DUNEDIN — Cody Ponce believes he had the best season of his career because he got back in touch with his inner child. Ponce is a journeyman pitcher who last played in Major League Baseball in 2021 as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, bouncing between the big-league team and its triple-A affiliate. He then moved on to Japan for five years and spent last season in South Korea’s KBO League where he was named the most valuable player. The 31-year-old Ponce explained the difference between his time in Pittsburgh and the Hanwha Eagles in Korea. “I wouldn’t even so much say it’s like, baseball wise, but more just like, personality wise,” Ponce said on Sunday at the Toronto Blue Jays spring training facility. “I was a young pup coming up and down quite a bit for two years (with the Pirates), and having the ability to create my own routines and figure that all out, and also just finding my inner child.” What does that entail? “Falling more in love with Star Wars,” said Ponce, who has several Star Wars-themed tattoos, including a sleeve covering his lower right leg. “Yeah, I would say falling more in love with Star Wars, keeping a smile on my face a little bit more, and just enjoying a ball game.” The Force must have been with Ponce last year, because he had an excellent season. Ponce had a 17-1 record over 29 starts with Hanwha in 2024, with a 1.89 earned-run average and 252 strikeouts. He agreed to a three-year, US$30-million deal with Toronto on Dec. 10. “I’ve heard a lot as to why guys are having success,” chuckled Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “You might catch him doing some yoga. You might catch him running around with no shoes on. “(Ponce and fellow free-agent signee Dylan Cease) are very in touch with what makes them them. I haven’t heard ‘inner child’ in a while, but kind of fitting for Cody.” A more practical reason for Ponce’s success in South Korea was his mastery of a kick change-up, a breaking ball where all four fingers grip across four seams of the baseball but the middle finger is applied more lightly, spiking the ball when the pitcher snaps his wrist in delivery. Ponce used it very effectively in both Asian leagues, but they also use different kinds of baseballs. The balls used in those leagues are slightly smaller, with more narrow and high seams. They are also slightly smaller in circumference and made of a different, tackier kind of leather. Practising on his own time, Ponce would switch between the two different kinds of balls to ensure he didn’t lose his grip. “Really, just depending on who I was playing catch with,” said Ponce. “If I was playing catch with (Texas Rangers pitcher) Jordan Montgomery, I’d be playing catch with the big league ball. If I was playing catch with (Kia Tigers pitcher) James Naile, I was playing catch with the Korean ball, so kind of just went back and forth with them depending on who I was with that day.” “He was looking forward to the Major League ball, as opposed to the one in Korea or Japan, where it’s a little bit more tacky,” said Schneider. “He thinks he’s going to get a little bit better action on (the kick change) with these balls. “He made an effort to come down here a little bit earlier and get used to that, just to kind of check that box. If he hadn’t used them before, I think it would be a little bit more of a learning curve, but so far so good.” Ponce will likely begin the season as a starter with Shane Bieber out of the rotation. Bieber has had to slow his preparation for the season as he deals with forearm fatigue. Bieber is still throwing at 90 feet as he stretches out his arm, but Schneider is optimistic even though the 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner hasn’t started throwing at a distance of 120 feet. “I think more encouraging right now is just how he’s feeling during and after,” said Schneider. “I think later this week he’ll get stretched out a little bit more and hopefully keep him in the right direction that he is going.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2026. John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
