For Fans, the Blue Jays’ World Series Run Surfaces Memories of Our Own Glory Days

A few hours after Trey Yesavage struck out nine batters in his major league debut on September 15, I purchased tickets to Game 1 of the World Series. So sure was I that the Toronto Blue Jays would make it to the Fall Classic — and their super rookie would be a key reason why — that I searched multiple online resale sites, convinced that at least some season ticket-holders would put their seats up for grabs early. Several did and I found a pair of spots in the first row behind the Blue Jays’ bullpen in left field — an ideal place for my 7-year-old son, Gabriel, to interact with relief pitchers, get a clear view of the field, and perhaps catch a home run ball.

 I felt giddy; I felt cocky; I felt like the 20-year-old me who skipped university classes on October 20, 1992 to stand in line for nine hours to snag a cherished ticket to the first-ever World Series game played in Canada. Then watched from high above as Devon White made his magnificent catch, the team nearly turned a triple play, and the ninth-inning run scored to ensure a 2-1 lead in the series. It was worth it then and I trust it will be worth it again.

On the 33rd anniversary of that ecstatic Game 3 win, the Blue Jays secured their third appearance in a World Series when George Springer launched the shot heard from Niagara Falls to Tuktoyaktuk, Signal Hill to Tofino. Canada was on board for the 381-foot missile that has sent the squad to the championship round for the first time since 1993 — the year they won the second of their historic back-to-back titles.

The Jays have rocketed again to prominence this month. In so doing, they’ve ushered a cohort of their fan base back to the time of our lives.

Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Blue Jays fans were feeling 20-something again when Springer leapt into the fandom’s pantheon. His seventh-inning homer that would conquer the Seattle Mariners not only powered the Jays to victory in the American League Championship Series, it reminded us of moments of revelry, spontaneous bursts of glee that were cathartic and tribal. They gave us a sense of belonging at a time of age when community could also pass for security. There is strength in numbers, after all, and even if it’s fleeting the camaraderie that a sports team can build among its followers makes us feel bonded, safe. As we age, such unity can fade. We move on to exist in corporate environments, not educational ones. Lives become complicated with tasks and responsibilities and ways to remain in good health. In seemingly every situation, we ask ourselves the nagging question: “How do I pay for that?”

No wonder humans crave a return to our youth. Baseball, the game and the boys of summer who play it, is romanticized as a conduit that can get us there. It’s one of the first games many of us learn to play, a sport we practice with parents, siblings, and neighbourhood kids. For the most part, it’s a wholesome game. Violence is done to the ball, not a foe. The trash talking is rarely in an opponent’s face. It reminds us of backyards and beach days, leisurely drives and lakeside getaways. The Blue Jays — for me and many more in Canada, I’ve come to realize — were a constant companion in the 1980s and ’90s. On the radio in the car, on TV in the living room after dinner. In those glory days, they provided a rhythm to life. Their pitfalls and heroics on a near-daily basis humming in the background of our summer lives, readying us for autumn when the buzz would liven up so much it would command our focus. As it has done now.

MORE JAYS: Life of a Fan in B.C.

On Friday night, when the Jays take on the scary-good Los Angeles Dodgers, I will be there, on the 33rd anniversary of the October 24, 1992 victory in Game 6 that secured the team’s first championship and sent Toronto into pandemonium. Like this October, the temperature then was unseasonably warm. We skipped north on Yonge Street high-fiving and hugging, singing “O Canada!” and “Let’s Go, Blue Jays” in discordant unison. Toronto truly did feel like the centre of the universe. And it did again, a year later, when Joe Carter’s championship-winning home run set off fireworks in the ‘Dome and more than few in the streets.

Three decades later, things have obviously changed. The game has evolved, mostly because it was struggling for attendance and even relevance among younger sports fans. The Blue Jays transformed their home stadium to include more distractions (video games and play areas in centrefield; bars for mingling in the upper decks), an admission that regular-season matches can be a drag and teams needed to look to entertain fans in other ways. As baseball has adapted to the 21st century, so have its followers. Distractions are in our hands; nullifying the desire for programs and scorecards. Quickly snapped digital photos have taken the place of tangible souvenirs. Unlike fast-paced sports like hockey and basketball, and soccer, which can be slow but is over in half the time, baseball can seem like a time suck.

But there’s magic in it, as Springer clearly showed us, and where there is magic, children will be lean in with wonder.

Gabriel is one of those kids in Canada who the Jays have pulled in with their exploits. During his previous visits to Rogers Centre, aka SkyDome, he spent more time playing Mario Cart and building giant Lego towers in the WestJet Flight Deck area than in his seat. He was most eager to run the bases after the game — part of the successful Jr. Jays marketing campaign — than watch players hustle for second base. That changed during Game 2 of the American League Divisional Series, when 22-year-old Yesavage had a performance that will be remembered for longer than the phenom has been on earth and the euphoric reactions of the crowd kept my son amazed and riveted. His first postseason baseball game on October 5 was an ephiphany for him. In his eyes, I could see the tug of baseball and this geographically unique team embracing him into their faithful fold. The 2025 Jays have seduced a new legion of fans clad in royal blue. It ensures multiple generations will watch the best-of-seven World Series together and kindle more memories.

I grew up in Ontario cheering for the Jays. My son does so from British Columbia, home of the Jays’ minor-league team, the Vancouver Canadians, who have keenly promoted the sport and their connection to the big club. Games at Nat Bailey Stadium, where Yesavage toiled briefly in May during this most mercurial season of his, introduces young fans in Western Canada to the experience of witnessing professional baseball. A Canadians game is charming, a Blue Jays one is momentous. A World Series event is monumental. A time when victories — and the feelings of joy they summon — are rendered eternal.

The World Series is back in Canada. When you watch, be sure to connect with your feelings — angst, joy, grief, resolve, and triumph. Touch ’em all, so you never forget.

MORE ABOUT THE 2025 WORLD SERIES

The No. 32: It’s been 32 years since the Blue Jays last reached the World Series. Fans will hear a lot about that over the next 10 days. There’s another reason why 32 is worth noting, though — it’s Roy Halladay’s number. It drapes from the top of the ’Dome next to the championship banners. Waving down from above, a hero who gave it all to the city and the franchise during the bleak years between majesty. Halladay died in a plane crash in 2017 at age 40 and two years later was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Halladay and his numbers have a curious connection to the team he starred with from 1998-2009. He was born on May 14, 1977, the same year the Blue Jays began play. (Coincidentally, they had completed 32 games at the time of his birth.) Halladay finished with 416 games played (a number that matches Toronto’s area code). If the Blue Jays indeed need divine intervention to beat the mighty Dodgers, perhaps there is a signal that their ace in the rafters can deliver it.

The Games: Find the 2025 World Series Schedule here. Tickets are sold out for all games; multiple resale sites have listings, but the asking price for even the worst seats in Toronto are currently above $1,000 each.

Where to Dine Before the Game: Toronto has two recently opened food halls within walking distance of the stadium. The Well, a 7-minute walk to the gates, includes 11 restaurants and five cafes; many of them are excellent. The dining choices showcase the range of cuisines for which Toronto is known. Acclaimed Bridgette Bar is the good choice. A 15-minute walk north of Rogers Centre is the eye-catching Waterworks Food Hall with multiple options, including three bars that offer happy-hour. Try highly regarded Civil Works for their masterfully crafted cocktails.

Prediction: Blue Jays win in five games.