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.

Tulowitzki Tuesday: Blue Jays Acquire Troy Tulowitzki

Early Tuesday morning,  the Blue Jays acquired shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and 42-year-old relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins from the Rockies for shortstop Jose Reyes, pitching prospects Miguel Castro and Jeff Hoffman, as well as one other player.

Although the Jays didn't touch on their biggest issue on this roster, the pitching, they definitely upgraded on defense and offense. Tulowitzki is a career .299 hitter and over the last 3 seasons is hitting .316. Since 2007, Tulowitzki leads all shortstops in OPS (.893), HR (186), RBI (650), and WAR (40.0).

However, like Reyes, Tulowitzki has had his share of injury problems. In 2012, Tulowitzki required surgery on his groin, requiring him to miss most of the season; he was limited to just 47 games. In 2013, he missed 25 games with a fractured right rib. And last season, Tulowitzki injured his hip, which again required surgery, he was limited to 91 games that year. In fact, over the last 3 seasons (the length of time Reyes has been on the Jays), Tulowitzki has played 1 fewer game than Reyes (304). The Jays are definitely upgrading on defense and offense, but they are also getting another injury prone shortstop. These injuries are more worrying considering the fact the Blue Jays play on astroturf, how will his hip and groin hold up?

Injuries aside, I do like this trade, it's not like the Jays aren't used to having an injured shortstop, but it does not solve the problem the Jays have had for years: their pitching. But what this trade does do is give the Jays even more offense in their all-star offensive lineup. This gives the Jays a chance to offer one of their big bats up for a starting pitcher. The Jays offense is so potent that players like Encarnacion become expendable. As of this writing, the Jays lead the majors in runs scored with 528!

I don't expect this to be the only move AA makes before the July 31st trade deadline, if he is going to go after a big name starter (Jeff Samardzija anyone?), he now has more options, whether it's Encarnacion, Chris Colabello, or, dare I say it, Jose Bautista, they will still have power in their lineup. Most importantly, they can get a big name without sacrificing prospects. The Jays' core is ageing and their window of opportunity is slowly closing, now is the time they need to go for it all. Tulowitzki is certainly a step in that direction.

The Blue Jays Post Mortem: Not as Bad as you Might Think

Another season has come and gone, and once again the Jays are left out of the postseason. After the Kansas City Royals clinched a berth into the wild card game, the Jays now have the longest active postseason drought. After the abysmal failure of the 2013 season, expectations were low for this club as it remained mostly unchanged this season. This season was full of ups and downs, let's take a look at the positives and negatives from this season.

The Good: The Young Guns

Throughout this season, the Blue Jays took advantage of the closeness of their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo by calling up some young guys to fill holes in the lineup that were there due to injury (more on the injuries later).After Brandon Morrow was placed on the 60-Day DL, Stroman was called up. Stroman showed he could be a legitimate big league starter, he pitched two 9-inning games, one of which was a complete game shutout. Stroman was also used by Manager John Gibbons as a pinch-runner on multiple occasions.Not to mention, he was pretty damn good defensively too. I fully expect him to be part of the Jays starting rotation next season.

Mississauga, Ontario native Dalton Pompey also made his big league debut this season. After being a bench player for a few games, Pompey finally started games in the outfield, where he made some highlight reel catches. He also got his 1st career home run in a 10-2 drubbing of the Mariners. Pompey is a solid prospect, he'll either be with triple-A Buffalo next year or he could be taking Colby Rasmus' place, Rasmus probably won't be back next year.

Daniel Norris is another pitching prospect I'm excited about. On September 5th, Norris made his MLB debut. His first batter? David Ortiz. It didn't seem to phase him though. He made his 1st career start on September 25th, going 3.1 innings with 2 earned runs. In total he's only pitched 6.2 innings with the Jays, but I have liked what I've seen so far.

The Bad: Injuries

The Blue Jays had a multitude of injuries this year, like last year. Jose Reyes, Jose Bautista, Brett Lawrie, Melky Cabrera, Adam Lind, Edwin Encarnacion are all just a few of the players who missed time this season. Some can chalk it up to rotten luck, but I think some of it might have to do with the fact the Blue Jays are one of 2 teams that play on turf (the other being the Tampa Bay Rays). The turf is essentially running on carpet placed on concrete, it really can't be good for your legs. However, there are plans to add grass to the stadium by 2017 (look at the picture in the article, you can see turf is literally carpet on concrete). Injuries happen, that's just the way it is in sports, but it just seems to happen to the Jays more than any other team.

