LOS ANGELES — If you grew up anywhere between the 605 and the PCH, there’s a certain feeling that hits when you take that turn onto Vin Scully Avenue and Chavez Ravine comes into view. This week, four Blue Jays know that feeling as well as any of us. Shane Bieber, Myles Straw, Tyler Heineman, and Ty France are back in Southern California for the World Series, playing a short drive from the neighborhoods and ballfields that shaped them. Let’s look at each, and go into the journeys that took them from those ballfields to the bright lights of the World Series.
Shane Bieber
Let’s start with Shane Bieber. He was born in Orange not too far from Freddie Freeman and came up at Laguna Hills High before turning himself into a Friday-night star at UC Santa Barbara, then a first-round talent in everything but name for Cleveland, where he won a Cy Young and a reputation for being a crafty pitcher with elite command. The part that makes this homecoming real from a baseball standpoint: Toronto traded for him in July, a win-now swing that paid off when he returned from injury to headline their rotation down the stretch. The New York Times called it the “biggest pitching splash of the deadline,” a move designed for nights just like these. His biography is pure SoCal baseball: Orange County birth certificate, Laguna Hills High, UCSB breakthrough.
Myles Straw
Myles Straw is an elite defender in the outfield and a guy with excellent speed on the bases, but he hasn’t seen much action in the postseason this year (only eleven at-bat this postseason). His is the most tenuous connection to Southern California. He was born in Garden Grove, but grew up in Florida, where he was a JUCO star before being drafted by the Astros (boo!). Chances are his affinity for Dodger Stadium is minimal.
Ty France
And then there’s first baseman Ty France, who will be able to look up into the stands and find plenty of friendly faces tonight. France was born in Downey, went to South Hills High School in West Covina, and played his college ball at San Diego State before starting his big league career with the Padres. He’s turned into a bit of a journeyman since his 2018 debut. After a two year stint in San Diego, France has played for the Mariners, Reds, and Twins, before going to Toronto during the Minnesota fire sale at the trade deadline. He’s yet to make an appearance in the postseason, but his bat looms as a potential threat in a tight ballgame in the late innings. In the meantime, he can enjoy a Dodger Dog as he’s no doubt done many times in his youth.
Tyler Heineman
Finally, there’s backup catcher Tyler Heineman, who was born right here in LA, in Pacific Palisades. He attended the Windward School in the Palms area of town. There, he played for the school’s baseball team. He batted .490 as a sophomore (2007), batted .619 as a junior (2008; establishing the Windward School single-season batting average record), and batted .487 and earned first-team CIF Division IV honors as a senior (2009) in addition to Delphic League MVP honors.
Lightly recruited by college programs, Heineman did not receive any scholarship offers. Instead, he enrolled at UCLA, where he made the Bruins team as a walk-on. He played sparingly as a freshman and sophomore, but by his junior year, Heineman had become the Bruins’ starting catcher after starting catcher Steve Rodriguez and prized recruit Austin Hedges both signed professional contracts. He was named All-Pac-12 and was a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench award, given annually to college baseball’s best catcher. Like France, he’s not been able to stay long with any on organization, logging in big league time with five different teams. This is his third separate stint with the Jays, so there must be something about this former Bruin that they like. Although, barring an injury to Alejandro Kirk (or perhaps a late substitution after someone–maybe Myles Straw–pinch runs for Kirk), most of Heinenman’s action will be from the bench.
It is not hard to picture what this all means inside their text threads. Bieber sorting family-ticket lists between scouting reports. Heineman organizing a two-dozen-deep roll call from relatives who still live off the 405. France checking who needs passes and who needs directions. For Big-league players, homecomings can turn into logistics problems; that’s the job. But the other half is quieter. The ride up the hill. The sudden memory of a youth tournament somewhere in the Valley, or a college trip north where Dodger Stadium sat like a postcard.
The SoCal layer just gives it color. Bieber arriving to the park through roads he’s taken since he was a kid. Heineman hearing a pocket of fans with that sounds like home. France seeing familiar faces on a concourse that probably hosted a Little League day for him once upon a time. It is all ordinary and surreal at the same time.
The jersey colors aren’t quite Dodger blue. But the geography is the same. October makes room for both.
Have you subscribed to the Bleed Los Podcast YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows & promotions, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
