In 1993, there was Joe Carter’s walk-off home run to win the World Series. In 2015, there was the iconic José Bautista bat flip. Now, in 2025, there are countless moments from this playoff run that new and old Toronto Blue Jays fans like me will remember for the rest of their lives.
Even though this season ended in heartbreak, the Blue Jays’ playoff run brought all of Canada together to cheer on the team during a time when people have seemingly never been so divided. The Jays pushed the reigning champs to extra innings in Game 7 of the World Series, and that is something to be proud of.
My love for the Jays comes from my dad. It’s hard to keep up with every game in a 162-game baseball season, but my dad would watch as many games as he possibly could for as long as I can remember.
He took me and my brother to tons of Jays games, including my favourites, Jr. Jays Saturdays.
My dad and I still watch games on TV together whenever we can, including some playoff games this year, and I always think of him even when we can’t be in the same room.
After an outstanding regular season — even with an untimely injury to Bo Bichette near the end of it — we both knew this team had potential to do something special.
The Blue Jays were set to face one of their biggest rivals, the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series. Most experts picked the Yankees to win and didn’t think Toronto was going to make any noise in the playoffs. The Jays hadn’t won a playoff game since 2016, after all.
But in Game 1, the Jays came out in full force, stunning the Yankees with a 10-1 win, including two home runs from Alejandro Kirk.
In Game 2, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit the first grand slam in Blue Jays postseason history to help his squad to a 13-7 win. The Blue Jays would go on to win the series 3-1 in dominant fashion.
It wasn’t just the fact that they won the series which made the moment special — it was the commanding way they won against a strong opponent that had me convinced they could win the whole thing.
The Blue Jays’ next challenge was a dramatic one: a rematch with the Seattle Mariners in the American League Championship Series, the same team that swept them out of the Wild Card round back in 2022.
The series didn’t start the way any Jays fan hoped.
The Mariners stole the first two games in Toronto and as the series shifted to Seattle, it wasn’t looking good for the Blue Jays.
But they bounced back with a 13-4 win in Game 3 and an 8-2 win in Game 4.
And after splitting Games 5 and 6, the stage was set for a winner-take-all Game 7 in Toronto.
The Blue Jays trailed 3-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, but then came an injured George Springer, who hit a three-run home run to take the lead.
Toronto held on for the win, and just like that, the Blue Jays were headed to the World Series for the first time since 1993.
I went back to Toronto, my hometown, for reading week during this series and got to share these unforgettable moments with my dad.
Most experts predicted the Los Angeles Dodgers would sweep the Blue Jays, but just like every other time this season, Toronto was ready to prove the doubters wrong.
Game 1 set the tone: Addison Barger crushed a grand slam in a nine-run inning for the Blue Jays, cruising to an 11-4 win, making it clear they were to be taken seriously.
After trading wins with the Dodgers over the next five games, it all came down to Game 7 in Toronto once again.
The whole country was tuning in for every unforgettable moment: The 18-inning game that fans stayed up until 3 a.m. to watch, David Schneider’s first pitch home run, rookie Trey Yesavage’s 12 strikeouts in Game 5 and Ernie Clement breaking the record for most postseason hits.
In the third inning of Game 7, Bo Bichette blasted a three-run home run to give the Blue Jays the lead, and it was 4-3 Toronto heading into the final inning.
The Jays were just two outs away from winning the World Series. Then Dodgers’ second baseman Miguel Rojas hit a homer to force extra innings, and in the 11th, Will Smith hit another. Canada’s team just couldn’t get it done in the end.
This Blue Jays playoff run took me back to when I was 12, watching José Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion in the playoffs, despite the heartbreaking loss.
This team created new fans and brought old ones back across the country. For me, the end result wasn’t just about baseball — it was about the moments I got to share with my friends and family.
This run has made me a fan for life.
Featured image by Max Keyzer/the Charlatan
