When Mark Budzinski, ’95, jogged to his spot next to first base as a coach for the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night, he joined a very exclusive club: Spiders who have been on the field for a World Series. His team is matched up against the Los Angeles Dodgers, last year’s champions.
1977 graduate Renie Martin is another one of these distinctive Spiders. He pitched nine innings of middle relief over three games for the Kansas City Royals in the 1980 World Series. “The first time on the mound, I was like, ‘Hey I’m in the World Series’ — you know, anxious,” he said. “But after the first couple of hitters — I don’t want to use the term ‘It’s just another game,’ but you just get about doing your business.”
Spiders who have shared the experience all have similar advice for Budzinski as he makes his debut: Stay present to the moment. Take in as much as you can. Tune out the noise. Savor the experience.
“It’s definitely a blessing to make it,” said Brian Jordan, R’89, who capped his 1999 All-Star season with his World Series debut with the Atlanta Braves that fall. “It could be a once in a lifetime thing, which it was for me. I got there in ’99, and I never got back. You have to embrace it because you may never get the opportunity [again]. A lot of players never get that opportunity.”
Sean Casey, ’96, was a teammate of Budzinski’s at Richmond. Like Martin and Jordan, he made it to one World Series during his career, with the Detroit Tigers in 2006. Today, he’s a broadcast analyst for Major League Baseball.
“I played 12 years in the biggies,” he said. “I played with so many guys that never played a day in the postseason, let alone in the World Series. Even watching as an analyst, you see how hard it is to win. Toronto had to go to seven games against the Mariners just to get in. ... Winning the pennant is so hard. You’re never going to feel the energy you feel in the World Series. You can’t replicate that. The experience is just incredible, so I’m just so excited for [Budzinski]. I love him like a brother.”
Budzinski, who majored in business administration at Richmond, spent almost all of his 11-year playing career in the minor leagues, with four appearances at the Major League level. His staying power at the top level has come as a coach. He landed his first big league coaching position with the Cleveland Guardians [then the Indians] in 2017 and joined the Blue Jays staff in November 2018 as first base coach, where he’s been ever since. He has attended the World Series before, but this is his first time as a participant.
“You’re never going to feel the energy you feel in the World Series. You can’t replicate that. The experience is just incredible, so I’m just so excited for [Budzinski]. I love him like a brother.”
On Friday morning, hours before the first pitch of Game 1, Budzinski said he’d slept well the night before making his debut. “We’ve been preparing, really, all of our lives for this moment,” he said.
In 2024, the team finished the regular season with a losing record and at the bottom of the American League East. In 2025, they tied for the third-best record over regular season and finished atop the division.
“All year, even from spring training, we knew this group was really tight and really motivated,” Budzinski said. “After having a difficult year last year, to turn things around — I’m so proud of them for all their efforts to support each other, to be there for each other, for being unselfish. And for our organization from top to bottom, our front office, our staff, our trainers, our coaches — everybody involved pulling in the same direction. It’s just nice to see all that come together to be rewarded with the opportunity to win a championship.”
Going to the series as a coach has a different dynamic than being a player, he said.
“Most of your life, you’re a player, so that’s what you think about. You strive to make it to the big leagues, No. 1, and then to play in a World Series. A lot of that focuses on preparing yourself and dealing with the emotion that comes along with it,” he said.
“As a coach, it’s definitely different, but it’s very rewarding because you spend so many days with everybody on the team, and you want it so bad for everybody. As coaches, we want the best for our players, for them to go out and perform the best they can. To see them get this opportunity to perform on the biggest stage against the defending world champs is very rewarding and exciting.”
“Believe me, it’s just as much pressure on a coach as it is on a player. You want to be successful. You’re playing for your future.”
Jordan said that the pressures of being a coach in the World Series aren’t any less, just different because player performance reflects on the coaches. “You’re under the microscope,” he said. “Everybody’s watching you. Believe me, it’s just as much pressure on a coach as it is on a player. You want to be successful. You’re playing for your future.”
Casey said that Spiders from the mid-1990s, when he and Budzinski played for Richmond, are all cheering on their pal.
“We’ve got a text string going with everybody that was on our team all those years, and we’re all so excited for Bud,” he said. “We’re very fired up for him, his whole family, and the Blue Jays organization. Mark is just the greatest human being alive, the most selfless guy you’ll ever meet.”
His advice for Budzinski? “Stick to your routines, and be in the moment. It goes by fast. Enjoy the time with your family, and make sure you experience it with everybody. It’s just an amazing time.”
That can be much easier said than done, Casey acknowledged. “You’re going to be living and dying on every pitch,” he said. “It’s incredible. The stress is at another level, but it’s a good stress. It’s tough to stay in the moment and take it all in because every pitch matters and the stakes are so heightened.”
Martin calls the experience of being in a World Series “surreal.” He said that he likely faced far fewer distractions and demands in the 1980 series than Budzinski faces today. During Martin’s World Series, his Royals faced the Phillies. After the games in Philadelphia, Martin hopped in a car to spend the night at his parents’ house in Dover, Delaware. That’s difficult to imagine today.
“The first time on the mound, I was like, ‘Hey I’m in the World Series’ — you know, anxious. But after the first couple of hitters — I don’t want to use the term ‘It’s just another game,’ but you just get about doing your business.”
“It’s probably a lot more difficult to stay focused because of all the TV and cameras and the social media, all that kind of stuff,” he said. “He doesn’t need to hear this from me, but I’d say just stay focused and do what you did to get there.”
Jordan says much the same.
“You can’t prepare for it. You can’t prepare for every inning, every pitch, meaning something,” he said before Game 1. “I think he’s going to be nervous, just like players are going to be nervous. Even though you don’t have to swing the bat or throw a pitch, you still have to instruct your players to go out there and be themselves. A coach’s job is trying to get a player relaxed and having fun and not changing who they are.”
The words of advice from Spiders who have been there are consistent with what Budzinski has been hearing from friends around the league. Casey’s personal advice to him, he said, “was try to take a second, enjoy it.” Budzinski has heard the same thing from others, and he’s doing his best to heed the advice he’s getting.
“There are guys who’ve played on this team for 10 years and are just making it now,” he said. “It’s never guaranteed. It’s very tough to get here. You want to appreciate it, but you also want to perform, right? Sticking to your processes and sticking to your routines are very important so that you don’t make it bigger than it is. ... I’m thankful to be part of it and to try and enjoy this experience and win it for the Toronto Blue Jays and Canada.”
Top image: Toronto Blue Jays first base coach Mark Budzinski, left, cheers on George Springer, right, as he rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run against the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning in Game 7 of baseball's American League Championship Series in Toronto, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)