Chris Coghlan's tenure with the Blue Jays only lasted 36 games. But he left his mark with one of the most remarkable plays of the 2017 season.
Coghlan's acrobatic, somersaulting leap over St. Louis' Yadier Molina on April 25 was so spectacular that it earned him a nomination for Best Play, Offence, in this year's Esurance MLB Awards.
• Vote for this season's best stars and moments in the Esurance MLB Awards
The Esurance MLB Awards annually honour MLB's greatest achievements as part of an industry-wide balloting process that includes five groups, each of which accounts for 20 percent of the overall vote: Media, front-office personnel, retired MLB players, fans at MLB.com and Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) members.
The MLB Awards are an all-inclusive program, encompassing the top players and performances from both the American and National Leagues from Opening Day through the end of the postseason.
Voting led off with seven categories on Sept. 18 at mlb.com/awards, serving as the grand entrance of a program that will unveil nominees for Best Call, TV/Radio; Best Major Leaguer, Postseason; and Best Postseason Moment following the Fall Classic's final out. The ninth inning of voting will begin around BBWAA Awards week, which opens when the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award winners are unveiled on Monday, Nov. 13. Voting for the final five categories will begin at 7 p.m. ET on the following dates:
• Best Executive: Thursday, Nov. 9.
• Best Rookie: Monday, Nov. 13.
• Best Manager: Tuesday, Nov. 14.
• Best Pitcher: Wednesday, Nov. 15.
• Best Major Leaguer: Thursday, Nov. 16.
MLB Awards season will culminate on Friday, Nov. 17, when winners are announced live on MLB Network and MLB.com starting at 8 p.m. ET.
Coghlan took the team's "Let's Rise" motto to a new level when he scored from first base on a triple off the right-field wall by Kevin Pillar. The throw home clearly beat him, but Coghlan, who walked as a pinch-hitter, took it upon himself to score by any means necessary.
"I was coming around third, and I looked to my left to see where the ball was," Coghlan said. "I saw it was going to beat me, and then, probably the last step or two, I saw Yadi go down. Your first thought is, 'OK, I'm going to run him over because he's right over the plate.' Then, I was thinking, since he was down, 'Why don't you jump?' I just jumped, and the rest is history."