The Good: Melky Cabrera

Cabrera's first season in Toronto was a disaster. He had back problems that kept him out of the lineup (he only played in 88 games), and was batting a .279 with only 3 home runs. Well it turned out that Cabrera's back problems were the result of a benign tumour on his spine. He underwent surgery to have it removed. The result was a turnaround season for the "Melk Man." He batted a .301 with 16 HR and 73 RBIs, his 2nd best offensive career in both those categories. Melky showed that he is a capable player, even without steroids. Cabrera went from being hated by the fans to the fans demanding AA re-sign him (he is a free agent this offseason). Cabrera was an important part of this team's core this season, hopefully AA can re-sign him.

The Bad: No Moves at the Deadline

July 31st came and went, and the Blue Jays were the same team. No moves were made by Anthopoulos at the non-waiver trade deadline. Fans, and even Jose Bautista were not happy with the team's inactivity. Anthopoulos countered by saying teams were asking for too much. Whatever the reason, it was clear that something needed to be done because there were still some holes in this lineup. Other teams got deals done, how come the Blue Jays couldn't?

The Good: Dioner Navarro

One hole that was filled during the offseason was the role of catcher. After the Jays let J.P. Arencibia go, the Jays signed Navarro to take his place. Fans were excited when Arencibia made his debut, especially since his first career game was nothing short of absolutely amazing. However, after batting .194 and striking out 148 times, it was time for the Blue Jays to move on. Navarro on the other hand batted .274 this past season. Not an amazing batting average, but the timing of his hits is what impressed me the most, he had 69 RBIs this season. He also managed to steal 3 bases this season! Navarro has been a solid catcher for this club and has been a huge upgrade from Arencibia. He was one of my favourite players this season, and I hope to see him stay in Toronto for another few years.

The Bad: Team Was Streaky

The Blue Jays were an extremely streaky team this season. After a sub-.500 April (12-14), the Jays went 21-9 in May and found themselves 1st in the AL East. They remained in 1st until July 3rd, a total of 48 days (or 61 if you count off-days). Things looked really promising for the Blue Jays. In June and July combined they went 27-26, not great, but it kept them in a race for the wild card spot. But then August happened, the Jays went 9-17. In September they still had a chance, but the bad August made it tough for them: they had to jump too many teams and had to depend on a lot of teams to lose. In the end, it just wasn't meant to be, and the Jays finished 5 games shy of the final wild card spot. 

I've seen a lot of people write this season off as a failure after not qualifying for the postseason. However at the end of the day, this team had the same core as 2013 and yet played meaningful baseball in September. The ride was fun, the Jays are obviously not there yet, but they're heading in the right direction, it's only a matter of time.

The Revolving Door of Coaches

Toronto FC announced last Sunday that they were relieving head coach Ryan Nelsen of his duties, and naming Greg Vanney as his replacement. Vanney will be the soccer club's 9th coach in 8 seasons. That's not a good record. but has a professional sports franchise in Toronto ever had this much instability at the position prior to TFC? I decided to look at the history of coaches for the Blue Jays, Leafs, Argos, and Raptors and see which decade had the most coaches:

Toronto St. Patricks/Toronto Maple Leafs

Decade with Most Coaches: 1920s

Number of Coaches: 9

Coaches: Frank Heffernan (1919-1920), Harvey Sproule (1920), Frank Carroll (1920-1921), George O'Donoghue (1921-1923), Charles Querrie (1923-1924, 1926-1927), and Eddie Powers (1926-1927), Mike Rodden (1927), Alex Romeril (1927), Conn Smythe (1927-1930).

What Happened?

Heffernan resigned as coach, he is credited as coaching for 12 games. 

Sproule replaced Heffernan as coach, but was co-owner of the St. Pats franchise. He resigned at the end of the season, and became a referee in the OHA.

Carroll coached the St. Pats to their first berth in the finals, but I was unable to find out why he left the team. He sadly committed suicide in 1938.

O'Donoghue coached the St. Pats to the Stanley Cup, the only Stanley Cup the St. Pats would win. He was fired after 5 games during the 1922-1923 season. 

Querrie had 2 stints as coach of the St. Pats. In his 1st stint he finished with a total record of 21-21-1. In 1926-1927 he coached for 29 games. After finishing 5th in the Canadian division, he resigned.

Powers would bring the St. pats to the finals once again. But after his 2nd season, he would leave the team to coach the Boston Tigers of the CAHL where he won a championship in 1929.

Rodden was fired after only 2 games, he went 0-2-0. 

