Top 10 Moments from the 2015 Blue Jays Season

How fun was this season? Here are my top 10 moments from the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays season:

10. Team Bonding

Here's the scenario: AA makes some huge trades, the line up is filled with new players who have never played with each other before, the team's MVP is targeted not once, not twice, but THREE times, the benches clear and said new teammates are sticking up for their new team. I believe this game helped a lot of the new Jays fit in with the new team. You may think this is stupid, but look back to the 2013 Blue Jays, with the additions of Reyes, Dickey, Buehrle and Cabrera all trying to fit in and that season ended up being a disaster. This was a statement game.

Some highlights include Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler being disgusted at Aaron Sanchez getting tossed, and Gibby coming back out when the benches clear after being tossed (Gibby was suspended for 1 game).

9. Russell Martin Clutch Home Run vs. Yankees

Late in a close game, with division winning implications, catcher Russell Martin blasts a three-run shot to give the Jays a 4-0 lead. The Jays would win that game 4-0, but that home run gave the Jays a really comfortable lead. This was a huge win for the Jays after losing game 2 of the series in extra innings. This win was the 1st of 6 striaght the Jays would go on to win. Enjoy every call of that home run.

8. David Price's 1st Game with Blue Jays

We knew Anthopoulos was serious about building a contender when he went against his own rule and traded for a "rental" pitcher. Will Price re-sign with Toronto? That's an entirely different blog post. What I'm talking about here is his incredible 1st start with the Blue Jays: 8 complete innings and 11 strikeouts! An incredible performance which included getting out of a nobody out bases loaded jam unscathed. He didn't perform nearly as well in the postseason, but in the regular season, he was lights out.

7. Edwin's "Hat Trick"

Three home runs in a single game, are you kidding me Edwin? That was the most explosive offensive performance I've seen from one player. The fans throwing the hats on the field was just icing on the cake! A little Canadian spin. Edwin was just a solo shot shy of the home run cycle, which has never been done in the majors (it has happened in double-A), that's the equivalent of being a single shy of the cycle.

It also shouldn't be understated just how much Dioner Navarro enjoyed the fans throwing hats on the field:

6. Donaldson Pulls a Derek Jeter

The only reason this catch wasn't higher was because if he didn't catch it, it wouldn't have been a hit, just a foul ball. Still, an incredible athletic feat. And to show you just how incredible this catch was, let's take a look at the segment ESPN's Sports Science did on it:

5. Pillar is Superman! (Pt. 1)

Would it shock you if I told you Kevin Pillar was up for a Gold Glove award? Pillar has been outstanding all season, starting out in left field, and eventually solidifying a spot in centre field. Spoiler alert: this won't be the only time you see Pillar in this top 10.

4. Pillar is Superman! (Pt. 2)

I say this is "part 2" but this play was from April, before Pillar was moved to CF, before Tulowitzki and Price, back when making the playoffs wasn't a certainty. He has been making plays like that all year! Most impressive is that he had the presence of mind to throw to 2nd to turn the double play, with one out and 2 runners in scoring position. He not only took away a hit, he took away an RBI as well! He was really something this year.

3. Pillar Decides to Become Spiderman

Hands down, Pillar's best catch of the season! He climbs the wall and snags a home run. I was at this game and saw this live. There was a brief silence as he reached over the wall. That was the crowd not realizing what just happened, then a moment later, they erupted.

2. Clinching the AL East

When the Blue Jays clinched their first playoff birth in 22 years, it was very anti-climactic. Mostly because they clinched it by some mathematical technicality that no one realized until about 3 am. Although this game was decided early (Blue Jays won 15-2), when LaTroy Hawkins struck out the final batter, it was exciting. The Blue Jays wouldn't have to play the wild card game and were guaranteed a spot in the ALDS.

