Kevin Pillar wasn't sure how he'd feel stepping onto the Rogers Centre turf in a different uniform for the first time.
"I'm still undecided," the former Blue Jay said hours before Tuesday's game, his first in Toronto as a member of the visiting San Francisco Giants. "Obviously I'm excited to be back here, a place I was a big fan of and a place I really enjoyed playing in.
The 30-year-old centre-fielder was emotional when speaking to media the day of the trade. Sitting in the visiting dugout three weeks later, Pillar calmly reflected on his time in the city and its brisk ending. He's also off to a hotter start to his Giants career than he was to begin the season in Toronto. Coming into Tuesday, Pillar was batting .226 with four homers and 13 runs batted over 18 games. He had one hit and three strikeouts in five games to start the year in Toronto.
Pillar, who helped lead the Blue Jays to back-to-back post-season appearances in 2015 and 2016, described those playoff memories as his most cherished in a Toronto uniform. Days after the trade, Pillar wrote a lengthy, heartfelt message to Toronto fans and his Blue Jays teammates and staff on Instagram. While the move caught him by surprise, he maintained there were no hard feelings between himself and the Blue Jays brass.
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