Thank You 2025 Blue Jays

 As most Jays fans probably did, I needed a couple of days to recover before starting to think about the Jays again. I know I'm also late on a Steelers reaction, being so bummed from the Jays I honestly hardly watched that game, but they won so that's nice! This post is going to be all positive, no reliving the plays that could've won the Jays the big dance but just barely didn't, there's tons of places you can go for that. This is just remembering the best team of my lifetime and giving flowers to the players that made this season so fun. I think I'm just going to go series by series and just pour my heart out on what I can remember. The best part of a deep playoff run is how it brings people together to watch like nothing else can, so I'll try to include some of those memories in here as well. 

Daaaaaa Yankees Lose!

Despite having the same record, all regular season the Jays took care of business against the Yankees and showed they were the better team. The Yankees had Aaron Judge, who was a beast in this series, and basically nobody else who felt threatening. It was a joy to watch Vladimir Guerrero Jr immediately come out and play out of his mind, he slashed .529/.550/1.059 with 3 home runs and 9 RBIs in just 4 games to obliterate the Yankees. You saw that right, he slugged 1.059 and had an OPS of 1.609 for the series. The calm that he gave fans in this one knowing that our superstar was actually going to show up for us was incredible. Ernie Clement was arguably just as good and endeared himself to those who weren't familiar with his game right away. He hit .643 in the series, played incredible defense and was constantly the spark plug for rallies hitting at the bottom of the order. There was the drama of Trey Yesavage making his playoff debut by recording 11 strikeouts and allowing 0 hits in 5.1 innings. That kid is 22 years old, this shouldn't be possible but he made the Yankees lineup look like AA hitters. I remember specifically after game 3 feeling like the Jays were in a tough spot. Although they had the 2-1 lead in the series, they had just lost Shane Bieber's start and were planning to do a bullpen day for game 4 rather than going to a starting pitcher. To this point, the Jays pen had been shaky, so it was a tall order to expect them to clinch the series as a group. That game was an absolute masterclass by John Schneider who looked stressed out of his mind every time the camera panned to the dugout. Not to mention the mind games of sending Gausman and Yesavage both out to the bullpen to be ready if needed. This without a doubt confirmed for me that Schneider is the best manager the Jays have had in my lifetime. Of course the big moment everyone remembers is after defeating the Yankees handily in 4 games, Vladimir Guerrero Jr giving his loudest proudest "DA YANKEES LOSE" in front of Yankees legends ARod and Jeter. 

If this was the peak moment of the playoffs for the Jays, it still would've gone down as at least a top 2 Jays team in my lifetime with an argument for top 1. I was lucky enough to score tickets from my bosses for game 1 of this series, which meant I got to sit in the second row right behind third base. This would've been an incredible experience no matter what, but we were treated with an awesome win to go with it! Crazy thinking back at how the roof was open at the Rogers Center for this game, which feels like a million years ago. Game 2 I got to watch with my family with the TV set up outside. We shed a tear during Yesavage's postgame interview, what a moment. The celebrations after the Yankees series felt even more special than when they made the World Series, maybe it's because they're a division rival, maybe it's because they're the evil empire in the American League, but it was awesome to see the team fired up. Shout out to Hazel Mae who perfectly laughed off some not so PG13 language from the guys who deservedly were pounding beers after this one. The city was just about to wake up to this team, and I was absolutely thrilled. 

Mariners Nail Biter

The World Series was such an incredible series that people forget how awesome the ALCS was as well. The Jays got their first sign of adversity right away, after Springer hit a leadoff homerun to kick the Jays off in the ALCS, they managed to get nothing more in this game and fell 3-1. Vlad had his first tough game of the post season going 0/4 and Cal Raleigh made his mark right away by hitting the go-ahead home run. Game 2 I actually go to go to, and it was unfortunately one of the only clunkers the Jays had all post season, lucky me! Yesavage didn't have his best stuff and despite the Jays tying it up after going down 3-0, the Mariners poured it on and took a 2-0 series lead. I actually said out loud after this one that the Jays can win 2 in Seattle np, although in my deepest heart of hearts I wasn't so confident. The Mariners looked awesome and the Jays had just dropped 2 at home with their best starters on the mound, it was a bleak outlook. That's just not how this Jays team goes out though! The Jays got down 2-0 early in game 3, then proceeded to absolutely destroy the Mariners. Kirk hit a big HR, Vladdy went 4/4, Clement started hitting again and most importantly Addison Barger hit a bomb that would get his bat red hot for the rest of the playoffs. The Jays won the Shane Bieber start and were going to turn to 41 year old Max Scherzer, who had been terrible in September, to try and even up the series at 2. Max answered the bell and did everything you could expect of him going 5.2 innings allowing just 2 runs. This was the game where John Schneider trotted out to the mound only to be screamed at by Scherzer allowing him to get 1 more out, which Max did beautifully and even came out for another inning after. This was also the second game in a row that the Jays number 9 hitter Andres Gimenez smashed a 2 run HR to take the lead in the game. The Jays tied it up at 2 and we had ourselves a series once more. 

