Controversies: Suitgate

Who knew a simple shopping trip could turn into such a headache?

The sides: Jose Bautista (on behalf of Devon Travis) vs. the greedy people at Sporsnet

The background: As you may or may not recall, waaaay back in May, Sportsnet anchor Hazel Mae did a little fluff piece with Blue Jays rookie second baseman Devon Travis where they went suit shopping. Travis is only 24 and didn't really own a nice suit, which is basically a requirement for professional athletes - they have to dress nice when travelling and attending events and such. It was cute, it was fun, Devo looked dapper, all was fine, and after the season the Jays have had, nobody really remembered it after a while. You can watch the clip here:

The issue: Well as it turns out, the folks at Sportsnet (and its parent company, Rogers, who - surprise surprise - own the Blue Jays) made Devo pay for his own suit. 

The backlash: Jose Bautista didn't agree with this decision, and decided that he wouldn't do any one-on-one interviews with Sportsnet journalists until the matter was resolved. Weirdly enough, the reason for the boycott didn't surface until three months later - and in the meantime, apparently nobody in the general public noticed that SN was bereft of Joey Bats interviews. Many fans, tweeters and reporters alike, sided with Bautista, calling Sportsnet 'cheap' and praising Jose for standing up for his young teammate. 

My two cents: When I first heard about this story, the whole issue seemed kind of surprising and weird to me. Since Sportsnet is the ones who are in charge of the segment, aren't they supposed to pay? Isn't that supposed to be how this kind of thing goes? The store is getting tons of free publicity from this segment, why don't they cover the cost? I'm not saying he's being *forced* to go shopping and there are definitely less pleasant ways to spend one's time and money, but that still seems odd. 

People have mentioned that Travis is a well-paid ballplayer, but I think his salary is irrelevant here. Being a girl, I also have no clue how much men's suits/shirts/ties/shoes cost, but designer clothing can run pretty expensive. Someone pointed out that since it was 'off the rack' and not custom-made by a tailor, it would have been cheaper, but that's still a relative term. Also you can't tell me Devo's suit didn't require some alterations. He's short and extremely muscular - especially in the, erm, thigh area - I'm pretty sure that's not a standard size. 

Rogers/Sportsnet makes money off of him regardless, would it kill them to pony up for a suit, especially one he wears while representing their organization? They're taking advantage of him by proposing the shopping segment and then making him pay for it, when he could have just as easily done the same thing off-camera on his own time or with a friend. Everyone profits from this except Devo, and that's not right. 

As for the Bautista angle, I'm not even sure how he became involved in this. Maybe Devo was kind of disgruntled about having to pay so much money? He might not have even complained at all, could be Bautista just heard about how the transaction occurred and thought 'that's not right, he's being taken advantage of.' We'll probably never know. But I love the way he handled it. Travis is a young kid, he can't really complain without raising some eyebrows about his attitude. Bautista knows that. He carries some clout with Sportsnet since he's one of the biggest stars on the team, so if anyone could make them do the right thing, it would be him. If anyone says this man isn't a leader, I'll fight them. He saw something that he felt was wrong, so he used his influence to help make it right. 

He didn't make a big fuss about it, either, just played the stubbornly silent waiting game until the other side caved (which I'm assuming they did, given that he did an unrelated on-air interview with Barry Davis the same day the story broke). It was probably the public criticism that did Sportsnet in. I love the fact that Bautista didn't comment on the story when asked (by other media members) about it, other than to confirm that they had their facts straight. Because ain't nobody writing inaccurate headlines about Joey Bats. 

The winners: Well, eventually it got resolved, so I'm assuming Bautista and Travis won in the end. Travis gets a free suit and still looks like the humble human being he is. 

Bautista also wins because he comes across looking like a hero (something not undeserved). In a third win, Bautista got three months free of answering the same bloody questions over and over again. Lucky him. 

The store/designer still get paid for the suit either way, and I'm sure they got extra business somewhere along the line because of this segment, so as annoyed as it makes me, I guess they win too. Stupid capitalism. 

The losers: Rogers and Sportsnet had one of their star athletes be mad at them for three months, so that can't be fun. They also were on the receiving end of ire from more fans (aside from the ones that already hate them for renaming the beloved Dome and building a statue of Ted Rogers... Seriously.) I'm not including paying for a ~1000$ suit as a loss for a billion-dollar company. But the bad PR is punishment enough. 

Us viewers lost out on three months' worth of Joey Bats quotes. Sad face. However, that would have been a bigger deal if the team wasn't doing so well. And call me a sap, but I kind of liked seeing the 'bit players' get some more screen time instead. 

How it should have gone down: In a perfect world, the network would have not been cheap bastards and paid for the damn suit themselves, and in return for all the publicity, the store would have given them a discount. The store then gets to proclaim "Hey! Toronto Blue Jay Devon Travis shops here!", which is probably what happened anyways. 

