Jays' Season Assessment

 Simon B

That was just about the weirdest way you could end a season. Going into Sunday, the Blue Jays still had a chance of qualifying for tonight's wild-card game if they had won and either the Yankees or Red Sox had lost. They undoubtedly did their part, beating the Orioles 12-4 in the final game of the regular season. Unfortunately, both the Yankees and Red Sox came out on the winning end of their nail biters against Tampa Bay and Washington respectively.

New York won 1-0 and they got the one run in the bottom of the ninth inning. In Washington, the Red Sox came back from a 5-1 deficit to beat the Nats 7-5 courtesy of a Rafael Devers two-run home run in the eighth.

When the Jays had won it, the Rogers Centre turned on the Nationals game on the big screen in the stadium for fans to watch, and just as they did, Boston took the lead for good. I can't really imagine what it would've been like to be in the ballpark at the time but from what I read and saw on TV, it was almost as if some 20 000 people had just gotten punched in the stomach.

It was a bittersweet end to what was really an extremely impressive season for the bluebirds who hit a franchise record of 259 home runs this year. They also outscored their opponents by 183 runs over the full 162-game schedule. 

On the offensive side of the ball, Toronto had, in my opinion, the best offense in baseball as they are in the top 3 in every single offensive stat category you could name. 

All-Star Performances

Vladimir Guerrero Jr proved that he is the superstar he was promised to be tying with Kansas City's Salvador Perez with 48 bombs. Vladdy played 161 games this year and had to (literally) be taped to the bench the one game because manager Charlie Montoyo wanted him to have the day off. At first base, he was exceptional. He took the challenge of becoming a first baseman and ran with it. Valddy got into incredible shape before the season began and it translated into him picking balls left and right. The part that's scary for opposing teams is that this is just the beginning.

Then there's Marcus Semien. This is more a delicate topic of conversation because Marcus is now a free agent and could possibly be on his way out of Toronto this winter. Semien hit 45 home runs to lead all second basemen and he broke the record for homers by a second baseman in one season. That's just about the best performance you could've had from Semien. He comes in on a one-year deal trying to prove himself after a down 2020 season and becomes one of the best hitters in baseball. Semien possibly hinted at the fact that he wants to stay in Toronto in his post-game media availability saying "we have, in my opinion, the best starting pitching in the league and the best offense in the league. How do you not want to be a part of that?" Semien also knows that he's a big reason why the Jays were so close to the postseason. Hopefully, these things keep him in Toronto so he can continue to dominate at the plate but also help the younger players get oriented in the big leagues a bit too.

Those are the two players who stood out on this team the most with the bats. But there's also George Springer who despite having missed more than half the season still managed to hit 20 home runs and was one of the top clutch hitters in tight ballgames for Toronto, even though his games played were a lot less than expected, his contributions showed us exactly why the Jays went all-in on him last winter. 

Bo Bichette was as steady as she goes on both sides of the ball. Bo always had a big-league approach and swing when he's at the plate and that didn't really change season to season as he had, like in 2020, another really solid offensive showing. Just under 30 home runs and over 100 RBI's is nothing to sneeze at. But what I liked the most was that he came into his own at shortstop. A lot of that had to do with the influence that Marcus Semien had on his defensive game but Bo was making fewer errors and most importantly, he found a style of play that he was comfortable with. Some players are very choppy and plant their feet before they throw (like Jays 3B Santiago Espinal) some love throwing on the run and charging the ball no matter how close the play at first might be (like Troy Tulowitzki). Bichette has a bit of a hybrid going. He likes to charge the ball all the time but sometimes he'll plant his feet then throw or sometimes he'll throw on the run.

I can talk about the Offense all day but I really don't have the time so I'll go more in-depth in a later post.

Cy Young Robbie Ray

The other big free agent the Jays absolutely need to lock up is Robbie Ray. Top three in all the individual pitching categories in baseball, rock-solid when it mattered in the home stretch, minimal walks compared to what he has done in the past and now he's a likely Cy Young candidate, if not winner. I'm not going to discuss why I think he should win right now but if I had a vote, he'd have mine for sure. 

Ray is so important to this team because he sets the tone for the entire clubhouse. When Ray is playing at his best, the Jays are winning and the other starting pitchers feed off of him and usually go out and have a great start. Jose Berrios, Alec Manoah, and Steven Matz all had great seasons, and having a guy like Ray lead the way is certainly a bonus. He does what any ace does and that's giving a chance for your team to win every single start. 6 innings of work was a regular thing for Ray who in that regard, helped minimize bullpen usage because the 'pen was really shaky at times this season.

All that said, I think the Jays need to lock up Ray more than they do Semien because of what Ray brings to the table. Yes, they could use Semien's bat but they have plenty of other all-star hitters in their lineup (when I say plenty I mean 3 or 4) but they don't have another hard-throwing ace, like Ray.

The Wrap

Looking back, this was a huge step forward for the Jays and this only excites me more for what's to come in the next few seasons. Of course, the playoffs would've been nice this year but I think this year's missed postseason will serve as motivation for the team come spring training. It's going to be an important offseason for management who have two key players to try and sign and they have a pitching staff that could use another strong arm or two. 

All that said, the wild card game is tonight and I really don't care who wins as long as Tampa beat them in the next round. I hate both the Yankees and Red Sox a lot so it would be nice for the baseball gods to get them out of the playoffs a bit early.

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