1. The Bat Flip Heard Across a Nation

What else did you think #1 would be? I don't need to add anything, just enjoy the 2nd biggest home run hit in Blue Jays history: 

Thank You Toronto Blue Jays

It may not have ended the way we wanted, but the 2015 version of the Toronto Blue Jays brought not just Toronto, but all of Canada on wild ride. After going 50-51 in the first 101 games of the season, they roared to the finish line, going 43-18 to end the season; clinching their first playoff birth since 1993 and the AL East title. This was partially caused by the massive trades by Alex Anthopoulos who acquired Tigers ace David Price, as well as Rockies' star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.

Their postseason run included an incredible comeback from an 0-2 deficit to the Texas Rangers and an even more incredible 7th inning in Game 5 of that series (full video in link). Throughout the entire regular season and postseason, the Jays showed heart, fight, and all out power. From the top of the lineup to the bottom, the team was filled with players you had no choice but to like. Josh Donaldson, the team's MVP. Jose Bautista, the captain of the team, and maybe one of the most clutch players in all of baseball. Edwin Encarnacion and his "parrot." Chris Colabello, the MLB journeymen, who spent several years playing independent baseball before getting his shot. Kevin Pillar, the baseball version of Superman. Marcus Stroman who suffered a "season ending" injury came back before the season ended and then nailed it in the postseason. Roberto Osuna, the 21-year-old closer who was born AFTER Joe Carter touched 'em all. Even utility player Dalton Pompey, who was almost guaranteed to steal you a base or two. This team had it all...

Yet they fell short. But that's okay, a majority of this team's roster had never played in the postseason before 2015, you have to start somewhere. At times, this team's playoff inexperience showed, but they will learn from it and they will be better for it. This team brought together a city that has been used to mediocrity for years. So thank you Toronto Blue Jays, for distracting us from the Maple Leafs (who aren't good this year), for reminding a city what it's like to cheer for a winning team, and for uniting a country and allowing us to show the Americans that we love baseball up north too. Thank you Toronto Blue Jays, you made us all #ComeTogether.

The 7th Inning: Should the Run Have Actually Counted?

In one of the most bizarre plays maybe in the entire history of sports, the Rangers take a 3-2 lead on a Russell Martin throw back to the mound that hit batter Shin-Soo Choo's bat. The deflected ball allowed Rougned Odor to score from 3rd to give the Rangers a huge 3-2 lead in the 7th inning. After plenty of confusion, and an umpire review, the run was deemed to count; much to the dismay of the Blue Jays faithful. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons stated they would be playing the rest of the game under protest, and then Bautista smacked a home run so hard all of Canada heard it. And in case you live under a rock, the Blue Jays won the game thanks to that home run.

So the play is a moot point, and because it is, I can look back without crying helplessly and share my thoughts on whether I think it should have counted or not.

The MLB rulebook states:

"If the batter interferes with the catcher's throw to retire a runner by stepping out of the batter's box, interference shall be called on the batter.

However, if the batter is standing in the batter's box and he or his bat is struck by the catcher's throw back to the pitcher (or throw in attempting to retire a runner), and, in the umpire's judgment, there is no intent or the part of the batter to interfere with the throw, the ball is alive and in play."

According to the rulebook, yes the run should count. But here's my issue with the play:

See umpire Dale Scott? He just ruled the play dead. As you can also see, Odor has not yet reached home plate. To me, this means the play is over, Odor should go back to 3rd, Martin throws the ball back to Sanchez, and the game continues. Unlike other sports, MLB officials don't have nor do they need a whistle. In hockey, football, and basketball, the referees have whistles to stop the play. In hockey, if the puck crosses the goal line after the ref blows the whistle, it doesn't count. I compare that scenario to the bizarre one we saw with the Blue Jays. 

Because Scott signified the play as dead, neither Sanchez nor Donaldson made an effort to get the ball to attempt to throw out Odor. Martin made a mistake when he hit Choo with the ball, but so did Scott by ruling the play dead. By the letter of the law, the run should count, but I don't think the run should have counted because the play was ruled dead. It was just a good thing the Jays came back to win, that loss may have been more painful than the Leafs game 7 collapse.