The ironic thing about all of this is that Devo is so sweet and gracious that he probably would have spent an hour of airtime profusely thanking whoever paid for the clothes. That makes good TV, and the network gets footage of that which they can use whenever they feel like for the rest of his life. And we the viewers get to see that footage. Everybody wins.

I mean hell, I'd buy Devo a suit if it meant I could hang out with him for a day. Tuition is overrated.

Unanswered questions: Was the issue actually resolved? Bautista gave an on-air interview the day of the story, so that's kind of a quick turnaround, but it may have been some kind of goodwill gesture on behalf of the network to make it seem like everything was fine. Maybe they made an agreement not to bring it up. I know Barry Davis, a Sportsnet employee, definitely wasn't going to. 

Didn't I read something about Mark Buehrle taking the rookies every year to get their first suit? What happened to that? Maybe he only does it with the pitching staff. But that's some serious leadership too - and he doesn't do it for publicity, either. 

Also, remember that time Edwin Encarnacion blew off Barry Davis after hitting a walk-off home run? Everyone says it's because he's self-conscious about his English, but I'd like to think it's because he was showing solidarity with Bautista over the suit thing. I can dream, right? 

@BlueJayHunter a nice addition might be Edwin denying Barry pic.twitter.com/XHWq1XvBrS

— Seb FoxAllen (@purpledocket) June 10, 2015

If there's one thing about this we can all agree on, it's that Devo is adorable. And he looks damn good in blue.

And a HOUNDSTOOTH tie?!! Excuse me, I accidentally drew blood because of how sharp this is. That offer of shopping still stands, anytime. 

Know Your Jays: Josh Donaldson

Josh Donaldson. Son of Donald. Dosh Jonaldson. Our Savior. He Who Gets It Done. The Bringer of Rain. Bringer of Homers. Bringer of Walk-offs. MVP! MVP! For some reason I always want to call him Joshy Don, but I'm sure he would not like that, so I don't do it (because sometimes he scares me a little). If you ask anyone who just began following the Blue Jays this year, he's responsible for literally every win they've had.

As you probably already know, he was traded for Brett Lawrie (and friends) before the 2015 season, which surprised a lot of people because A) A lot of people loved Brett Lawrie and B) A lot of people were surprised Oakland would let him go for such a low price.

His hair is kinda weird, but that's OK because he's the best and we love him. At least it's not that bizarre mohawk/rattail he had the last few years with the A's. What's not OK is the Yankees' Twitter mocking said hair, because that's just douchey. We do it with love. It's like how it's fine for you to tease your family, but if anyone else does it, you'll kick their ass. Not cool, Yankees.

Does he have Twitter?: Yup, and it's where the 'Bringer of Rain' handle came from - he gave it to himself. He's semi-active online when he doesn't have a game to play, and pretty sassy, too. I asked the Jays to play all day games so that he could devote his evenings to tweeting, but no luck.

Irrelevant Facts: The nickname 'Bringer of Rain' came from the TV show Spartacus, which he apparently is a huge fan of. And considering how much I love TV, anyone who names themselves after their favourite show is pretty awesome in my book.

He also appears to be friends with Freddie Prinze, Jr. Lucky guy. (Or is Freddie Prinze Jr, the lucky one because he's friends with Josh Donaldson?)

@RealFPJr it's a tough game. Good thing my about having teammates is they can go deep too. 😂😂

— Josh Donaldson (@BringerOfRain20) August 13, 2015

During his first two seasons in Oakland, he was a catcher. Which seems weird to me. That would be like Kevin Pillar playing shortstop. It's just wrong. I would, however, love to see JD in catcher's gear at some point (although hopefully not during an important game... because that would mean something bad happened to Martin and/or Navarro, and besides - who the hell would play third?!). Solely for selfish reasons, because catchers are my favourite.

Best Quotes: (On Edwin Encarnacion, said at 2 a.m. EST while possibly falling asleep) "He's a guy who... hits balls really hard." 

(On learning he'd been traded to the Jays) "I seen on Twitter somebody put me in one of those Toronto Blue Jays uniforms — the all-white one. I tell you what: those uniforms are pretty sexy.”

What he's good at: He hits lots of things, like home runs. He hits in important situations, like late innings in close games, or to start off the scoring in a game. Have I mentioned that he hits a lot of home runs? Because he does. (True fact: just after I typed that sentence, he hit another one. I'm not kidding. August 18th, 2015. First inning in Philly. Look it up).

He's had so many home runs this year that it's hard to pick a favourite, so here are a bunch from the first half of the season handily compiled together. My favourite part of these astonishing feats of power are his reactions - particularly around 0:29 and 1:15. The way that smile creeps across his face is just beautiful.

