Blue Jay Across The Pond

My name is Sophie I’m a passionate Blue Jays fan from London, UK.

I first got into baseball through my Mum who grew up in Toronto, where my grandparents, aunt and uncle live. My Mum grew up a die-hard Blue Jays fan and watched them win the World Series in 1991 & 1992 with Joe Carter’s heroics. She often tells me it was one of the most unforgettable moments in her lifetime and the way she talks about it, I wish I was there in person to watch!

My family and I often go and visit our grandparents and my cousins who also live there on vacation during the Summer, which is where I first got into the Blue Jays back in 2015. That was an unforgettable year for the Jays coached by John Gibbons, they had a star-studded roster including: the legend that is José Bautista, Josh Donaldson, Edwin Encarnacion, Russell Martin and Kevin Pillar.

They won the AL East very comprehensively making it all the way to the American League Championship Series where they were unfortunately stopped by the eventual World Series Champions Kansas City Royals. But despite this loss, I was inspired by José Bautista’s ‘Bat Flip’ heard across the world during Game 5 of the ALDS. It was the bottom of the 7th inning and the game was tied at 3-3, up stepped Bautista and he drove the ball to Deep Left Field and GONE!! I was utterly speechless in complete disbelief. I didn’t even think it was going to happen and then BANG one hit that send not only the Rogers Centre but the whole of Canada wild.

Undoubtedly that was the moment that started my love and passion for the Blue Jays and to this very day José Bautista is my all-time favourite Blue Jay for that one very moment which has been written into the history books.

On the flip side, Baseball isn’t the most popular sport in the UK, which lags behind Soccer and Cricket but I’m glad to say that it’s growing thanks to the MLB London Series. The first edition of which was held in 2019 between the Yankees and the Red Sox. Over 100,000 fans attended the event at London Stadium, which is also home to my favourite soccer team West Ham United, a lot more people than I was expecting there to be. I was fortunate to have attended the second and last year’s edition between the Chicago Cubs and St Louis Cardinals, two NL Central Rivals. I couldn’t turn down the opportunity of watching the sport that I’ve fallen in love with in my home city. I sat in dead centre field opposite home plate and the seats were incredible! I was blown away with the atmosphere inside the stadium, which made it feel like a proper baseball game, the number of fans who attended and the way in which the stadium was transformed from a soccer pitch into a baseball diamond, which took three weeks! The St Louis Cardinals won the game 7-5 to split the series with the Cubs who won the first game thanks to two home runs from SS Dansby Swanson.

The 2023 MLB London Series meant so much to me and it’s a day I’ll never forget for two reasons. Number one as I mentioned before watching baseball in my home city and Number Two, wearing a Jersey with my favourite current Blue Jay George Springer on the back and he hit the 57th leadoff homer of his career against the Oakland Athletics just as I left the stadium to move to joint-second on the all-time list with Alfonso Soriano. I’m pleased to say that I will once again attend the London Series this year between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets, two NL East rivals with plenty of star names on showcase. It just so happens that the team I love will once again play the Oakland Athletics. Will their star Right Fielder itch his name into history books for the second straight year?

I’m looking forward to the 2024 season but there are many questions which the Blue Jays will have to answer. Will they finally win a playoff game for the first time since 2016? Will Vladimir Guerrero Jr return to his MVP levels from 2021? Will Alex Manoah return to a version of his 2022 self after a poor 2023 season? There’s lots of uncertainty surrounding Toronto but one things for sure, I’ll be supporting them no matter which position they’ll find themselves in come October….