Look at who is in first place of the American League East on the Fourth of July. That would be Canada's finest in the Toronto Blue Jays. They are 49-38 on the season and one game ahead of the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays in the division. At the start of the year, there was some reason to believe Toronto might finish in last place in the AL East. Now look at them. How was this possible?
Well, it starts by having the right person in charge of the team. Although Ross Atkins received more than his fair share of criticism during the MLB offseason, he looks to have been proven totally right by keeping manager John Schneider around. While he had been on the staff since 2019, it was not until midway through the 2022 campaign that Schneider was promoted from within to lead the Blue Jays.
After out-slugging the Yankees on Wednesday night 11-9, Schneider had this to say about his team.
“Coming off a big win yesterday, you get ahead, you take some counterpunches. They’re a really good team. They can hit. I’m just really proud of the way our guys are going about it. There’s no other way to say it. They’re taking it a day at a time, but breaking it down to an inning at a time.”
Schneider has his players playing loose, but totally locked in, which is why they are atop the AL East.
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John Schneider is clearly the right person to lead the Toronto Blue Jays
Baseball may be a mathematician's favorite sport, but there is also something about it that intrigues psychologists and deep thinkers abound. It is a skill game that is augmented through athleticism. It is also a team sport built around individual performances and outcomes. Above all else, baseball is a game of failure. How one goes about handling said failure largely determines if a team can win or not.
Playing in the AL East is never easy. You have two of the biggest brands in the sport in Boston and New York always in the news. Baltimore had a good run up until late. Nobody does more with less than Tampa Bay. Toronto may be Canada's lone MLB franchise, but we had thought the Blue Jays had reached their definite ceiling with this core. A deep postseason run or not, maybe we shorted them?
I look at a team like the Blue Jays this season and wonder what the difference really is. I think it is a combination of people like Atkins remaining strong to their convictions, as well as others growing into their roles as leaders. This includes the likes of Schneider as a manager and the likes of star players such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Toronto was always a fun, but young team. Now, they are growing up.
The Blue Jays' ability to stay steady runs counter to whatever Aaron Boone tries to do in New York.