Bowden Francis Brings His Zen to the Blue Jays

With meditation, sage, and breathwork, Blue Jays pitcher Bowden Francis can slow the game down

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

To find Bowden Francis before his first start in the Blue Jays organization, you had to look in a minor league utility closet.

After he was traded from the Brewers, Francis holed up in a Trenton Thunder Ballpark side room before his Bisons debut. He eventually emerged, alongside a smell that wafted into the Buffalo clubhouse, drawing some quizzical looks from staff and eager questions from his new teammates.

“There was just this odor coming out of nowhere,” Bisons pitcher Thomas Hatch said. “I didn't know what it was, but it was strong.”

The righty was burning sage and practicing breathwork ahead of the start, something that’s a regularity for the 26-year-old pitcher. While most big leaguers have their unique pregame rituals, Francis embraces meditation over rigid routine and zen over order. It’s an approach that’s endeared him to teammates and one he thinks will help him in the Blue Jays bullpen, or whatever role comes his way.

Francis has done yoga his entire baseball career, but after spending an offseason in Arizona the righty expanded his zen repertoire. On top of the ice baths and hitting the sauna, Francis worked with a breath coach and leaned into meditation during the 2020 minor league shutdown.

A combination of repeated deep breathing and specific exhale patterns helps Francis increase his CO2 tolerance, he said, and quickly lock in during big moments. In his second professional season, pitching in Low A, Francis found games were snowballing on him in both directions—he was either striking out 10 or giving up 10 runs. After adopting zen and breathwork, he’s found the balance, refocusing after a few walks or hits. Through three Triple A starts this year, the righty’s walk rate is one of the lowest of his career, earning him an MLB callup on Monday.

"I think it slows the game down,” Francis said. “Whenever I feel like I'm getting a little tense or in a big moment, I can really slow my breath down.”

Though the wafting sage drew sideways looks before Francis’ Bisons debut, his teammates quickly latched onto the zen approach. Hitters asked him to sage their bats before games and Francis would regularly lead a group of Bisons out to centerfield in the early afternoon, lying shirtless in the grass for a group meditation. Drenched in sweat in the 90 Fahrenheit heat, the group followed pre-recorded walkthroughs of specific breathing exercises, working to energize or calm depending on what was needed.

“I think it was kind of contagious,” Hatch said. “We all just kind of adopted some of his things, it was a welcome presence.”

Francis’ mentality is embodied by a smiling zen turtle that sits atop his locker stall, just above a flowery Hawaiian shirt. It’s meant to be a calming presence, a reminder to watch your speed and embrace mindfulness. The pitcher picked it out at a Tennessee Cracker Barrel on a Double A road trip, and it now travels with him wherever he goes.

A Cracker Barrel zen turtle

The turtle sat in Francis’ hat bag as he made the trip from Buffalo to Toronto for his MLB callup on Monday. After a delay at the border and some shaky navigation by his driver, Francis arrived a little late to Rogers Centre, joining the Jays in the second inning of Monday's win over the Red Sox.

Francis threw on an MLB uniform for the first time and casually completed some prep work out in the Toronto bullpen. With José Berríos on the mound, Francis knew he probably wasn't getting into the game and was unphased by the tardiness. That’s just how he is, a pretty zen guy.