Blue Jays clinch first playoff berth since 1993, end longest drought in MLB
Twenty-one years of frustration and disappointment are officially behind the Toronto Blue Jays.
On Saturday, they celebrated their first playoff berth since 1993 with a 10-8 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
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Based on a scheduling technicality, the Blue Jays were actually already in entering play on Saturday. That rendered the festivities somewhat anti-climatic, but the accomplishment and the meaning to Blue Jays fans were unchanged by the circumstances. This is a franchise and a fanbase that’s been waiting a long time to breakthrough in the difficult AL East, and this is the year it finally came together.
The Blue Jays getting in means every MLB team has reached the postseason at least once in the 21st century. The Seattle Mariners have now gone the longest without making a postseason appearance. Their last trip came in 2001, when they fell to the New York Yankees in the ALCS.
The Blue Jays, at worst, will play in the American League wild-card game scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 6. With a four-game lead in the American League East, they obviously have much higher hopes. In fact, at 89-65, they still have a shot to secure the best record in the AL, which would give them home-field advantage throughout the entire postseason.
An aggressive offseason from general manager Alex Anthopoulos put the Blue Jays in position to contend. An even more aggressive push at the trade deadline is what cemented their roster and sent them soaring to the top. In the last calendar year, Anthopoulos has added four impact players in Josh Donaldson, Russell Martin, Troy Tulowitzki and David Price. For those scoring at home, that’s the leading contender for AL MVP, one of the best all-around catchers in the game today, the very best all-around shortstop, and the ace this Blue Jays club has desperately needed.
The latter two came at the trade deadline. Those two deals cost Anthopoulos many of his top prospects, but the BlueJays have been baseball’s best team ever since. It will be well worth it to him if that continues through October and into November.
Anthopoulos has also added several under-the-radar but useful pieces such as Justin Smoak, Marco Estrada, Chris Colabello and Ben Revere. If there’s a frontrunner for executive of the year, it should definitely be Alex Anthopoulos, as he’s elevated this team to World Series favorites.
A big reason for the oddmakers optimism is Toronto’s offense. The Blue Jays will enter October as baseball’s high-scoring team at 5.5 runs per game. That’s what happens when you add Donaldson, Martin and Tulowitzki to an offense that already includes Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. It’s a modern day murderers row designed to punish opposing pitchers.
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With that in mind, the postseason usually is about pitching. Even if these Jays aim to challenge that thinking with their offense, they should be set up well themselves with Price anchoring the rotation and Marcus Stroman looking healthy. It’s as effective a 1-2 punch as you’ll find in the AL, so the Jays have to feel good about any potential posteason matchup.
This is a very good Blue Jays team. Scary good even. They definitely look like the team to beat.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
