They began the season without a home, displaced by a worldwide crisis that nobody in baseball saw coming when Daniel Hudson sealed the Nationals' Worls Series triumph in 2019. They came into the abbreviated season as a young, still developing cast that had lost 95 games in 2019, the worst record for the club since 2004. Injuries struck early and often from the opening series in Tampa Bay to almost the home stretch. The were in one of baseball's most feared divisions and the wildcards were likely to be the domain of a resurgent Angels team or a still strong Red Sox squad. Yet, here we are talking about a Blue Jays team that has reached the post-season.
Sure, the playoff format expanded and for reasons of COVID-19 the schedule contracted. Both developments were favorable to the Blue Jays. One extended hot streak was enough to put put you in favorable position to reach the playoffs. Baseball in the time of corona is a different beat to be sure. And sure enough, the Blue Jays did have this streak that began after an injury to Bo Bichette appeared to have all but derailed the season which had already gotten off to an underwhelming start. Bu the time it came to a crashing halt in the Bronx, the Blue Jays had all but left the pretenders in the dust, including the bitterly disappointing Red Sox and Angels and upstarts Baltimore and Detroit.
The heroes were many. They ranged from Guerrero and Bichette who we expected to carry a heavy load to a Teoscar Hernandez and Rowdy Tellez who seemed to be finally putting it together at the highest level. We got our money's worth from marquee signing Hyun Jin Ryu with one steady performance after another. We got value from role players like Joe Panik and Jonathan Davis and a new fan favorite in the emergent Alejandro Kirk. Changes of scenery seemed to help Taijuan Walker and Robbie Ray as they pitched in valuable contributions down the stretch to get Toronto into playoff position. Through all the injuries, the tough losses and difficulty of not truly having a home game all year, the team persevered and landed a date in Tampa Bay with the Rays.
What happens from here we do not know. Maybe the go out early. Maybe they go on an exhilarating run to the title. What we do know however is that this unexpected playoff experience will be of great benefit to our emerging young core of stars. It is an initial taste of success that will instill confidence and toughness in the team for the future. They have had to fight hard to get here and that will bring them closer together as a team. It will also give them the chutzpah they need to go out there Tuesday at the Trop with a mentality that anything is possible. And who knows, maybe we'll see a Blue Jays shouting "anything is possible" to nobody in particular come the end of October.
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