Blue Jays in World Series
Well I'll be damned. First time since I was 12.
They looked dead in the water in game 7, down 3-1 in the 7th. But then they got two on, moved them over, and then George Springer hit probably the second biggest home run in the history of the franchise, after Joe Carter's World Series-winning home run in 1993: a drive (like Bautista's, like Carter's, like Encarnacion's) deep to left. 4-3. Two shutout innings from closer Jeff Hoffman meant that Cal Raleigh, the M's fearsome slugger, was left standing on deck as Julio Rodriguez struck out. I don't think my partner and I have ever screamed so hard at the final out of a game.
What a game. What a series. The total opposite of the Dodgers-Brewers series, with lots of runs, lots of back and forth, and a deciding game 7.
The World Series (somehow, improbably) comes to Toronto for game 1 on Friday. The Jays, with 94 wins to the Dodgers' 93, have home field advantage. I'm still feeling a lot of the malaise I mentioned earlier (ankle aches, very tired), but at least I have a once-in-a-generation Blue Jays team to put a jolt through me. Star shortstop Bo Bichette has declared he'll be ready. He's missed the entire playoffs with a knee injury sustained in September while sliding into home plate in a game against the Yankees. This is a huge boost: a lineup that's been hitting is getting their second- or third-best hitter back. Arguably, it was Bichette who really helped turn around the Jays season, hitting a pinch-hit home run to help the Jays win against the Rangers late in May, when the Jays were mired around .500. They went on a huge tear after that, and never looked back. His defense at shortstop isn't great, but his bat carries him, and often, the team. He missed the last two weeks of the season and still finished second in the majors in hits, barely eclipsed by Bobby Witt, Jr. He is very good, and getting him back will be a huge boost.
I wasn't really a fan in '92 and '93, just a kid who liked computers and didn't really watch sports. Now I'm a middle-aged man who likes computers and loves watching the Jays. This is the first time they've made it this far and it's mattered to me. I'm going to enjoy this: before this season, everyone was picking them to finish last, or second-last in the division. This season is the happiest of surprises. My ankle hurts, my knee isn't healing, but it's late October. There's still another week or two of baseball. This is special, and I'll remember this team, this run, forever.