Blue Jays fans had to watch the Kansas City Royals celebrate their World Series victory over the New York Mets Sunday. The Royals defeated the Jays this October in the American League Championship. A strong personal tie to the game created a consensus opinion among Blue Jays fans that they “heard it was a crazy game”. Recent controversy has arisen about the late inning runs that the Royals have scored this postseason. Allegedly, players are able to perform better in late innings due to the hour time zone difference between Kansas City’s central time versus Toronto and New York. While some solace was found in enjoying all their other favourite stars compete in the World Series, Jays fans are able to find further comfort in reminiscing upon this past season.
The Toronto Blue Jays have a rich yet short history, appearing twice in the World Series and winning back to back in 1992 and 1993. As the only Olympic competition held outside of regular scheduling, Canada sought to win the gold for the first time since natural vitamin advocate Joe Carter hit the game-winning homerball against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1993. Even though it has been 22 years since the Blue Jays won the cup back to back, the game still divides the hip-hop communities of Toronto and Philadelphia.
In 2015, Toronto started off the season by making headline trades for David Price, Troy Tulowitzki and Ben Revere, among others. However, it was clear the best deal was trading away Jose Reyes, making the team immediately better. Allegedly, players on the squad felt that the presence of two Joses made it difficult to communicate. The rejuvenated team went on to dominate the ghost of Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees in the American League East division, securing their place on the podium.
The star of the show in Toronto was Josh Donaldson. Along with the help of ex-wrestler Jose Batista and Edwin Encarnacion, Donaldson carried the team to success. Fans were so enthused by Donaldson’s leadership, they began to chant for him to be elected MVP. While his lack of Canadian citizenship would not allow him to be a “Member Voted to Parliament,” the crowd persisted to rally for support.
As quickly as Jays jerseys flew off the shelves, many bitter fans opted to resell their now irrelevant merchandise. The recent influx of second-hand Blue Jay jerseys has crushed the economy of second-hand stores in the areas surrounding Toronto. To those hopping off the bandwagon, there’s a full season ahead and it’s time to employ that ever-familiar motto and “Come Together” to save local businesses.
As fans remember days of bat flips past, they can look forward to a bright future for Toronto baseball, starting with the 2016 season. Toronto projects to feature a similar lineup to the 2015 team, meaning you can watch all your favourite players (Ryan Goins?) compete to win it all next year. That is, until the Toronto Maple Leafs make the playoffs again.