TORONTO — Steven Lorentz shocked his new wife pretty good when he leapt out of bed in the seventh inning with a clap and a holler to celebrate George Springerâ€s ALCS-winning home run.
“As soon as it left his bat, I knew it was gone,†the Toronto Blue Jays fan disguised as a Maple Leafs player said excitedly Tuesday morning. “She was kind of rolled over trying to sleep, and I think I woke her up.
“Iâ€ve definitely got a little bit more excitement for this Jays group this year than I have in previous years.â€
Lorentz is all of us in this hockey Mecca turned baseball town.
“I think a lot of people in Canada probably had a similar night last night, watching our Jays move on to the World Series. First time in, what, thirty-something years?†the Ontario native continues. So that’s great to see. “Weâ€re happy for them. But like Vladdy said, the jobâ€s not done for them. So, they still got some work to do.â€
For too many Octobers, the work of the Maple Leafs has dominated Page 1 of the Toronto newspapers†sports section.
The magic of the Jays†post-season run has flipped priorities like Bautista twig — in a way that benefits all involved.
The middling Leafs have five regular-season games scheduled to go head-to-head with the best-of-seven between the Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
You get one guess as to which will be the cheaper ticket.
“Itâ€s an easy team to cheer for,†Morgan Rielly marvels. “Weâ€ve been talking about them all morning.â€
The longest serving Maple Leaf grew up in Vancouver as the son of a Yankees fan; a young Rielly and his father would drive south to Seattle and root against the Mariners when the pinstripes were in town. But Rielly has been wearing Blue Jays caps for years.
Heâ€s all in, even if the sweetness of a Toronto championship series comes with a sting.
“Thereâ€s a small part of you that youâ€re envious of them. Youâ€re a bit jealous at what theyâ€re doing, just because of Toronto. You watch it firsthand. Youâ€re obviously happy for them. Itâ€s a great moment for the city. But we want to be able to do that and have a run like that. We felt that when the Raptors did it, too,†Rielly explains.
“So, you look at the passion that theyâ€re playing with, and thatâ€s contagious. And you want to be able to also bring that when your time comes.â€
To a man, the Leafs spoke glowingly about the baseball clubâ€s formula of simultaneously getting valuable contributions from their depth players as well as showtime moments from their high-paid superstars.
None more impressive than ALCS MVP Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who strode into Rogers Centre on the eve of Game 7 decked out in a No. 34 Leafs replica sweater.
“I think Vladdy broke the curse by wearing Auston Matthews†jersey here today,†Jays manager John Schneider said, following the 4-3 home win.
“Yeah, that’s pretty cool. Iâ€m sure Tone was pretty fired up about that,†enthuses Toronto native Chris Tanev, who played competitive ball through Grade 12.
“Itâ€s really impressive to see the city rallying behind them, and just an amazing comeback from down 2-0 to start the series, and down 3-2, and down in the game as well. So, itâ€s just a lot of relentless efforts.â€
Tanev is a master of smart positioning. He makes subtle, nifty outlet passes and is willing to take abuse to make the right play. So, it should be no surprise that he showers the Jays†role players with credit for contributing small details that lead to the big moment.
“The (Andrés) Giménez bunt probably no one talks about because Springer hit a home run. But no one bunts, really, anymore, and he laid a great bunt. Or (Addison) Barger walking to get on. Little things like that. Not trying to hit a home run and being happy to get on base, to let his teammates help him get home and make the game closer,†Tanev says.
“Itâ€s just like little things like that go into a hockey game, so you sort of watch and learn from that.â€
Craig Berube grew up a baseball-loving kid in Calahoo, Alta. Itâ€s the sport that most closely rivals hockey as his passion. The Leafs coach visited the clubhouse and met with Schneider in September. Heâ€s been studying the post-season at home, quietly rooting for the Jays.Â
“I watch their guy, Vladdy, closely. I watch how he interacts with all the guys and how much energy he brings all the time and happiness for his teammates when they do something well,†Berube says.
“Heâ€s always got a lot of energy and a lot of positive vibe around him, you know? Which a lot of them do. But heâ€s their main guy, and he brings that — and I think the whole team feeds off it.â€
Torontonian Max Domi says itâ€s not only Guerrero Jr.â€s performance at the plate that impresses; itâ€s also his presence in the post-game conversations.Â
“You see his interviews and how emotional he got — what this city means to him. It’s great to see him, and Iâ€m so happy for him and his entire team,†Domi explains.
“It’s inspiring, man. I think if youâ€re not a baseball fan, it doesn’t matter. Youâ€re watching that game, youâ€re watching that interview — everyoneâ€s got chills. If you don’t, then you’re missing a heartbeat, for sure.
“Taking that and seeing how the city responds to it, and listening to each guyâ€s interview is really cool for me as an athlete on a team, to really see how much they love each other, and thatâ€s what got them to where they are. Of course, theyâ€ve got the skill, they got the talent, theyâ€ve got everything. But they all seem to think that the most important thing is how tight they are.â€
The parallels here are blatantly obvious to the Toronto fan.
And the Maple Leafs, who play just a couple Barger relay throws east of the Dome, feel like the sports cityâ€s positive energy could be contagious.
“Itâ€s almost like a little bit of outside motivation, you can look at it, right?†Lorentz says. “Like, you see when that teamâ€s doing well, when our teamâ€s doing well, when it comes to playoff time, thereâ€s extra bodies in the seats. Thereâ€s extra bodies outside. Iâ€m sure the bars are all filled up with people who are rooting and cheering.
“I had some buddies out, and you could see the Instagrams and the Snapchats of people going nuts when Springer hit that home run. So, the Jays get that. We get that when weâ€re doing well, too.Â
“Itâ€s nice that we can kind of feed off that energy that the Jays are bringing, that buzz to the city.â€
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