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The Season That Was: George Springer
George Springer’s final year with the Toronto Blue Jays proved mixed. At 36, he posted a modest .249/.321/.405 line, 0.6 WAR (Baseball‑Reference) and a $7.1 million value, far below his 2025 .408 wOBA. His power dipped to 15 homers in 126 games, with a notable drop in fly‑ball and line‑drive rates. He excelled against left‑handed pitching (.265/.337) and at home (.271/.354), and rebounded in the second half (.288/.344/.444). Defensively he appeared only twice in left field. Springer stole 12 of 14 attempts and contributed solid baserunning (1.0 runs above average). Over his six‑year, $150 million contract he added $124.8 million in value, ranking 22nd in Jays WAR history and topping the franchise in stolen‑base success (87.5%).
Happy Birthday Jose Bautista
On his 46th birthday, Jose Bautista throws the ceremonial first pitch before Game 6 of the ALCS at Rogers Centre. The piece celebrates Bautista’s impact on the Blue Jays from 2008‑2017, highlighting his 288 home runs (second in franchise history), iconic Game 5 blast and bat flip, and top‑5 career rankings in OBP, slugging, runs, RBI and walks. It notes his on‑field intensity, teammate support, and 2023 Level of Excellence honor, while also recalling teammate J.A. Happ’s birthday and career highlights. The article blends stats, memories, and anecdotes to underscore Bautista’s lasting legacy in Toronto.
Open Thread Sunday Rays @ Guardians
The ALCS reaches a pivotal Game 5 as the Tampa Bay Rays face the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on October 15, 2026. With the series tied 2-2, the winner historically claims the series about 65% of the time. Both teams announce their lineups, featuring Rays' DH Yandy Diaz and Guardians' LF Steven Kwan, among other starters. The game proceeds in mild 16 °C weather, and the series continues with games scheduled for the following two days. The post also notes a tragic fire in Wainwright, expressing condolences.
Today in Blue Jays History: Ed Sprague’s Home Run
34 years ago Remembering a Classic Blue Jays Comeback: Game 2 of the 1992 World Series 34 years ago In the ninth inning, with the Blue Jays trailing 4-3, Ed Sprague delivered a dramatic pinch-hit home run, propelling Toronto to a thrilling victory in Game 2 of the 1992 World Series. Game one saw the […]
Open Thread For Saturday’s Rays @ Guardians
So game four, try number two. This time there is no rain in the forecast, but it is cold. 7 C at game time and dropping from there. It is much warmer here in Calgary and slightly warmer in Toronto. Anyway, starting lineup: Today’s Lineups RAYS GUARDIANS Yandy Diaz – DH Steven Kwan – LF […]
Open Thread For Rays @ Guardians
So yesterday was the last day where we got two baseball games until next spring, since the Dodgers were kind enough to bow out after just four games. In this series the Guardians are up 2-1 in games, so there are, at least, two games left in this series. I haven’t checked the weather forecast […]
The Season That Was: Kevin Gausman
2026 was the final season of Kevin Gausman’s five-year, $110 million free-agent contract. In the first four seasons, Kevin posted a 48-41 record, a 3.48 ERA, and an 11.5 bWAR. A good return on a big free-agent contract. Not all that many of those go as well as this one did. But 2026 was his […]
Open Thread For Thursday Playoff Games
We have two games today, maybe for the last time this year. I’d be fine with the Dodgers losing in four games. The early game is the Rays/Guardians game, which was moved to 1:00 Eastern because of bad weather expected to hit today. It is supposed to be 21C this afternoon, so very nice weather […]
Blue Jays Birthdays: Teoscar Hernandez, Carlos Garcia and Chad Mottola
Today is Teoscar Hernandez’s 34th birthday. When Teoscar arrived from the Astros, few could have predicted he’d develop into such a powerful slugger. During his six seasons with the Jays, he posted a .263/.320/.503 slash line with 129 home runs. He ranks 13th in franchise history for home runs and 24th in RBIs. The trade […]
Open Thread Brewers @ Dodgers
Only one game today. Two games tomorrow, but the Rays/Guardians game has been moved to 1:00 Eastern to avoid expected bad weather. I don’t know about how it is where you live, but if we expect bad weather tomorrow evening, we could get bad weather anytime between tonight and a week from next Thursday. But […]
Five Blue Jays Are Gold Glove Finalists
There are five Jays listed among the ‘finalists’ for the Gold Glove awards. Finalist is a funny term, since the vote has happened, but five are among the top three in the vote at their position. Catcher: Brandon Valenzuela: This surprises me some, not that he isn’t deserving but that he played less than half […]
Today in Blue Jays History: The Bat Flip
