Dopirak’s lot improves on, off diamond

Two years ago, near the conclusion of spring training, he was released by the Chicago Cubs after six years in the organization. He headed back to Florida with no idea what would happen next.

The day his plane landed, a phone call from the Toronto Blue Jays and a meeting with an old friend turned Dopirak in a better direction. The Blue Jays offered a tryout.

“They called me and asked if I wanted to still play, and I was excited,” he said. “I was so nervous. I just wanted to play, and I wanted a job.”

The first day of his tryout did not go well, but he showed enough on the second day to earn a free-agent contract. So two years later, he’s a first baseman/designated hitter for the 51s, the Triple-A affiliate of the Blue Jays.

But that might not be the better half of Dopirak’s story. The friend he met in his hometown of Dunedin, Fla., is now his wife. He and Ashley were married in March and are expecting a child in October.

“We ended up running into each other that day I came home from the Cubs,” he said. “I took her out, and it has been good ever since. I’ve been chasing her for a long time, and I finally got her.

“I’ve got a good wife, and I’ve got a baby on the way. I can’t wait. It puts a smile on my face every time I think about it. I look at the important things in life, and that’s No. 1.”

Dopirak already has made good on his second chance in baseball. He was added to Toronto’s 40-man roster in November, putting him one step from his first promotion to the major leagues.

If the formation of his family was a result of being dumped by the Cubs, the release was a blessing in disguise. His personal life is in order, and he’s more at ease in his professional career.

“I tried to learn from the adversity and the failure that I had gone through,” said Dopirak, who was 1-for-4 with a single and an RBI in the 51s’ 4-2 loss to Salt Lake on Saturday at Cashman Field.

“I’m still grateful to be playing. I look at baseball a little bit different. I can enjoy it a little bit more now that I’m not putting as much pressure on myself.”

The 6-foot-4-inch, 230-pound Dopirak led all Toronto minor leaguers in home runs in each of the past two years, hitting 29 in 2008 and 27 last year. He split last season between Double-A New Hampshire and Las Vegas, where he batted .330 with eight homers in 52 games.

Dopirak, named by Baseball America as the Cubs’ No. 1 prospect in 2005, suffered a setback after two left foot surgeries in 2006.

“He’s a big, strong donkey. When he gets things right, he can hit the ball a long way,” 51s manager Dan Rohn said. “There’s going to be a lot of power in this lineup, and he’s going to be a key factor.”