Toronto sports scars run deep, no matter how resilient this team proved to be there were still people who didn't believe. Game 5 was the infamous Brenden Little game. In the previous game, the Jays went to their closer Jeff Hoffman in the 8th, despite the big lead, to take on the heart of the Mariners order. They then brought in Dominguez to close it out with the strategy paying off and the Jays allowing 0 runs. For some reason in this one in a 2-1 game Schneider opts to go with Brenden Little in the 8th in the exact same situation. The bullpen absolutely blows up and the Jays wind up losing 6-2. Despite the fact that they got it back to Toronto, people were not comfortable needing to win 2 straight against this very good Mariners team. I had a party with my cousins on the off day where my cousin claimed it was over and that the Mariners are a better team. He told me you can't win in the playoffs playing small ball and that the Jays were exposed. If you've watched the Jays all year though, you knew they weren't going to just roll over. The Jays got off to a 5-0 lead in game 6 with blasts from Vladdy and Barger and never relinquished it, forcing the biggest game 7 for the franchise in 30 years to this point. 

Game 7 is not for the feint of heart that's for sure. By this point in the run, I had people hitting me up left right and center to watch this game. I ended up at a bar with a big group of friends for this one which was the right call for an absolute nail biter. The Jays got down 3-1 with Cal Raleigh hitting a HR to give them the 2 run lead. I was oddly calm in this moment, if the Jays were going to lose it'd be tough but they would've just been outpitched not much you can do about that. In the 7th inning George Springer came up with 2 runners on and ended up going deep to take a 4-3 lead. The bar absolutely erupted, I hugged and high fived anyone I could see and now all sense of calm had evaporated. I practically chewed my nails to the studs watching the final 2 innings of this one which featured appearances from Jays starters in Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassit. Jeff Hoffman came out for the 9th and struck out the side, sending the Jays to their first World Series of my lifetime. I'll never forget the jubilee that ensued with strangers at the bar high fiving and screaming with joy. Cars in the streets would honk as you walked past. I had a friend who watched his first game of the season that night who told me at the end of the Dodgers series that he enjoyed the sport for the first time in his life. The Jays were the talk of the town and I couldn't have been happier. 

Don't Cry Because it's Over, Smile Because it Happened

We all know how this ended, but that still doesn't take away from some of the awesome moments and memories I got to create in this one. Game 1 I wanted to watch in a bar, as did the rest of the city evidently as by Tuesday there were 0 reservations available anywhere for Friday's game 1. Still, I had a group of about 10 people wanting to watch with me, most of which would've never dreamed to hit me up to go watch a ball game before. The Jays and Dodgers were locked in a 2-2 game in the 6th inning when the Jays erupted. Addison Barger became the first pinch hitter to hit a grand slam in the World Series. I have videos on my phone of the pure chaos that erupted in the bar after the grand slam that I'll watch back for years to come. The Jays took game 1, and now you couldn't go anywhere in the city without seeing Jays hats. In one of the rare boring games of this playoffs the Jays dropped game 2 to set up a pivotal game 3. The Jays and Dodgers took turns going back and fourth for 9 innings in this one, but nobody emerged as the winner after 9 so we headed to extras. Watching this one on my couch at home on a Tuesday, I was ready to stay up as long as it took, I just didn't realize how long that would be. The two teams ended up going 18 innings in a game that was nearly 7 hours long. Eric Lauer got his moment in the World series nearly pitching a start to keep the Jays alive despite needing to use their entire bullpen in this one. Unfortunately in the bottom of the 18th the Dodgers walked it off on a Freddy Freeman solo HR, but this is the type of game you tell your future children about years down the road. I spent the rest of the week exhausted, but I was really excited to see that I wasn't alone in that! Almost everyone I talked to at the office the next day made it at least close to the end of that one, again most of which wouldn't be caught watching a game regularly but this was no regular series. 

