Kevin Gausman has been a fan favorite for most of his 14 big league seasons, and for good reason. Now a Chicago Cub after Sunday’s swap with the Toronto Blue Jays, the 35-year-old right-hander has not only performed well on the field, he is widely regarded as both a good teammate and an all-around nice guy. With that reputation in mind, and the trade deadline fast approaching, I broached the subject of fandom with him at Fenway Park in the final week of July.
I began by asking about his boyhood allegiances.
“I was more a fan of players than teams,” replied Gausman, who was born and raised in the Denver area. “I wouldn’t say I was a huge Rockies fan — I was more fair-weather — although when I was in high school, they did go to the World Series. Even so, I was more a fan of the Cargos [Carlos González], the Tulos [Troy Tulowitzki], and guys like Todd Helton and Ubaldo Jiménez. It wasn’t so much, ‘This is my favorite team.’ I didn’t have that. I did have my favorite uniforms, which is kind of funny looking back. I always liked the old Blue Jays uniforms.”
Like many kids, he had posters on the walls of his bedroom. Randy Johnson stood tallest among them, and Gausman also recalls there being a pair of Florida Marlins: Josh Beckett and Josh Johnson, the latter of whom finished his career with the Blue Jays.
Befitting his personality, the newest member of the Cubs rotation wasn’t the type of fan who disparages players, let alone heaps abuse on them.
“Honestly, I kind of put major league players on a pedestal to where I wouldn’t even think about booing a guy,” Gausman told me. “They were doing what I wanted to do. Even from young age, I always wanted to be a baseball player. I wasn’t going to boo, but I also wasn’t very interested in anyone’s stats. It was basically, ‘He’s a major leaguer.’”
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“Maybe I was naive,” continued Gausman, who has a 117-123 won-lost record to go with a 3.85 ERA over 2,038 1/3 career innings. “Nowadays you can look up everything — look up guys’ stats — on the phone. The younger generation knows more about how a guy has been doing, and they’re maybe more inclined to talk crap if he has been struggling or whatnot.”
Gausman has had his share of ups and downs over the course of a long career. He knows what it feels like to be booed. Moreover, he’s well accustomed to hearing less popular teammates experience the wrath of leather-lunged fans.
“Obviously, some guys get more of it than others,” the veteran righty said. “Some of it is just the pressure that comes with being a big leaguer, but the more money you’re making, the more people expect from you. They feel that the guys who are getting paid the most should perform at a higher level than everybody else. I understand that. It’s probably warranted.”
“I’ve been doing this long enough to where I give guys more grace, especially compared to fans,” added the soon-to-be free agent, who signed a five-year, $110 million contract with the Blue Jays prior to the 2022 season. “I understand how hard this game is. It comes with the territory. If you want to play on TV, and you want to play in front of 30,000 people, you kind of have to be ready for some of what is going to come with that. People are going to voice their opinions.”
How much do players typically care what fans think of them? How much does Gausman himself care?
“I definitely care,” he said. “Every player cares. If a guy says he doesn’t care what the fans think of him, he’s probably not telling the truth. At the same time, I think some guys get painted negatively, and unfortunately can’t ever get out of that. It happens. Sometimes one fanbase doesn’t like a guy because he wasn’t good during the short time he was with that team. But then you go somewhere else, and maybe that changes.”
The Cubs are Gausman’s sixth team. While he’d spent the bulk of his career with Baltimore and Toronto, he’s also suited up for San Francisco, Atlanta, and Cincinnati. Not all fanbases are created equal, and that includes how they react when the on-field results — from team and player alike — leave something to be desired.
“I’ve spent the majority of my career in the AL East, and the AL East is pretty cutthroat,” said Gausman, who allowed that fanbase reputations can influence a player’s decisions where to sign. “I would say that every team in the division is focused on winning, and the fanbases kind of exemplify that. It can be either positive or negative. Winning tends to cure all, whereas when you’re losing, everything is under a magnifying glass. When you’re winning, that magnifying glass is a little smaller.”
Gausman has been more fortunate than most in that respect. While the Blue Jays have been one of this season’s most disappointing teams, and his own performance hasn’t quite lived up to his prior standards, his popularity never really waned.
“First off, as a player you’re focusing on your performance. If you perform well on the field, the fans are usually going to like you,” Gausman reasoned. “But it is also about how you represent the team and the organization. Are you a nice guy to the fans? Are you taking time out of your day to sign autographs? Little things like that can show the fanbase you’re happy they’re supporting the team, and that they’re supporting you personally. I think that’s a big part of being a big league player.”
