The Blue Jays finally gave Canada the October it’s been waiting for

This story is part of FanSided’s Fandoms of the Year, a series spotlighting the teams, athletes and cultures that defined sports fandom in 2025.

It’s still hard to reconcile the fact that the Toronto Blue Jays didn’t actually win the whole thing. If this season was written in a children’s story book, they would have come out victorious. If Hollywood had the movie rights, the Blue Jays would have won by walking off the Dodgers in the bottom of the ninth at Rogers Centre as snow started to fall from the sky. 

But in the end, Los Angeles got to lift the Commissioner’s Trophy. In a season that had so many twists and turns that went the Blue Jays' way, it felt inevitable that they would eventually be champions.

Toronto fans deserves a champion, and the Blue Jays nearly gave them that

The Blue Jays, the fans, the city of Toronto and the entire country of Canada were hoping that the World Series banner would once again 'fly North of the border' but the road that took them to within two outs of making that happen is something that should be celebrated. It’s something that hadn’t been felt in a generation. 32 years, in fact.  

There were so many little moments sprinkled in throughout the year that made the run to the World Series so captivating. In April, the Blue Jays secured their homegrown star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to the richest deal in club history, a 14-year, $500 million extension. 

In May, the Blue Jays swept the Mariners in Seattle, and they swept the Padres at home as they started to turn a corner. They won 13 of 16 games to climb above .500 in June. George Springer hit a grand slam against the Yankees on Canada Day, and the Blue Jays took hold of the division lead two days later. Eric Lauer and Max Scherzer steadied the rotation before Shane Bieber joined them at the deadline and Trey Yesavage graduated to the big leagues in September. 

Locked in a dead heat with the Yankees, Toronto won the final four games of the year, finished 94-68 and captured their first AL East crown in a decade. 

Then the real fun started. 

Inside the Blue Jays postseason journey and how they gained fans along the way

The Blue Jays watched the Yankees beat the Red Sox in the Wild Card series, earning a spot in the ALDS against Toronto. Through the first two games, the Blue Jays embarrassed the Yankees, winning both contests at Rogers Centre by a combined score of 23-8. Catcher Alejandro Kirk hit two home runs in Game 1 behind a strong outing from Kevin Gausman. In Game 2, the rookie Yesavage no-hit the Yankees into the sixth inning, while Guerrero Jr. began his postseason coming-out party by hitting a grand slam. 

These were significant wins for Blue Jays fans of all ages. First of all, they were the first two postseason wins in the Vladdy and Bo Bichette era. Since the two stars made their MLB debuts with the Blue Jays in 2019, Toronto had gone 0-6 in three separate playoff stints. It was significant because, at the time, Bichette was hurt and so much of the attention was on Vladdy. 

Could he finally hit a playoff home run? Could he finally lift the Blue Jays to that next level? He did all that and more, and it all started with that one swing that cleared the bases. 

There is also the fact that the Blue Jays had never faced the Bronx Bombers in the playoffs. They have shared the AL East division for 48 years, but this was the first postseason showdown between the division foes. For most of those 48 years, the Yankees have been the cream of the crop, and only once in a while have the Blue Jays been able to topple the Evil Empire. But it’s never happened in a head-to-head playoff scenario, and with the Blue Jays up 2-0 going to Yankee Stadium, there was certainly some trepidation among long-time Blue Jays fans. 

Once the series moved to New York, the Yankees took Game 3 and the Blue Jays decided that they would throw a bullpen game in Game 4. Toronto fans held their collective breaths. But the Blue Jays gave Louis Varland a 1-0 lead early and Varland got through four outs to start the game before handing things over to Mason Fluharty, who struck out three hitters, despite giving up one run. 

The rest of the bullpen combined for 6.2 innings of one-run ball, while the offense tacked on just enough insurance to send the Yankees home empty-handed with a 5-2 win to clinch the series in New York. 

ALCS tested the Blue Jays more than the Yankees ever could

If the season ended there, it might have been more than enough to say that the season was a success. However, the Blue Jays kept those magic moments rolling over the next few weeks, and the entire country was along for the ride. 

With the ALCS against the Seattle Mariners, Blue Jays fans from across the border in British Columbia were able to flock down in droves and support their team in person, much like fans in the eastern part of the country managed to do in the previous series in New York. 

The Blue Jays needed that support as they entered those games in Seattle trailing the Mariners 2-0. One of the prevailing themes all year for the 2025 squad was resilience. They had the most come from behind wins in the regular season, and those victories were earned because everybody on the roster contributed. 

That carried over into the series against Seattle. In Game 3, the Blue Jays trailed 2-0 until shortstop Andrés Giménez tied the game with a home run. The same guy who had just seven home runs all year. They hit five home runs in that game to smash the Mariners 13-4. 

Giménez did it again in Game 4, while future Hall-of-Fame pitcher Max Scherzer created the viral moment of the postseason by not allowing manager John Schneider to take him out of the game. Scherzer went 5.2 innings, striking out five and giving up just two earned runs, paving the way for the Blue Jays’ 8-2 win to even up the series. 

After dropping Game 5, they returned home with their backs against the wall. But Vladdy hit his sixth home run of the playoffs to give Toronto a 5-0 lead in the fifth, and Yesavage struck out 7 through 5.2 innings to give the Blue Jays a 6-2 win to send the series to a seventh game.

In Game 7, in the bottom of the seventh, Springer connected on what is surely going to go down as one of the biggest home runs in Blue Jays history. His go-ahead three run home run had shades of José Bautista and Joe Carter written all over it. The Blue Jays led 4-3 after that home run, and two innings later they had clinched their first AL pennant since 1993.

Blue Jays didn't win the World Series, but the journey matters

In those 32 years, the entire country has had very few championship moments to celebrate, and this year’s run to the World Series truly felt as if the entire country was joining in on the fun. It’s not like hockey where there are seven Canadian NHL teams and even when those clubs have reached the Stanley Cup final, not everyone is pulling for that team.

Maple Leafs fans would hate to see the Sens or the Canadiens win the top prize in the NHL. Same thing for Oilers and Flames fans, whose allegiances split the province of Alberta. 

The Toronto Raptors won the NBA title in 2019, and while basketball is popular, it doesn’t resonate yet resonate coast-to-coast like baseball does. So when the Blue Jays clinched that pennant and booked their ticket to the World Series, it was national headline news. 

And what a series it was. Arguably one of the greatest of all-time. There were momentum swings, from game to game and inning to inning. There were historic performances and unexpected surprises. 

Ernie Clement set the record for most hits in a postseason. Bichette came back from an injury and hit .348 with a home run off Shohei Ohtani. Yesavage set a record for most strikeouts in a World Series game without issuing a walk. Davis Schneider and Guerrero Jr. became the first players to hit back-to-back home runs to begin a World Series game. Game 3 went 18 innings. Game 7 went 11. The Blue Jays had multiple chances to win the whole thing, and came within inches of doing that on back-to-back plays.The series was decided on a home run by one catcher, while the other catcher hit into a series-ending double play. 

It was thrilling and emotionally nauseating all at once, and while the Blue Jays didn’t come out victorious in the end, they took their fans across the country on an October run that will be talked about for years to come.    

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