OPINION: Blue skies, blue jays

In April, I wrote a column on sports broadcasting and said the following: “I’ve picked up being a fan of the Toronto Blue Jays (it’s been a decent season so far despite some awful fielding recently).”

Boy, how that has changed.

The roller coaster of being a Blue Jays fan this year has been rocky, from having a record of 16-20 early in May daring for overreaction to the astronomical excitement of the World Series, I have truly been indoctrinated to the world of sports.

I know what you’re thinking. “Why Toronto?”

Technically my Blue Jays fandom started in 2024, but it was not a great season last year and I didn’t really watch the games. I explained in that April column how MLB’s blackout rules prevented 20% of the leagues games to be blacked out in Iowa. So, I had to go for a team pretty outside the area if I actually wanted to watch the majority of their games.

Not to be picky, but I also wanted to choose a team that would actually win games. The Blue Jays are on the higher end of budgets (MLB will one day have a reckoning on the imbalance) and have an entire country behind them. They’re probably going to stay solid.

I also really like Toronto. I’ve never actually been there (nor been in Canada), but I like to think I’d enjoy it. There’s a lot of American influence with teams in the NHL and NBA, plus the intersection of the Toronto International Film Festival with my film neuroticism.

And I really like their logo. Something about birds for me.

Imagine my surprise the team I picked on a whim made it to the World Series the first year I actually pay attention.

From joking about Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s $500 million dollar contract to the astonishing postseason performance cementing him as one of the best in this moment, I’ve had opinions on players flipped and shaken.

If you asked me in June before the All-Star break if the Blue Jays would make the playoffs, I’d have a hard time being confident. To make the World Series? Impossible.

A record of 25-10 out of the break and my opinion changed. A consistently underrated team heading into the second half of the year was starting to get noticed, all the way to win the AL East. Confidently beating the Yankees and taking both the Mariners and Dodgers to game seven, I was beyond happy.

I’ve also went through the feeling of staying up for games just to lose. Memorably, 18 innings and seven hours later during a World Series game just to watch my team lose to the multi-millionaires in L.A. I was outraged; I was ruining my sleep schedule for this?

When the Blue Jays lost in the rare instance of baseball extending into November, I couldn’t be disappointed. This was a team I had always thought was a long shot. Sure, the Mariners would have probably made a better story if they made it to the World Series (for the first time, hypothetically), but these Blue Jays, man.

While the bullpen was doubted throughout the season, Trey Yesavage, rookie in the World Series, delivered 12 strikeouts to break the record for most strikeouts in a World Series game.

And that’s not all. Max Scherzer, Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber (Bieber fever!) and Jose Berrios are all phenomenal starters. Jeff Hoffman may not have had a perfect season, but he fought until the only run he gave up in the World Series was the one that sent the Blue Jays home.

Guerrero Jr. may be a star now, but Ernie Clement, Bo Bichette, Addison Barger, Anthony Santander, George Springer, Alejandro Kirk and the rest of the Blue Jays offense are utterly sensational.

That bedazzled jacket for every home run is a great tradition. So are the commentary team of Dan Shulman and Buck Martinez. Martinez in particular has astounded me for being one of the most distinct and pleasant voices to listen to even if it’s not the typical broadcast voice.

In short, my team wasn’t just competing; they were actively challenging to be the best. And to be so close can feel disappointing, but I’m still so happy for this team.

Maybe that makes me a bad spectator. I should be booing my TV more. Perhaps I’m just turning Canadian. I might start speaking French by the end of the decade and end every sentence with “eh.”

Clement, after Saturday’s game, reportedly stood in the middle of the Blue Jays clubhouse afterwords and said this team was special.

“I’ve been crying for an hour. I thought I was done with the tears,” Clement said. “I just love these guys so much. It was so much fun coming to work every day.”

Stories happen in sports every game. Every moment matters. Guerroro Jr. dancing after ball three. Bichette diving to make an impossible catch. Kirk smashing the ball into the crowd. Yesavage proving himself for the first time.

I’m lucky I got to see it all.