The Toronto Blue Jays: Winning in the Most Fun Way Possible

“The highs and lows of sports are a universal language we all share in distinct commonalities when it comes to watching as fans, that’s unifying in a way that words can’t express, and there’s something kind of special about that. There are moments of ‘we’ve all been there’ in the best and the worst occurrences that are truly distinct.”

The same can be said for the way the teams are built- it’s the absolute worst feeling to root for a football team with an offensive line, a baseball team with an unreliable bullpen you just know will blow it, or a basketball team built only on one star player trying to do hero ball.

But when you have a team that is not only winning, but winning in all the RIGHT ways, you sure fall in love.

The Toronto Blue Jays are the best team in the American League and are doing it in the most fun way possible.

Let’s talk about how we got here with the team up North.

PHOTO: Kiyoshi Mio/Imagn Images

Following the era of the Bautista Bat Flip Jays, we had the arrival and ascendance of the Baby Jays from 2019 to 2020, where we were allured by the sons of former pros – Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Cavan Biggio, and Bo Bichette, all of whom could be the future of the league! They got a wild card appearance in the shortened 2020 season, Guerrero Jr. was an Ohtani shy of winning AL MVP in 2021, and have since had a front office that has made moves and operated as if they’re in contention for this young core year after year. Vladdy even had the now infamous quote, “What we did last year was the trailer; you’re about to see the movie.”

But the era has felt like a series of shortcomings amidst the desperation to win. They’ve never made it past the AL Wild Card round in their three appearances since 2020. Many of the names they’ve either added or were a part of the core, Cavan Biggio, Matt Chapman, Marcus Semien, Alek Manoah, Hyun-jin Ryu, or Whit Merrifield, have come and gone without any glory to their name in Toronto. They’ve also had a manager fired, coming up short in the sweepstakes for players like Ohtani and Juan Soto, and had a weird contractual standoff with Vlad.

The Jays were sellers last year. Bo Bichette is in a contract year and was rumored to be on the way out, possibly. They got Vladimir Guerrero Jr. locked up for life with a major payday, but the start of the season, when the rest of the AL East was projecting upwards, and they sat games below .500 in April, it felt like more of the same Blue Jays.

And then they just continued to hit. And the hits turned to wins.

And the season has been entirely turned around.

In a season that is exponentially as long as baseball where everyone fails likely more than ⅓ of the time, nine guys in your lineup are just bound to make you frustrated consistently because someone has to account for the outs; that’s the thing about this Blue Jays team- they’re winning and it’s not even due to the faces of their franchise going scorched earth. They have a lineup where you’ve fallen in love with the batters at the bottom of the lineup that can still get on base. When you’re watching as a fan, there’s no better feeling than rooting for a team where no one is seen as an easy out from top to bottom.

Sure, they have Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for life after he signed his big extension and the Ken Doll superstar Bo Bichette at shortstop at the top of their lineup, but who’s gotten them a significant lead in the AL East over the Yankees? That’s right- Joey Loperfido leading the team in OPS. Having two of the best offensive catchers in Tyler Heineman and All-Star shortstop Alejandro Kirk. 35-year-old George Springer is catching lightning in a bottle after battling injuries and hitting 17 homers this season, many crushing the Yankees in the process.

They’re not even hitting the ball out in a hitter-friendly park, which is what’s scary about the team- they’re right in the middle in terms of home runs hit, and it’s just 9 guys that hit singles for the league lead, the second-most doubles hit, and the fewest number of strikeouts through 1-9. This is, in a complementary way, your grandpa’s favorite old school team makeup of all time.

Of course, they know that nothing will matter until the wins that take place in October; they’ve been the AL East team that has either not been as big a market as the Red Sox and Yankees, not as smart as the Rays, or as stable as the Astros in the AL. However, it’s looking like they have a formula that’s built for those months. You know what is always going to play no matter what stadium, pitcher, or high-leverage situation you’re in come postseason time? Having players get on base 1-9 and not striking out or making the small errors that kill you as a fan.

It also helps to have a few guys that can hit the ball out of the ballpark that haven’t hit their ceiling yet, and a future Hall of Famer, Max Scherzer, who just wants to join this team for one last ride, “just because” in the rotation.

The rest of the American League is now forced to look up North.