File had a batting average of over .500 as a senior in college and rewrote the Rams’ record book, but he also pitched and the Blue Jays loved his arm and drafted him to be a pitcher in the 19th round in 1998.
After dominating in the minors, he made the Blue Jays out of spring training in 2001 and enjoyed an outstanding rookie year, as their new manager Buck Martinez liked what he saw in File:
"I knew something was up when they released John Frascatore, who was a pretty stable reliever in the big leagues for a lot of years and had a pretty good spring. I was shocked they released him to make a spot for me," he recalled.
"Nobody really said anything. I found out from one of my minor league coaches who coached me in A ball and Double-A, Rocket Wheeler. He had come up and told me that I was making the team, and then of course, Buck told me."
It was a season that saw him get the chance to pitch at Veterans Stadium a couple of times during an interleague series against the Phillies in July. One of the games was especially...interesting. In that game, File gave up the first home run of his career when Scott Rolen took him deep. He was ejected two pitches later after he hit Travis Lee.
"I'm sitting there, sitting next to Jose Cruz Jr. and he's looking at me like, 'Are you kidding me right now?' He's like, 'You have to go back in the clubhouse, you can’t stay in the dugout.' I'm like, 'I don’t know what to do!' I'd never gotten tossed before, I had no idea what to do," he recounted.
"I had like a grin on my face. I remember getting booed off the field in Philadelphia. The boos were so loud. I look back on this, I remember thinking at the time, 'This is awesome.' Because this is Philly, I'm one of these fans, I'd be doing the same thing. It was so loud in the stands, the boos were so loud!"