TORONTO — The Blue Jays†dream season deserves a Game 7. It has already had everything else.
Game 7 doesnâ€t just tease you with the possibility of great postseason moments, it demands them. One way or the other, weâ€ll be talking about Monday night in Toronto forever. Itâ€s up to the Blue Jays to decide what those conversations sound like.
This will be just the second Game 7 in Blue Jays history, joining their Game 7 loss to the Royals in the 1985 American League Championship Series. Fans who remember that year still hold the heartbreak of that 99-win team, the most in Blue Jays history, falling so painfully short. Following Sundayâ€s 6-2 win over the Mariners in Game 6 of the ALCS at Rogers Centre, Monday night will either be the story this generation of baseball fans winces about for decades or the biggest baseball moment this city has seen since the World Series wins of ‘92 and ‘93.
An entire country will stand still to watch the Blue Jays. An entire country will turn its hope and heart to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
“I play for the city. I play for my teammates. I believe in this team,†Guerrero said. “I believe in my teammates. And when you believe in your team and you believe in God, and you give everything to this city, something crazy happens. We win today, weâ€re going to flush it and weâ€re going to try and come tomorrow and win again.â€
Eight months ago, the Blue Jays opened camp with a dark cloud over the organization, Guerreroâ€s future dominating every conversation we had. Since then, he has signed a 14-year, $500 million deal and been part of one of the most surprising teams in franchise history. Everything has changed. The present, the future, all of it.
“What heâ€s done behind the scenes and how heâ€s handled being the face of a franchise is pretty unique for a 26-year-old dude,†manager John Schneider said. “To be along for the ride, I think Iâ€ve been spoiled to be along his journey as long as I have. To watch him doing what heâ€s doing right now with six homers in the postseason and great defense, running the bases well, this is what you look for from the elite players in the game.â€
These moments are so rare. That 1985 team was special. Tony Fernandez, George Bell, Lloyd Moseby and Jesse Barfield powered the lineup, none of them older than 25. The great Dave Stieb was one of the best pitchers in baseball, Jimmy Key close behind him. Itâ€s a team we still talk about in this city, but on a Wednesday in October, it all ended in Game 7.
This is the Blue Jays†opportunity to crack open a new era of baseball in this country. The ALCS runs of 2015 and ‘16 will always matter in this city, but Toronto is not a city that should have to celebrate semifinals appearances for decades. With one win, the Blue Jays can step into the World Series for the first time in 32 years.
From this roster, only George Springer, Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, Kevin Gausman, Jeff Hoffman and Tyler Heineman were alive then, most of them too young to remember a thing.
“Youâ€ve got to enjoy it, man,†Schneider said. “This is what we sign up for. Whenever you can play a Game 7 to go to the World Series, it sounds cool to even say it. This is why we sacrifice everything. This is why players sacrifice everything. This is special and unique, but you have to look at it as a game.â€
The Blue Jays are not the juggernaut everyone feared. They are not the Dodgers, who await the ALCS winner in the World Series, their roster stacked with stars and future Hall of Famers. Theyâ€re the 2025 Blue Jays, though, and that has gotten them this far.
Widely projected as a mid-range team entering the season, maybe one that could sneak above .500 with a little luck, the Blue Jays have had the season every team dreams of in Spring Training. Everything has gone right. Everything they claimed theyâ€d do, theyâ€ve done.
Now, it all needs to come together one more time to reach the World Series. From players like Guerrero, who has been with this organization a decade, through the big-name free agents like Gausman and Springer, it all needs to come together. This includes Game 7 starter Shane Bieber, brought in just more than three months ago for a moment just like this.
“It means everything,†Bieber said. “Iâ€m very excited for the opportunity. I think itâ€s a culmination of a lot of events and hard work to get to this point, and a lot of things had to line up, most notably the first six games of the series, Trey [Yesavage] and the guys that come up big tonight to lead to tomorrow. It will be no different than the other games of this series.â€
It will, though. Years from now, we wonâ€t be talking about Game 6. No matter what, weâ€ll be talking about Game 7.
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