THe BJH Guide to the Blue Jays on Twitter

My, how things change over the course of one year. In December of 2010, I put together a post of all the Blue Jays on Twitter. Back then, there were only seven players on Twitter and that number has ballooned to ten just one year later. 

And that doesn’t even include the multitude of minor league players and Blue Jays alumni that are also on Twitter. Much like Twitter itself, there are more players on Twitter and they’re tweeting more than ever before.

Some may think Twitter is just a bunch of digital noise about mundane happenings, but I think it’s a great way to gain some insight into the lives of our favourite players off the field.

It also allows fans to interact with the Blue Jays where they might otherwise get the opportunity to. After all, if it wasn’t for the internet and social media, how would be ever have found out that Travis Snider is the quintessential carnivore?

So just in case you aren’t following all these guys already, here’s the BJH Guide to all the Toronto Blue Jays on Twitter.

J.P. Arencibia (@jparencibia9)

By now, everyone knows that J.P. Arencibia is the preeminent Twitterer on the Blue Jays roster. He’s a proponent of multiple hashtags, enjoys long walks on Miami beach, and sharing pictures of his dog Yogi.

He tweets about anything and everything, and one thing that’s very evident in his post-game interviews as well as his tweets is J.P.’s sense of humour. He’ll even toss out a little self-deprecating humour every once in a while, which just goes to show how down-to-earth Arencibia really is.

J.P. also uses Twitter to interact with his fellow #TeamUnit members, which is the Blue Jays/Maple Leafs supergroup spearheaded by the Blue Jays catcher. Heck, they even have their own line of merchandise for sale.

Out of all the Blue Jays on Twitter, I think J.P. Arencibia uses the medium to its full potential. J.P. truly gets what it’s all about, and always makes the most of his 140 characters.

Brett Lawrie (@blawrie13)

I’m not quite sure what the standards are for one to be a “beauty”, but whomever is one of the lucky few to be followed by Brett Lawrie must surely fulfill that requirement.

What must have began as an inside joke within the Blue Jays clubhouse found its way to the internet thanks to the power of Twitter. It seems like J.P. and Ricky rag on Lawrie the most about it, but it’s all in good fun.

Jose Bautista (@joeybats19)

With over 145,000 followers and growing, Jose Bautista stands as the most popular member of the Toronto Blue Jays on Twitter.

Jose takes the bilingual approach to his tweets, often times tweeting in both English and Spanish. He’s also very supportive of his teammates, and frequently complimented them on clutch performances during the season.

Bautista also enjoys hanging out with Scottie Pippen, watching the Steelers, and returning to his homeland in the Dominican Republic and doing some fishing with his fellow countryman Edwin Encarnacion.

And how cool is it that Jose Bautista has a screencap of himself from MLB 12 The Show as his avatar?

Ricky Romero (@rickyro24)

Ricky Romero has not only evolved into a leader on the field, but the clubhouse as well. He’s a strong but silent type, and his Twitter feed reflects that persona.

Ricky is undoubtedly a big family man, and very humble for a guy who came from a modest upbringing. He seems very grounded for a guy who just signed a $30.1 million dollar contract extension this past season.

But he hasn’t let the success go to his head, as Ricky just bought his parents a new house and he even surprised his mom with a a shiny new Benz for Christmas.

Growing up in East LA, Ricky was in very close proximity to a wide range of pro sports teams. Which explains why he grew up a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers, LA Lakers, and his beloved San Francisco 49’ers.

RR must be on cloud nine as his 49’ers will be partaking in their first NFC Title game since 1997. For those counting, Ricky was 14 years old the last time the 49’ers had a shot to advance to the Super Bowl.

Oh, and his dog Ace is pretty cool, too.

Travis Snider (@Lunchboxhero45)

I can’t recall if Travis Snider was the original Blue Jay to start sending out his thoughts 140 characters at a time, but he certainly was one of the first. Travis has very quickly learned how to make the most of that very short character limit.

Perhaps the most entertaining thing was Snider’s Christmas dinner power rankings, complete with pictures of every appetizer, side dish, and main course. Those bacon-wrapped little smokies sound and look incredible.

I have to give credit to Travis for displaying the patience of a Tibetan monk with some of his followers. He tackles his haters head-on and prefers to take the “kill them with kindness” approach to any naysayers.

Snider is very active on Twitter and does a great job of interacting with his followers and answering their questions. Considering all the turmoil he experienced in 2011, Travis has remained incredibly upbeat and optimistic.

Brandon Morrow (@2Morrow23)

A few years back, there was an interview with all the members of the Blue Jays starting rotation, and Shaun Marcum made a comment about how Brandon Morrow wasn’t a chatty fellow, but when he did pipe up, Morrow’s one-liners were gold.

I get that sense from Brandon Morrow’s Twitter feed as well; he doesn’t seem like a talkative guy, but when he does speak, people pay attention.

Morrow is probably most well known for his exchange with Casper Wells, in which he apologized for on Twitter. It was the social media equivalent of a bro hug.

Edwin Encarnacion (@Encadwin)

Currently, Edwin Encarnacion only has 37 tweets to his name, and only about half of those are in English. I’m considering taking up Spanish just so I can translate the remainder of EE’s tweets.

Kyle Drabek (@kyledrabek4)

I’ve never met Kyle Drabek in person, but judging by his online persona, he seems like a very quiet and reserved young man.

Scanning through his feed, the majority of Drabek’s tweets are centred around football and food. Naturally, those two things go hand-in-hand, but other than that, there isn’t much insight into Kyle’s extracurricular activities.

Much like his pitching career, I think Kyle Drabek is still trying to discover himself both on the field and online. It’s a bit of a work in progress, but Kyle has lots of time to learn the ropes of social media.

Eric Thames (@EThames14)

Eric Thames is the latest member of the Blue Jays to sign up for Twitter, and it didn’t take him very long to make a huge impact.

Just to further substantiate that Eric Thames is the second coming of Shaft, he tweeted a picture of his latest off-season project: his beard. He is definitely one bad mother … shut your mouth!

Thames also wins bonus points for his infatuation with early 90’s wrestling references, quoting Hulk Hogan and discovering Bret Hart headbands on sale.

Darren Oliver (@southpawDO28)

And lastly, we have the latest addition to the Blue Jays roster: Darren Oliver. Up until a few days ago, I didn’t even know that Oliver had an account until Ricky Romero alerted me to it.

One very cool thing that Darren Oliver used his Twitter feed for last season was he gave fans the chance to play against him in Words with Friends for a chance to win Rangers tickets.

In a related story, I think Dave just found his new favourite Blue Jay. Make that two admitted Words with Friends fanatics on the Blue Jays roster, the other being Colby Rasmus.

For a full list of current Blue Jays, minor leaguers, and Blue Jays alumni, check out my Blue Jays Players Twitter list. Or for more information on the Blue Jays on Twitter, visit the Blue Jays Social Media Clubhouse.