Can Canada’s baseball team make the playoffs this year?
Posted March 27, 2013 10:33 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It’s been 20 years since the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series.
They haven’t been back to the playoffs since, but an off-season filled with big-name acquisitions has many fans predicting that will change this year.
Blue Jays Central host Jamie Campbell spent the winter travelling across the country with players as they met with fans.
“The Blue Jays are a funny team in that they have the name of a city on the front of their jersey, but they’re the only team remaining in Canada,” he tells News1130.
“In places like Saskatoon, Winnipeg, or Halifax, people automatically feel like they’re Canada’s national baseball team because they can turn on their televisions at night and watch them with that bright red maple leaf on their shoulders.”
There’s even a Canadian on the roster: Brett Lawrie of Langley.
“I think it’s important for anybody, whether they live here in BC or grow up in Toronto, to understand that if you put your mind to it, it’s possible to play professional baseball,” says Campbell says.
“If you’re good and you’re dedicated, you can end up playing for the last team in Canada. He’s an incredible young man and he’s an incredible talent.”
Lawrie’s popularity was illustrated when Toronto played in Seattle last year and hundreds of Canadian fans showed up to the ball park in Blue Jays jerseys with his name on the back.
Campbell expects Lawrie will get another hero’s welcome when the Jays return to Seattle in August.
“I expect there will be a lot of people heading down there,” he tells us. “I’ll even be pushing my superiors to take Blue Jays Central on the road because it’s quite a scene.”
Toronto acquired superstars Josh Johnson and Jose Reyes in an off-season trade with Miami. The team then signed free agent outfielder and All-Star Game MVP Melky Cabrera and picked up reigning National League Cy Young Award winner RA Dickey in a deal with the Mets.
Toronto opens the season at home against Cleveland next week.
