Fans giddy with excitement
A memory from almost 30 years ago is rushing back to fan Matt Harvey with the Blue Jays back in the post-season.
Harvey was 12 years old in 1993, watching Game 6 of the World Series drag into the ninth inning with the Jays down 6-5. As a preteen living with Asperger’s syndrome, Harvey felt like he couldn’t take it any longer. Crying while thinking his beloved Jays would lose, he briefly dozed off.
“My mom woke me up when Joe Carter hit the homer,” said Harvey, who would later go on to meet Carter through his ongoing autism advocacy career. “It was truly amazing.”
With the Jays securing home-field advantage for the three-game wildcard series against the Mariners, Harvey is among thousands of fans across the country who are giddy with excitement. The Jays haven’t hosted a playoff game at Rogers Centre since 2016 when José Bautista, Edwin Encarnación and Josh Donaldson captured the public’s imagination.
Harvey has been following the team since the 1980s and his support has never wavered, even during a stretch when they missed the playoffs for more than two decades. He has full confidence in the current team.
“Playing at home I like their chances,” he said, noting the road ahead will get tougher after the wild-card series, with a rested, 106win Houston Astros awaiting the winner of the Jays-Mariners matchup. “Just got to believe in this team. I am hoping it will go well.”
Natalie Hosmer and her eightyear-old daughter will be watching from what she considers to be the best seats — the comfort of their couch at home in Toronto.
“We haven’t missed a game all year, so we definitely won’t miss these,” said Hosmer, who describes herself as a lifelong Jays devotee. Her daughter is a Bo Bichette fan and will be rocking a No. 11 jersey.
Hosmer said she and her daughter have attended a couple of Jays games at Rogers Centre this season, and would consider purchasing tickets to a playoff game if the team gets closer to the World Series.
“The best way to support the team is to watch them live or on TV, engage with their social media channels … and keep watching to see who Vladdy (Guerrero Jr.) will douse next with the Biosteel water or ice cooler,” she said.
As soon as tickets for the wildcard series hit the open market, Lucas Belej snatched a pair for Game 1 at $75 each. This will be his first post-season baseball game.
“I’m gonna be honest, this is all I have been able to think about lately and I just can’t wait to finally see that first pitch,” he said. “I think the Jays clinching home field is huge not only for the team and fan base but for the community and country. Because as we saw with the Raptors and Leafs, sports is able to bring the country together and have some sort of unity, especially only having one Canadian team.”
He said the team making it into the post-season is only the beginning. Many people expected this team to make it to the World Series before the start of this season, with the off-season acquisitions of Kevin Gausman and third baseman Matt Chapman having “definitely skyrocketed” those expectations.
Belej believes this team can at least reach the American League Championship Series, based on what he called a “dangerous lineup” and a bullpen that has gotten stronger throughout the year.
“These components are a perfect recipe for a successful ball club and in my opinion they can beat any team in a five- or seven-game series,” he said.
Far away in London, England, fans like Steve Hunter are glad that a late afternoon start in Toronto (4:07 p.m., Sportsnet) means they won’t have to stay up past midnight to watch the wild-card games live on TV.
A British citizen who went to his first Jays game at the SkyDome in 1994, Hunter has for years been running the Twitter handle @BlueJaysFansUK to connect with fans abroad, sharing the extraordinary experiences of following the games live into the deep hours of night.
“Watching José’s bat flip at about 2:30 a.m. will never be forgotten,” he said about the 2015 division series game against the Texas Rangers, when Bautista famously flipped the bat after hitting the go-ahead three-run home run.
“The fan base here is diehard. We host meetups whenever possible,” he said, noting Jays fans were among the best represented teams during the 2019 London series between Yankees and Boston Red Sox.
He estimates the majority of Blue Jays fans in the U.K. are British who caught up with the team while on vacation or have relatives in Canada, while others are Canadians who live overseas.
“We love the Jays and couldn’t be more excited about the prospect of late-night playoff baseball again.”
‘‘ I’m gonna be honest, this is all I have been able to think about lately and I just can’t wait to finally see that first pitch. I think the Jays clinching home field is huge not only for the team and fan base but for the community and country.
LUCAS BELEJ JAYS FAN