A Story So Good Not Even The Elbows Up Crew Could Ruin It

The tipoff came when the proud Canadian comic who couldn’t be bothered to still live here reprised Elbows Up. It was going to be Mark Carney’s dream come true, the perfect distraction from him apologizing to Orange Man Bad for Doug Ford’s commercial. A team from his political base claiming national status so he could whip up O Canada/ Hate Trump while he tries to sign a trade deal, any deal, with the U.S.

The Globe & Mail, once a serious newspaper, fell in line. “The Blue Jays aren’t just playing for themselves. Because of Trump they’re playing for all of Canada.” Corporate Canada, like Jays “proud owners” at Rogers, threw the Canadian flag into every commercial running. You’d have thought Melanie Joly was batting cleanup.

Never mind there are no Canadians playing for Toronto (Vlad Guerrero was born in Montreal but identifies as Dominican) or that the Dodgers first baseman actually plays for Team Canada. Or that Canadian anthem singers at the games whined about reconciliation while changing the lyrics of O Canada. All they needed to seal the deal was one measly win in Game 7 and a snap federal election was a shoo-in. 

As blogger/ writer Jonathan Kay has observed, “I absolutely love that the Canadian media has gone from “Here’s why so-called Canada is a colonial settler genocide state” to “here is the correct way to be a proud Canadian nationalist” in like 15 minutes.”

The fans in attendance in Toronto and via television tuned it all out. On Friday, Toronto went up 3-0 on a homer by Bo Bichette, who already has one foot out the door headed to free agency. It was strictly ballroom for the Boomer Zoomers in the stands and watching on TV. Sure, Turtle Island may put in a land claim at any moment on the “ancestral home” occupied by the Roger Centre. Party on.

Till it ended sadly past midnight in lame jokes when L.A.’s catcher homered in the eleventh inning. “What did @Dodgers Will Smith say to @BlueJays pitcher Shane Bieber? SLAP!”  Game. Set. Match.

The party rally over, the Dodgers— who hit just .203 in the Series— celebrated on the infield while Jays fans sat in stunned silence contemplating 12 hits, 10 men left on base and 3 for 14 with runners in scoring position. Remarkable the Jays didn’t win. 

The contrast with the 1992-93 experience couldn’t be more stark. But baseball fans not dragging all the political baggage shouldn’t lose sight of the rags-to-riches season on the field. Here was our tepid assessment of the team’s chances in March. “While it’s true that the sun can’t shine on the same team every day, Jays fans believe it would be nice if the great orb would find their club as it did back in the 1992/93 World Series days. Instead of the reflected glory of past stars winning for other teams. Patience is thin. And time is ticking.”

After that was written the Jays did give Vlad Guerrero his 14-year, $500 million deal, locking up their star for his baseball life. But if that was supposed to inspire the team it was a loser. By May 8 they were 16-20. Then they hovered near .500 till the start of June. When we remarked, “Even the Jays’ paid broadcast team was having a tough time putting a happy face on ever catching the Yankees for first. 

In desperation manager John Schneider began giving at-bats to prospects like Addison Barger and Jonatan Clase. Journeymen like Nathan Lukes, Ernie Clement and Davis Schneider also thrived in platoon situations.
Another journeyman Eric Lauer solidified the fourth starter spot while Max Scherzer convalesced. In the bullpen unheralded lefties Brendan Little and Mason Fluharty gave Schneider valuable late-game innings. Catcher Alejandro Kirk, handed a new contract, gave the pitching staff a reliable asset.”

Then came the hinge point. In late June/ early July the battered Blue Jays went on a wholly unexpected tear. They won 19 of 24 games, ending with taking three games from MLB’s best team, the Tigers, in Detroit. They didn’t just beat opponents, they pounded them. 

Still, management was cautious at the trade deadline in July. They picked up useful bullpen arms in Seranthony Dominguez and Tommy Nance. They rolled the dice on former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber who hadn’t pitched in two seasons. And they picked up versatile Ty France.

But nothing earth-shattering. By August the Jays had earned a 91.9 percent chance of making the postseason, a five percent chance of winning the World Series. But Mr. Carney was not adopting them just yet as the Jays staggered through September. Guerrero didn’t get an extra base hit from Sept. 7- 20. They were playing without, arguably, their best player in Bichette.

Their pitching staff was in tatters with Chris Bassitt gone to the injured list, José Berrios banned to the bullpen, Max Scherzer strafed for seven runs in one start, Jeff Hoffman blowing leads like he blows his nose. All Star catcher Kirk, OFs Addison Bargar and Daulton Varsho went cold at the same time.

But the Jays pieced together enough offence centred on George Springer and spare parts like Ernie Clement to keep the wheels on. Bieber, the former Cy Young winner, was a life saver. And as Detroit completed the worst choke in MLB history, Toronto was able to grab home field advantage in the playoffs. 

That was when Team Toronto became Carney’s Team Canada, a rallying point for his base as he floundered on the world stage. It’s hard enough to buy into the Team Canada pitch with a Canadian NHL team where at least half the players are Canadian. The Jays don’t even have a surefire domestic prospect in their system at the moment. (They had Toronto’s Rob Butler on the 1992-93 Series winners). 

The Laurentian elites were undeterred. According to the G&M, the surrogate Jays were the happy face of their federalism. And for a dizzy month they delivered for both baseball fans and the PMO. For good measure the World Series records fell like autumn leaves, culminating in the final weekend in Toronto. When the dreaded Dodgers squeezed out the wins they needed.

L.A. Times reporter Dylan Hernandez rubbed it in. “It’s amazing how the city of Toronto just keeps producing one loser after another. They’re like San Diego north. I did have to give one last parting shot to my friends up north, because they’re not coming back here anytime soon.”

But Jayson Stark of The Athletic was more sympathetic. “How can you tell when you’ve just been part of the greatest World Series game of your lifetime? Or maybe we should make that anybody’s lifetime? Do you have to wait for a panel of historians to rule on it? Or do you just look into the eyes of your teammates and recognize that you all know it when you see it, when you live it, when you play in it?"

We are with Stark and all baseball fans who resented the first nighters, red-carpet snobs and jock-sniffing politicians horning on on the fun of baseball. It was a time to remember that will linger long after the Elbows Up crew leave us. For now, go Oilers, Habs, Senators, Jets, Canucks, Flames and (gasp) Oilers.

Bruce Dowbiggin @dowbboy is the editor of Not The Public Broadcaster  A two-time winner of the Gemini Award as Canada's top television sports broadcaster, his new book Deal With It: The Trades That Stunned The NHL And Changed hockey is now available on Amazon. Inexact Science: The Six Most Compelling Draft Years In NHL History, his previous book with his son Evan, was voted the seventh-best professional hockey book of all time by bookauthority.org . His 2004 book Money Players was voted sixth best on the same list, and is available via brucedowbigginbooks.ca.