TORONTO — Green Arrow and Superman had a brief teamup at Toronto Blue Jays batting practice on Friday afternoon.
Stephen Amell, who plays the titular hero on the TV series "Arrow," took batting practice with the Blue Jays ahead of Toronto's series opener with the Chicago White Sox. Amell was taking swings with the bat of all-star third baseman Josh Donaldson when Kevin Pillar — who often wears a Superman T-shirt under his Blue Jays jersey — offered up his lighter bat.
"I was using Josh's bat for the first three rounds and then Pillar gave me his bat. It's a little bit lighter and he's like 'trust me, take this one,'" said Amell on the field at Rogers Centre. "I didn't hit a homer but I started lacing line drives."
Once Amell got his bat on the ball he started drawing cheers from the Toronto players who had lined the batting cage to watch the TV star take some swings.
"Bautista was out there, Morales, Pillar, Tulowitzki, Stroman, Russell Martin, Josh. I felt like one of the guys for a second," said the Toronto native. "Especially when I missed a couple because the BP coach was just throwing BBs and they started getting on me a little bit which, is, you know, what you want.
"If they were quiet I'd be like 'oh God, they just want me to leave.'"
Amell and Donaldson had struck up a friendship two seasons ago when the actor started campaigning on social media for the Blue Jays third baseman to be voted to the American League all-star team. Donaldson earned the most votes of any player to earn a spot on the AL's starting lineup and went on to become league MVP.
"I've been very fortunate to be in a position where when I reach out on social media people respond," said Amell, who had taken batting practice with Donaldson one-on-one before. "If it leads to fun adventures I'm always down for it.
"It's a little bit nerve-wracking taking BP in front of professional ball players, and a bit of a crowd too, but, who cares? Let's just do it."
Although he doesn't see any professional baseball in his future, Amell thinks he's now got the edge in a rec league.
"If I can hit that BP coach I can hit anyone," said Amell.
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John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press