The Toronto Blue Jays first arrived on the scene as the local boys of summer on a decidedly un-summery day at Exhibition Stadium 35 years ago on April 7, 1977. Five pennants, two World Series championships and a new building later and the Blue Jays are, indisputably, Canada’s team.
This season, the Jays have got off to a good start against Cleveland and it seems the franchise is again on the rise and looking to make a return to the glory days. Even though they didn’t exactly make the splash that some had hoped by landing a marquee talent to pair with slugger Jose Bautista and a rapidly emerging supporting cast, general manager Alex Anthopoulos has them on the right path towards contending.
But while things may be looking good right now, it’s been an up-and-down 35 years for the club. Here are five of the highest highs and five of the lowest lows that have happened both on the field and off it.
Flying high
1977: Jays win their first game
The Toronto Blue Jays’ MLB existence started in a very Canadian way: with a snowstorm. The grounds of Exhibition Stadium were covered in the white stuff immediately before Toronto took to the field for the first time ever to face the Chicago White Sox. They would beat the Sox 9-5. It would be one of just of 54 victories in their 1977 season, but the Jays had arrived.
1985: The first pennant
The Jays announced their status as serious contenders on the rise with the 99-win 1985 campaign which saw them secure their first ever division-winner's pennant. While the season would end in disappointment as George Brett would lead his Kansas City Royals back from the brink to a seven-game American League Championship Series triumph en route to their only World Series, it signalled the Jays were ready to make their mark.
1992: The title heads north
History was made in 1992, when the World Series trophy left the United States for the first time ever. Jays fans hung on with baited breath as Mike Timlin’s throw to Carter at first base beat out Braves speedster Otis Nixon by the narrowest of margins.
1993: Touch 'em all, Joe
Any Jays fan worth their salt can recreate in their mind the moment when the Blue Jays won the 1993 World Series. Down 6-5 at the bottom of the ninth, two on, one out, Mitch Williams on the mound, Joe Carter at the plate. They can picture the ball soaring out and clearing the left-field fence as the capacity crowd at the SkyDome explodes and Carter leaps up with an emphatic fist pump as he rounds first base. Only Toronto and Pittsburg have ever won the World Series with a home run.
1989: The Dome opens
For fans today that see it only as a vast, impersonal, charmless concrete box that rarely holds even half its capacity, it’s tough to remember that the SkyDome (now Rogers Centre) originally opened as an architectural marvel featuring the first ever fully motorized retractable roof. The building officially opened with a special, star-studded gala on July 3, 1989, and it first housed Blue Jays baseball two days later, with Toronto falling 5-3 to Milwaukee.
Crashing and burning
1970s: Failure to launch
The Jays began as what's politely called an "expansion franchise." During its first three MLB seasons, the club lost no fewer than 102 games each year and never finished with a winning percentage above .366. By the end of the 70s, Toronto had won 166 games … but lost 318.
1987: The collapse
Those who remember ’87 can still feel the sting of heading into a season-ending three-game series against Detroit while holding a one-game lead in American League East over the rival Tigers (the East then had seven teams in what was a four-division league). Despite the one-game advantage, plus what had been a 2.5-game edge just days earlier, the Jays were swept and saw their pennant hopes come to a bitter end.
1992: The Upside Down Flag
The Blue Jays’ appearance in the second game of the 1992 World Series got off to an awkward start when the U.S. Marine Corps somehow managed to end up flying the Canadian flag upside down during the national anthem. Apparently, America’s pastime just wasn’t ready for another country to come in an spoil its fun.
Late '90s to early 2000s: The Steroid Era
The aftermath of the Steroid Era was a tough time for the Jays. Toronto had no fewer than seven players on the infamous Mitchell Report.
2006: Sinking feelings
The 2006 season was the Jays’ most successful campaign since 1998, but ironically, it still fell short of expectations. While the 87-win campaign looks good out of context, it was a disappointment for those who had become excited by a club that had ambitiously added high-priced, veteran talent (Troy Glaus, Lyle Overbay, B.J. Ryan) to an already-solid core (Roy Halladay, Vernon Wells, Aaron Hill) in hopes of competing with the Yankees and Red Sox. When it became clear that they still weren’t on par with the AL East superpowers, signs of clubhouse dissent began to show. Pitcher Ted Lilly and manager John Gibbons nearly got into a scuffle, but the ugliest and most public spat came when Shea Hillenbrand wrote "The Ship is Sinking" on the clubhouse whiteboard.