Game 4 was mercifully easy and quick after that marathon game 3 with the Jays taking it 6-2. Everyone I knew watched this one at home after being out all night the night before. I crashed as soon as it ended. Game 5 on the Wednesday was another bar night, this time with a smaller squad. I think everyone felt that the winner of this one was going to win the series, especially with Yamamoto pitching game 6 for the Dodgers after destroying them in game 2. The Jays started this one with a bang. While I was mid conversation at the bar, Davis Schneider hit a leadoff HR on the first pitch of the game to get the Jays off to a 1-0 lead. Not 30 seconds later Vladdy took the 3rd pitch of the game deep to go up 2-0 and oh boy were we feeling it now. Trey Yesavage was absolutely lights out in this one as well, going 7 innings and striking out 12 batters while walking nobody. That was a world series record, not just for a rookie, but for anyone in MLB history. We witnessed back to back bombs to lead off the game and an all time performance from a guy who started the season in high A ball. The absolute joy we felt getting back to my apartment and just feeling like it was about to happen was incredible, I'll never forget it.

I know the next 2 games didn't go how we wanted, and I won't relive those super painful moments here. There were still some flashes of awesomeness that shouldn't be forgotten despite the crap finish. I watched game 6 and 7 at 2 different Halloween parties. Game 6 was at a party with all women, who didn't care about baseball but couldn't turn their eyes away by the 9th inning. I got to give my take that Andres Gimenez only hits when it matters most, and the ladies loved it! I saw them texting my girlfriend that whenever he came up in game 7 the next day. Game 7 was at a party with people just as nervous as me for the game. The Jays had the lead late and both my girlfriend and her sister who never watch sports were locked in with her sister even saying multiple times how great the game was. The party went absolutely wild on the Bo Bichette 3 run shot to take the lead and we got to watch the tension build as Hoffman came out with a chance to close it out. This is why I watch every year, when you get a special team like this it just brings people together and I got to be the guy who everyone talked to about this team. Despite the outcome, there will no doubt be people who became a fan of this team for life and I am tremendously happy about that. 

What a Season

It's easy to forget that the Jays weren't supposed to be here. They finished last place in the AL East a season ago and brought back essentially the same team this season. A lot of stuff had to go right for this team to click the way that it did, and a lot of things I would've called super unlikely at the start of the year happened all at once to make it happen. Ernie Clement went from a utility backup infielder to everyday starter who could hit a golf ball with a toothpick. His regular season was awesome then he went ahead and pretty much hit .400 in the playoffs setting a record for most hits in a playoff run with 30. He'll be a fan favorite in Toronto for the rest of our lives, I guarantee it. Addison Barger came out of nowhere to be the lefty bat with power the Jays have needed for years. His defense at both third base and right field was tremendous all season and he saved the Jays multiple games in the playoffs with his big arm. Myles Straw was acquired as essentially dead money to try and get Roki Sasaki, which blew up in the Jays face when he went to the Dodgers. Straw actually ended up as probably the best 4th outfielder in baseball providing elite, platinum glove level defense in centerfield while constantly chipping in with clutch hits and running the bases better than anyone. George Springer was on the decline after having the worst year of his career in 2024 and turning 35 this year. He ended up with the 3rd best OPS in the entire MLB behind only first ballot hall of famers Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. Bo Bichette finished an injury plagued 2024 looking like a shell of himself, he bounced back to finish second in the MLB in total hits despite missing an entire month of the season. His clutch hitting was incredible to witness this season, felt like he had a layup whenever he was up with runners in scoring position and he brought that same thing to the World Series despite playing on 1 leg. Eric Lauer was a guy who was cast away from the MLB and brought back on a minor league deal as cheap starting pitching depth. He ended up being the Jays best pitcher for a little bit of the season helping to carry them to the best record in the AL. 

The stars showed up on the biggest stage undoubtedly, I mean Vladdy was an absolute menace all playoffs long with 8 HRs and 15 RBIs in just 18 games for the playoffs while playing incredible defense at first base. But the story of this team isn't one of star power. This was a team that played together, who understood when to pass the baton and that to win they had to do it as a team. The 7-9 hitters on this team consistently found ways to spark rallies, no matter who they were. Even guys who were called up due to injury immediately went on heaters right away to keep the momentum going. After the loss in game 7, all the interviews had the same theme: guys were sad they couldn't win it for each other. Every single person raved about how great it was to play with one another and how they have never been on a team that was so close. People joke about the power of friendship, and I think it's overblown sometimes, but in this case you could see it every day. This team was easy to cheer for from April all the way through the dog days of summer because you could see they were just guys having fun playing a game. They changed the way people think about winning, they didn't hit a ton of home runs or have a bullpen that could strike out a ton of batters, they put the ball in play, ran the bases well and played good defense behind whoever was on the mound. It was awesome to see them go so deep in the playoffs and to see neutral fans across the media and internet all come to realize how cool and fun this Jays team is. They may not have gotten it done in the big game, but this team was the most fun sports team I've watched in any sport ever and I will never ever forget them. For the first time in a long time, I can't wait for pitchers and catchers to report to training camp in February. Until then boys, go Jays!