Eleven Years Ago Today: Between this moment and Joe Carter’s iconic home run, I can’t decide which stands out as my favorite in Blue Jays history. You probably recall the details, but from the recap: The top of the 7th was nuts. I’m not sure I can explain it all. Aaron Sanchez came in, replacing […]
Open Thread Guardians @ Rays
Game two of the ALCS, the Guardians won game one. The starters tonight are Parker Messick (12-9, 2.56) for the Guardians and Freddy Peralta (10-11, 4.42) for the Rays. I picked up Parker in trade in OOTP Baseball, and he’s been pretty good for me. I’m not cheering for either team. I figured that, while […]
The season that was: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
After a very good 2024 season (especially the second half of it) and signing a huge, long term contract, we really were hoping for another step forward. Yeah, this will be less than fun. We didn’t get it: Standard Batting Table Age WAR G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB […]
Open Thread For Monday Championship Series Games
We have two games today. Dodgers @ Brewers at 3:00 5:00 Eastern. Stupid time zones. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (14-9, 2.53) vs. Logan Henderson (11-3, 2.47). Go Brewers. Last night’s game was great. Very enjoyable baseball, with the right team winning. I’m going to miss the start of this one but will see most of it. Guardians […]
Happy Birthday Garth Iorg
Today marks Garth Iorg’s 72 birthday. He played for the Toronto Blue Jays from 1978 to 1987. Born in Arcata, California, Iorg was selected by the Yankees in the eighth round of the 1973 amateur draft, but joined the Blue Jays in the 1976 expansion draft. Over nine seasons with Toronto, he batted .258/.282/.347, hit […]
Today in Blue Jays History: Jays win ALDS Game 4
Memorable Blue Jays Playoff Moments 11 Years Ago Eleven years ago, the Blue Jays triumphed in Game 4 of the ALDS against the Rangers. After dropping the first two games of the series, the Jays faced a daunting challenge. Yet, they responded with a decisive 8-4 victory, scoring early and often. From the recap: It […]
Sunday NLCS Open Thread
Happy Thanksgiving. We have a turkey cooking, and people are coming over. So I don’t know how much of today’s game I will get to watch. But it will be good to have some family time. As is the norm lately, there is little Blue Jays news. Vladimir Guerrero had laser eye surgery. Apparently, Bo […]
Today in Blue Jays History: Tulo Homers
Eleven Years Ago Today The Blue Jays trailed two games to none in the best-of-five 2015 ALDS against the Rangers. Facing elimination, they pulled off a crucial 5-1 victory. The game remained tense until Troy Tulowitzki homered in the sixth inning. Despite several opportunities to break the game open, the team grounded into four double […]
Championship Series Prediction Thread
Now we know who will be in the AL and NL Championship Series. A pretty amazing comeback by the Guardians, coming back to win the series after losing the first two games. On the plus side, I get to stay an Atheist Tomorrow at 8:00 Eastern we have game one of the NLCS Dodgers @ […]
Saturday ALDS Open Thread
We have one game today, Game Five of the Guardians/White Sox series. Winner moves on. If the White Sox lose, they will have to ask for forgiveness from the Pope. Historically, Popes were much for forgiveness. The starters are: White Sox: Sean Burke (3.34, 11-7) Guardians: Gavin Williams (14-8, 3.76). Lineups: Today’s Lineups WHITE SOX […]
Friday Open Thread
There’s no playoff game today, so let’s have an Open Thread. My day’s opened up. I was going to go for lunch with an old friend, but something came up (he realized he didn’t want to go for lunch with me) (I’m kidding, I think). It is probably good; I was ‘social’ yesterday, and I […]
Today in Blue Jays History: The Donaldson Dash
Ten Years Ago Today Josh Donaldson raced home from second base on a grounder to shortstop, clinching Game 3 of the ALDS for the Blue Jays and completing a sweep of the Rangers. With the game tied in the 10th, Donaldson led off against Matt Bush—whose name keeps coming up for all the wrong reasons—with […]
Thursday Guardians @ White Sox ALDS Game
Game four of the Guardians/White Sox series. White Sox are up two games to one. They win, they take on the Rays. Lineups: Today’s Lineups GUARDIANS WHITE SOX Steven Kwan – CF Chase Meidroth – 2B Jose Ramirez – 3B Randal Grichuk – LF Chase DeLauter – RF Miguel Vargas – 3B Jo Adell – […]
Thursday Bantering: Jays Notes
Happy Thurday. We only get one playoff game today, the Guardians and White Sox play game four. White Sox are up two games to one. It is an 8:00 Eastern start. The Rays beat out the Yankees in three games. Yay Rays. The Dodgers beat out the Braves in four games. You disappointed me Braves. […]
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