Louis Jarvis
It’s no secret that the Blue Jays have been Toronto’s most exciting sports team in the past year. The Leafs are a bust, Toronto FC is not exactly elite in the MLS, and the Raptors have failed to make it out of the first round of the playoffs for two consecutive years. Then the Blue Jays came along. They started out the season as a mediocre team, and the moment August came around the team started to click. Normally, I wouldn’t call myself a baseball fan. However, like many others, I have hopped onto the Blue Jays bandwagon. My knowledge of the sport is limited so bear with me as I may make errors.
The spectacular run that the Blue Jays put together was fuelled by their powerhouse offence. The Jays were remarkable in many ways this season, however, putting points on the board was their specialty. The Jays had the most runs in the Majors this year nearly eclipsing 900 runs at 891. The team with the second most was the AL East runner up, the Yankees, who put up 764, a 107 run difference. Fortunately for us Blue Jays fans, the Yanks were beat out by the Astros in the first wildcard game a few nights back by a score of 3-0. Speaking of the Astros, they put up the second most home runs of the season. Who came first? You guessed it, the Blue Jays. The Jays managed to obtain 232 homers this year beating out the Astros by two. Just to throw in a few more stats, the Jays had the most RBIs, ranked second in batting average, and ranked first for on-base percentage plus slugging.
This monster of an offence is lead by the lead vote getter for the All Star game, Josh Donaldson. While also a candidate for AL MVP, Donaldson lead the Jays in hits, runs, RBIs, home runs, and posted a .297 batting average. Trading for Donaldson back in November turned out to be one of the best transactions in the majors the past year. Behind Donaldson we also have Bautista, Encarnacion, and Martin, all forces to be reckoned with. On the other side of the ball these players come together to form an underrated defence. David Price is also considered a top pitcher in the majors. With the stunning offence and rock solid defence, it’s hard not to get excited for the playoffs.
When the dust settled at the end of the season the Blue Jays managed to finish with the second best record in the American League. With 93 wins they finished only behind the Royals, with 95 wins. The Yankees and the Astros took the wild card spots while the Rangers took the AL West title.
A ton of credit goes out to the team for putting together an amazing final run in the last couple of months of the season. The Jays have sparked a buzz in the city and across the nation. The perk of having only one MLB and NBA team is that not only do they get support from Toronto; they get support from all across the country. All around the city you see an increasing amount of Blue Jays apparel and crazed fans eager for the playoffs to begin. You have to keep in mind that it has been 22 years since the Jays even made the playoffs, and the last time they did, they won the World Series. Getting hype is exactly what this city needed, and the Blue Jays have given us something to cheer about. Prior to August, my knowledge of the MLB was minimal and my interest levels were low. I always assumed the Jays had potential but could never pan out. Well this time around they put it together. The fact that the Blue Jays are championship contenders should get everybody excited. Along with the hype factor the breakout of the Jays unites us as a city and as a country. If you live in the country of Canada, why not hop on the bandwagon? It’s a great thing to be a part of. The Blue Jays will begin their postseason this afternoon against the Rangers, who we beat 4-2 in the season series. I know I’ll be watching, and so should everyone else. The Rogers Centre is going to be sold out and TV’s all around the country will be tuned into Sportsnet ET at 3:37 PM to watch the end of a 22-year drought. It’s go time baby, let’s get er’ done.
I’ll leave you with some videos to get hyped.
The Blue and White 