Jays’ Cease replaces painting in skipper’s office

TORONTO – The “Eve of Toronto” has a followup. And it’s providing plenty of colour on the wall in Blue Jays manager John Schneider’s office.

Star pitcher Dylan Cease’s latest artistic output – safe to call it “Tom Selleck” given the block letters of the actor’s name are sprawled across the canvas – was hanging Friday afternoon in the same spot his previous painting occupied.

“I was like, why Tom Selleck?” Schneider said in a pre-game media availability before the Blue Jays played the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre. “And he said something about his moustache, and people were saying it looks like Tom Selleck’s.

Cease, the ace of Toronto’s pitching staff, began painting in 2022. His “Eve of Toronto” work landed him in the Art Gallery of Ontario last month.

The gallery displayed his work in its central atrium. A limited-edition retail collection was also launched that included prints, postcards, shirts and totes, with proceeds going to charity.

When the original painting was removed from Schneider’s office for the display, a replacement print was posted on the wall. It featured a few pictures along with lines of text – ‘The painting was a gift, Todd’ – from the movie “Wedding Crashers.”

The new artwork, which included a card saying “On Loan from Cease Gallery,” includes dozens of bright flowers surrounding the multicoloured letters.

“He just replaced it, it was great,” Schneider said. “I didn’t ask for it, but I showed up after a game and it was there.”

“I never thought I’d have the name Tom Selleck in my office,” he added. “Such is life in 2026.”

Cease, 30, signed a seven-year, US$210-million contract with the Blue Jays last winter. He has a 10-5 record and 2.40 earned-run average over 27 starts this season.