DUNEDIN, FLA.—It was probably the extension of his arm on a hellacious swing of the bat which created the trompe l’oeil illusion that had a huddle of reporters behind the outfield fence asking aloud: “Did he just call his shot?”

Such are myths born.

It was a massive home run the other way, a two-run shot in the eighth inning from Alejandro Kirk, the most adorable of the Blue Jays at spring training.

When the question was put to the 21-year-old fire plug of a catcher afterward, he was aghast. “No! No, no, no!”

That much the Mexican can say in English.

When Kirk clomped into the clubhouse, all chuffed from his exhibition game jack, he was immediately descended upon by high-fiving — well, in his stubby player’s case, low-fiving — teammates.

“Rub some of that stuff on me,” urged Anthony Alford.

“I just want a hug,” said Jonathan Davis, folding the 265-pound Kirk in an embrace.

“Hey boy, hey boy, hey boy,” chirped Rowdy Tellez, bringing up the rear in the greeting group.

Every spring, it seems, there’s that one player who becomes instantly beloved to teammates. In 2020, at his first big-league camp, it’s Kirk. Quiet and shy and endearing.

He’s not your prototypical athlete, roly-poly at an alleged five-foot-nine (ahem, not even if he was standing on his tippytoe cleats). Yet there’s a certain kind of grace often found in chubby people.

“Just his all-round athleticism,” said Ken Huckaby, the Jays’ catching co-ordinator for the last three years, “in a package that doesn’t look stereotypically like he should be able to do what he can do. He holds all the skill sets that you look for in a catcher. His body makeup and his stature is just who he is as a person. But his athleticism is major-league quality.”

Kirk explains his agility with a shrug: “It’s natural. Since I was born, my body shape has always been the same. I’ve always been agile with my movement.”

He’s hitting an eye-popping .429 in seven spring games, albeit with limited at-bats. “I’ll tell you what, that was impressive,” cooed manager Charlie Montoyo, of the catcher’s mighty swat. “With two strikes and to go to the opposite field like that. This kid has played so good in spring training and he’s already a fan favourite. I’m a fan of the kid.”

The arms seem hardly long enough to generate power. In fact, those limb dimensions are an apparent asset standing upright at the plate. “That helps because he’s got a short stroke,” said Montoyo. “He doesn’t get big so he stays short to the ball.”

Kirk concurs. “Obviously, I’m not a big, tall guy,” he said, through team interpreter Hector Lebron. “I don’t have long arms. But I think my hands are very quick and explosive. That’s where I generate all my power. Being explosive and quick.”

He displays remarkably soft hands catching, with a swift release on throws. And, spring training offensive numbers notwithstanding, it’s his defence that is most compelling to the organization right now and why Kirk projects as a big-league catcher of the not-distant future. He has no problem blocking balls in the dirt and pitchers have praised his framing ability.

“He’s always been what you see defensively on the field, as far as his defensive skills go,” said Huckaby. “His development has been more in the mental, tactical part of the game. Last year he had a really good year here in (high class-A) Dunedin, mixed with (low-A) Lansing. Toward the second half of last year, we really started to push the tactical part on him: how to dissect a game, how to handle a pitching staff.

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“That’s where his game is right now. He’s trying to transition away from worrying about what he’s doing physically on the field and more about what he’s doing mentally on the field.”

The Tijuana-born Kirk was an unexpected find when spotted. Toronto scouts were actually checking out another player on the Toros de Tijuana late in the summer of 2016. But special assignment scout Dean Decillis was more intrigued by this 17-year-old kid, who was then five-foot-seven and already considerably more than 200 pounds.

Toronto ended up signing Kirk as an international free agent at the bargain basement price of $30,000 (U.S.) in a deal arranged with the Toros. Kirk received only $7,500 of it, as per the system then in place. He didn’t have any say in the matter because the Toros owned his rights.

The son of an amateur Mexican ballplayer who coached Little League, Kirk took up the game when he was just three years old, and starting catching at 12, mostly because he idolized an older brother who played that position. “I was trying to be like him, always.”

Under Toronto stewardship, he has progressed steadily up the minor-league ladder, despite missing all of 2017 because of a hand injury suffered in a car accident. At the plate, he has hit .316 over the past two seasons, slashing .290/.403/.466 in 2019. He sees the ball extremely well, with excellent zone recognition. He has walked more than he has struck out at every level he’s played.

He admits being lonely at first, leaving family and friends behind, coming to a country where he didn’t speak the language. “It affected me a little bit, being away from home, not being able to communicate. Thank God there were a lot of Latin players around to talk to. Other than that, I made my adjustments.”

Ruben Tejada and fellow catcher Patrick Cantwell are his closest buddies in the clubhouse. But everybody wants a piece of the sweetie. And the idea he’s become something of a media darling as well is gobsmacking to Kirk.

“This is super-new for me,” he marvelled. “I’ve never had that kind of attention before. It’s very nice but I know I have to concentrate on my goals for this year. Basically, all I want to focus on here is to be consistent in everything, offensively, defensively, keep showing everyone what I’m capable of doing.”

Kirk helpfully made recommendations to a Toronto reporter about where to go for a good Mexican meal in the area. And if his appetite is as expansive as his girth, the Jays seem not overly concerned about that. Yet. They’ve been down this road with Guerrero, though Kirk doesn’t have his grandmother in tow to cook meals for him everywhere.

“We’re encouraging him to get into better routines in his life,’’ said Huckaby, who was recently named manager of the triple-A Bisons. “The byproduct of that is him changing the way his body is. We’re trying to get him just to have a healthy lifestyle so that it can sustain him for a long time.”

Prudent, sure. But on the other hand, why fix what ain’t broken?

A charming grin splits Kirk’s round face. “I’m having the best time of my life.”