7 fun facts about new Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dylan Cease
Dylan Cease is an interesting dude.
Not only is he one of the most lethal strikeout pitchers in baseball, but he's also a disc golf enthusiast, RuneScape player, animal lover, and part-time painter.
"I get bored easily," Dylan Cease told a reporter earlier this season. "As a starting pitcher, we have a lot of downtime, so I have to mentally fill it with things."
His laundry list of hobbies might make him one of the most interesting men in all of baseball.
The Toronto Blue Jays sent shockwaves through baseball by signing free-agent pitcher Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million contract.
By all accounts, the Jays have brought another decent guy into a locker room that was already oozing good vibes.
Here are seven fun facts about the newest pitcher in Toronto.
1. He's a twin
Dylan Cease actually has a younger twin brother by the name of Alec Cease. Dylan is the older of the two by a matter of minutes.
His presence has led to some fan conspiracy theories throughout the years, something Blue Jays fans are already getting into.
Both brothers played baseball, as Alex Cease was a catcher and a third baseman.
The baseball lineage goes way back in the Cease family, as Dylan's grandmother, Betty, got paid to play professional baseball in the 1940s.
At one point with the San Diego Padres, Cease was one of three players on the roster who had a twin brother.
2. Has identical cats
The twinning doesn't end there with Cease.
Not only does he have a twin, but he has two nearly identical Tonkinese cats named Luna and Sage.
He also picked up beekeeping as a hobby, along with his father.
3. Channels his inner Bob Ross
Among the long list of hobbies that Cease has picked up, painting is one of them.
In fact, he got so into it that he claimed one painting took him 30 hours to complete.
"I can't draw, but painting is a little more forgiving," Cease said. "If you mess up, you can just turn it into a background and say you textured it, when actually it's like, no, I just messed up a bunch, but turned it into something nice."
4. Jersey number inspired by yoga
Athletes often have an individual in their life who inspires their jersey number.
Cease, on the other hand, dedicated the No. 84 on his back to his appreciation for yoga.
That number signifies the 84 asanas, which represent a complete system for physical and spiritual mastery, health, and balance.
He's mentioned in interviews that his jersey number is a shoutout to his favourite yogi, Sadhguru.
"I stumbled across [Sadhguru] a while ago and I just... vibed with it, I guess," Cease said.
The 29-year-old also said he's spent time with Sadhguru down at the Isha Institute of Inner-Sciences in Tennessee to work on his yoga moves.
"I'm not an enlightened person or anything like that, but it makes me feel good," he said. "It makes me feel good about life."
5. Collects Pokémon cards
Cease is an avid card collecter, with a portfolio that includes baseball cards, LeBron James rookie cards, and Pokémon cards.
The Georgia native actually has his own card-collecting channel on TikTok and Instagram, which he says he started with a military buddy who primarily runs the channel.
When asked what his favourite Pokémon was in an interview earlier this year, Cease mentioned Charizard as a go-to, along with Obrion.
"I like all 151 stuff," he said. "All Pokémon is interesting."
6. Building a disc golf empire
When baseball is in the offseason, one of Cease's favourite activities is playing disc golf.
Not only is he an avid player in the offseason, but Cease also has his own line of disc golf merch, and he's involved with building courses.
"I really feel like disc golf is underrated," he said to San Diego Padres reporter Mariluz Cook.
So, he tried to change that by teaming up with disc golf legend Paul McBeth. The two of them worked to buy land in Alabama and Florida, where they've constructed courses that now appear on the Disc Golf World Tour.
7. Was perfect in MLB batting debut
Is there anything Cease can't do?
The former Cy Young runner-up might be lethal with his fastball, but he can also hit as well.
Cease was one of the top hitters on his high school team down in Georgia before becoming a full-time pitcher.
He parlayed that high school success during his first appearance at the plate as a hitter.
During a game against the Cincinnati Reds back in 2021, Cease went three-for-three as a batter.
"Hitting is the funnest part of baseball," he said earlier this year. "I always wanted to be a power-hitting shortstop."
Cease also produced 11 strikeouts in that game as well. He has only appeared as a batter in two other games in his MLB career, and none since 2021.
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