Resilient ‘comeback kids’; Blue Jays rally into first World Series since 1993

The long 32-year wait is over for the Toronto Blue Jays as they advance to their first World Series since 1993 after battling a long seven-game series against Seattle. George Springer led the Blue Jays to the promised land with a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh inning of Game 7, which concluded a historic ALCS comeback for the century.

The Blue Jays became just the fourth team in MLB history to win a best-of-seven postseason series after losing the first two games at home. That stamped their first American League pennant in 32 years. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., a first baseman, has been with the Jays his whole career and led the team this postseason with his veteran leadership and incredible stats. Guerrero is batting .442, 12 RBI, 6 HR. 

Trailing 3-1 in the seventh inning, Toronto needed to get something going fast. Seattle Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo stays in to start the bottom of the 7th inning after pitching innings 5 and 6. Woo walks the first batter of that inning, Addison Barger. Woo then allows a no-out single to Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Woo’s next batter he faced would be his last, as Jays left fielder Andrés Giménez laid out a sacrifice bunt to Woo, advancing the runners to 2nd and 3rd base. Mariners relief pitcher Eduard Bazardo comes into the game with 1-out and Woo’s responsible men on base. It only took Jays right fielder Springer two pitches to launch a 96mph sinker 381 feet to left-center for a three-run home run, ending up being the game-winner for the Jays that evening. “I knew I had to get the job done. That’s October baseball,” Springer said after the win. “This team fights every inning.” The Blue Jays’ bullpen retired six of the final seven batters, putting the nail in the coffin at Rogers Centre.

The Blue Jays made two comebacks in that series. From 0-2 and 2-3 deficits in the ALCS, but that was nothing new to this Blue Jays squad. The Jays led the MLB in comeback wins, totaling 49 in the regular season. “There’s probably not another person I want up there than George Springer,” manager John Schneider said.

The AL East champions improved by 20 wins over last season and secured the top seed in the American League. The Jays had no problem against the Yankees in the Division Series before edging out the Mariners in a series that featured seven hard-fought games. Trey Yesavage, a rookie starter, was key in Game 6 with 5⅔ scoreless innings. “I wouldn’t count this group out,” Yesavage said early in the series. “This group is special.”

Toronto is now facing the defending World Series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who began on October 24th at Rogers Centre. The Jays hosted the Dodgers games one and two, firing on all cylinders, dominating game one, going up 1-0. However, the Dodgers didn’t back down, evening up the series in game 2. Game 3 was a two-game marathon, lasting a historic 6 hours and 39 minutes, ending on a magical solo walk-off home run from Freddie Freeman. Punches being thrown in this back-and-forth battle, the Jays once again responded, being down 2-1, winning game 4 to even out the series 2-2 in a blowout 6-1 game.  Before the series starts, the odds are against the Blue Jays as analysts and data experts have them at only around a 35% chance of winning the World Series. However, they are not to be counted out, especially considering the elite level the Blue Jays have been playing baseball. Even when they are down, the Jays keep on fighting and plan to try to take game 5 in LA, and win back at home in game 6 in Toronto.