bieber had been voted to take over as commissioner, a role that was previously handled by outfielder Daulton Varsho, who was traded to the Houston Astros at the deadline earlier this month.
Scherzer did joke that he wasn’t sure Bieber was “trustworthy” and that there had been 14 votes for commissioner in a 12-team league.
What other unique ways have teams picked their draft order?
This isn’t the first time the Jays have thought outside the box to pick their draft order. Last year, the team dropped items from the Rogers Centre rafters to see who could land theirs closest to a target on the field.
One user on Reddit also pointed out that one year, the Red Sox hit golf balls off Fenway Park’s Green Monster and played closest to the pin to set their order.
One viral clip on social media has also shown a group of fantasy players deciding draft order through foot races, beer chugging or by seeing who can eat a Big Mac the fastest.