Romeril coached for 1 season before becoming an NHL referee.

All of the above coaches only coached for the St. Pats/Maple Leafs franchise in the NHL.

Smythe coached the Leafs for 4 seasons before resigning as coach in 1930. He coached on an interim basis for 1 game in 1931. 

Toronto Argonauts

Decade with Most Coaches: 1990s

Number of Coaches: 8

Now we can give CFL teams a little bit of a break, the league isn't nearly as prosperous as any of the "Big 4" leagues and obviously the teams struggle a little more financially. 

The 90s began with "The Don" Don Matthews as head coach. That would be the first of two stints as Argos coach during the 90s (he would of a 3rd sting in the 2000s). He lead the Argonauts to a 10-8 record, and he brought them to the East final where they lost to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

In 1991 the Argos were purchased by Bruce McNall, Wayne Gretzky and John Candy. Adam Rita made his CFL coaching debut with the Argos that year. He won his one and only Grey Cup that year.The following season however, the Argos started 3-8 and he was fired and replaced with Dennis Meyer in 1992.

Meyer finished out the remaining 7 games with a 3-4 record. But after a 1-9 start in 1993 he was also fired. Then GM Bob O'Billovich (who previously coached the Argos from 1982-1989) took over as coach to close out the season.

The next season, O'Billovich hired Mike Faragalli. Faragalli lasted only 9 games before his contract was terminated by O'Billovich, partly due to the Argonauts struggling financially; they were on the verge of folding. O'Billovich took over coaching duties for the rest of the season.

O'Billovich re-hired Don Matthews. In his first 3 seasons he won 2 Grey Cups with the Argos. His third Grey Cup in a row he won 1 Grey Cup coaching the only American team to ever win it: the Baltimore Stallions. Matthew remained as Argos coach until 1998.

Jim Barker replaced Matthews as head coach in 1999, he became the youngest coach in CFL history. The Argos lost in the conference quarter-finals to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Following the season, Barker went on to become the Offensive Co-ordinator for the XFL's only championship team: The Los Angeles Xtreme.

Toronto Blue Jays

Decade with the Most Coaches Managers: 2000s

Number of Coaches Managers: 7

The Blue Jays have actually done alright in terms of head coaches. In their nearly 40 year history, they've only had 20 total managers, and 15 different ones. The 2000s were a decade of mediocrity. While the 80s held 2 playoff berths, and the 90s held 2 World Series victories, the 2000s contained a team hovering around the .500 mark.

The 2000s started with Jim Fregosi in his 2nd year as manager, but after a 3rd place finish in the AL East for the 2nd consecutive year, the Jays did not renew his contract.

In 2001, the Blue Jays hired former team catcher and current Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez in as manager. Martinez managed for 159 games in 2001, unfortunately Martinez's mother-in-law passed away and Martinez was absent for the seasons final 3 games and replaced on an interim basis with Cookie Rojas.

Martinez returned during the 2002 season, but was fired after 53 games after the Jays went 20-33. Carlos Tosca was then hired to replace Martinez. Under Tosca, the Jays went 58-51 the rest of the way and finished 3rd in the AL East for a 5th consecutive year. The Blue Jays finished 10 games above .500 in 2003 with an 86-76 record but for the 6th consecutive year, the Blue Jays finished 3rd in the AL East. That would all change in 2004.

The Blue Jays had a horrendous start to 2004, only winning 47 of their first 111 games. As a result, Tosca was fired and replaced with John Gibbons. The Blue Jays finished 2004 with a 67-94 record (.416), they're worst winning percentage since 1981. The Jays had above .500 records under Gibby from 2006-2008. 2006 was their best year with Gibbons, after acquiring a number of stars, the Blue Jays finished 2nd in the AL East but 10 games back of the Yankees and 8 games back of the Tigers for the Wild Card spot. After a tough slump in 2008, Gibbons was fired and replaced with former manager Cito Gaston.

Gaston is the only manager in Jays history to being them to a World Series. After replacing Gibbons, the Jays closed out 2008 with a 51-37 record. Gaston retired after the 2010 season but he still remains with the team.

Toronto Raptors

Well, the Raptors haven't even been around for 20 years yet. So we won't count them. They've only had 8 head coaches in their history.

What can we Conclude?

The only Toronto teams that come close to matching that sad number of TFC's head coaches within a decade are the Leafs and Argos who were going through financial difficulties during the time. As far as I know, TFC isn't going through any financial troubles, they're just bad. If you want an example of a team that doesn't know what it's doing, look no further than TFC.