More Than a Team: How the Blue Jays United Canada in 2025
Written by Matthew Lloyd
Thumbnail and Banner Photo by Hugo Coulbouée on Unsplash
When nearly half of the country watches the Blue Jays play baseball, you’ve got to be doing something right. As the dust begins to settle on the Toronto Blue Jays' World Series run, I have been reflecting on the qualities that set the team apart from typical title contenders. Despite ultimately falling to the Dodgers in extra innings in Game 7, the team and clubhouse remained incredibly close, with quotes such as, “I think we see ourselves as more than just teammates. We’re legitimately friends, and that translates,” driving home a level of togetherness rarely seen in professional sports. These stories are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what made the team who they are—and who they could become in future seasons. I wanted to take some time to reflect on the Blue Jays’ season as a whole, from a team widely projected to miss the playoffs to one mere centimeters away (on multiple occasions) from clinching World Series glory.
According to Sportsnet, Game 7 of the World Series averaged 10.9 million Canadians watching from coast to coast, with a total anytime viewership of 18.5 million — around 45% of the total Canadian population. TVs lit up in blue and white all across Canada, from St. John’s to Victoria, to see Canada’s team reach the pinnacle of baseball.
This team had it all, from an all-time playoff performance by Star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to rookie pitching sensation Trey Yesavage shutting down the Yankees, Mariners, and Dodgers despite starting the season in Single A, three levels away from the major leagues. Throughout the regular season and playoffs, patented come-from-behind wins exhilarated the fanbase across the nation, regularly causing rallies, even when winning seemed impossible. The Jays’ team always found a way to win, with exceptional defensive fielding numbers and relentless contact throughout the lineup resulting in a 94-68 record, good for #1 in the American League. Big moments such as Guerrero Jr.’s grand slam to put the team up 9-0 in Game 2 against the Yankees, George Springer’s 3-run homer in a decisive 4-3 Game 7 win against the Mariners, and many more helped drive engagement and interest in the run, minting new Blue Jays fans across the country.
With minimal changes from the previous year’s squad that missed the postseason, change had to come from within, both from players already in the majors and those coming up through the minor-league program. Some of this change was realized through the chemistry and friendships formed within the clubhouse. When asked if he had even been a part of a group this tight, Myles Straw stated, “Not like this, I mean, this is special. I would hang out with every single person here in the off-season and actually enjoy the time. That kind of tells you everything you need to know right there.” Understandably, after defeat, emotions were high and anecdotes around the togetherness of the squad were plentiful, with newfound record-holder for most hits in a postseason, Ernie Clement, saying:
These are not just words; there are actions to back up this feeling in the clubhouse. Recently acquired at the trade deadline, pitcher Shane Bieber unexpectedly took his 1-year player option to remain with the team, even though his market value was universally seen as higher than what he will now be receiving in 2026. This commitment to the clubhouse, despite joining the team in August, is unheard of. There is a desire to bring this group back and to achieve the result that was tantalizingly close. With many coin-flip plays in Games 6 and 7 resulting in the Jays’ eventual defeat (such as pinch runner Isiah Kiner-Falefa being out by a cleat length, which would have been the run that would have won the World Series), this core believes they can achieve ultimate glory together in the coming season.
While the momentum behind this Jays’ team reached a fever pitch in the regular season, expectations were quite low heading into the season, especially from outside analysts in the broader MLB. Part of the reason for this lay in the team's finish the previous year, a 74-88 season that had the Jays finish last in the AL East. An example of these low expectations would be how CBS Sports gave the Jays a 2.6% chance of winning the division, and labeled the team a “wild card hopeful,” even though the team eventually finished with the best record in the American League, none other than the AL East Pennant (top team in the “toughest division in baseball, automatic playoff qualification). With the Jays struggling to start the season, many had already written the team off, yet much of the team points to a ninth-inning home run against the Texas Rangers by Bo Bichette in late May as a turning point. The Jays had just been 26-28 at that point with a cold offense, but with this win began a stretch of 11 wins in the following 13 games —a crucial period and turnaround, with the AL East pennant decided only by a tiebreaker against the Yankees. Another key moment in the regular season directly involved the Yankees: from June 30th to July 3rd, the team swept the Yankees at home and took sole possession of the division lead for the first time since 2016, a significant turnaround from the earlier stated 26-28 record.
While ultimately the team fell short of their desired goal, optimism is high among the players and management of the Blue Jays for their chances at next season’s title, with a few key decisions to be made in the offseason. Star shortstop Bo Bichette’s looming free agency, who missed both the ALDS and ALCS with a knee injury but played a major role in the World Series, should command him a pretty penny due to his mighty hitting prowess, with estimates nearing 7 years for $189 million for his upcoming contract. The team has already secured Shane Bieber for the following season, as previously stated, but will need to bolster the pitching staff, a need the Jays will look to aggressively target in free agency themselves. There is a newfound optimism that, after years of failed free-agent acquisitions (including a storied chase of the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani years back that involved fans tracking private jets), the clubhouse culture and near World Series win will make Toronto a free-agent destination like never before. Club president and CEO Mark Shapiro said, “I think the understanding is that this is a special place to play,” underscoring the shifting sentiment leaguewide toward playing for the Jays, with an owner (Rogers) willing to spend big to bolster this already fantastic roster. We haven’t heard the last from this Blue Jays core. Will 2026 be the year Canada writes its own October folklore for the next generation? Maybe so, but all of Canada will be eagerly watching to see what their Jays bring to a new season.