He also doesn't need no stinking glove to be one of the best 3rd basemen in all of baseball. He snags, he jumps, he stretches, he pivots, he dives, he leaps, and he throws. Sometimes he does more than one of those things at a time.

I mean at this point, the glove is just a formality.

An accessory, at most...

His spray chart is astonishing, in that it's so evenly spread-out. Most right-handed hitters tend to hit to the left side of the diamond, but other than on balls he's been thrown out on, that doesn't seem to be the case. You can never really predict where he's going to hit to, which is probably why he keeps everyone on the opposing team on their toes. His home runs, in particular, are more perfectly distributed than sprinkles on a cake. (Fun fact: Once during BP, he batted from his left side, just to see what it was like - and he hit a home run. Because of course he did. He's Josh Donaldson.)





What he's not so good at: Keeping the ball inside the park. Mwahaha.

He's also got the most errors per games played for any Jays player not named Jose Reyes in 2015. Many of those are throwing errors, overshooting the first baseman in his haste to be rid of a ball. Fortunately, most of these errors didn't end up costing the team. The haste also calmed down a fair bit in the second half of the season, which is good. But it's still something to be concerned about. If his glove (or other hand, as the case may be) are so steady, why doesn't he have time to prepare the throw? Sometimes it's completely necessary, like when the runner is crazy fast, but it's generally better to be accurate than to be early.

Though he's fairly mild-mannered and smiley once the game is over, he's intense to the point of scary at times when playing. Like a tightly wound spring being released, he explodes with energy, either with his bat or his arm or, on occasion, his mouth. Who can forget the storm of curses which turned us all into lip-readers that he unleashed in the direction of the LA Angels dugout? Who even knows what exactly provoked that?
I'm always concerned that that kind of thing is going to get him in trouble, especially when he's angry at an umpire, or one of the numerous pitchers who mistook him for the catcher's mitt. Obviously, having a guy throw at your head is not to be taken lightly (especially when that guy has zero repercussion for it, as happened with the Royals) and I absolutely expect him to get mad in those cases. But if a fight were to break out in a close game, the Jays can't really afford to lose their biggest masher to an ejection. I'm worried that one day, he's going to cuss out the wrong person, and said person will send him packing. This is another reason I appreciate Jose Bautista's efforts to insert himself between Donaldson and the object of his anger. A step back and few deep breaths in those moments could go a long way.

Why I love him: Did you not see the thing about all the homers he hits?



The ritual of 'throwing up the six' after crossing home plate each time he homers is a tribute to his buddy, starting pitcher (and #6) Marcus Stroman, who was out injured for most of the season. Every time, we were reminded that even though Stroman couldn't be with the team, he was nonetheless a part of it, and Donaldson was making sure he wasn't forgotten.

He puts 100% of himself into everything he does on the field. Even when the Jays are winning by a huge margin, he goes all-in on a play, or smacks the ball as hard as it will go, just because he can. He's incredibly intense, focused and dedicated - and that's really hard not to respect.

He's also astonishingly modest considering all his impressive skills. When asked about the MVP chants that fans were sending his way, he pointed out that baseball is a team sport and he expects himself to play well for the purpose of helping out his teammates. He wants to win, obviously, but it's not about personal glory or taking all the credit. He was blown away by the support of Canadian fans voting him into the All-Star Game and really just seemed thrilled to be there.

He deserved every single vote he got. And in his own words, Canada 'got it done'.

2015 Season highlights: His previous record for home runs came last year with 29. On August 5th he hit his 29th of this season, and 2015 Josh Donaldson took a look at 2014 Josh Donaldson, nodded, and kept right on going. He hit his 30th two days later. He eventually reached 41 homers in the regular season, more than any of his teammates.

His home runs seem to come at the most timely of times, with the majority of them either tying the game or giving the Jays the lead. Two such homers were responsible for impressive walk-off victories, including the Jays' first walk-off of the season, on April 18th in the 10th inning against the Braves. A second came, on May 25th, that scored three runs in a game it didn't seem the Jays would be able to win over the White Sox. It was his second homer in that game.

He also caused a third walk-off on July 31st facing the Royals when he hit a single that scored Troy Tulowitzki from second base in the 11th inning.

On June 23rd, in Tampa Bay, pitcher Marco Estrada had a seven-inning perfect game going when David DeJesus hit a foul ball. It was well over the line, into the stands, but Donaldson wanted so badly for Estrada to get his perfect game that he launched himself into the seats and snagged the ball. Considering all the stupid and recurring injuries Jays players had suffered this year, I was afraid he had broken something, but he emerged triumphantly, grinning and holding the ball aloft. The guy is indestructible.

That turned out to be the last out of the perfect-game bid, as the next batter hit a single that JD couldn't get to first base in time, but no matter. That catch went down as one of the most impressive of the Jays' season, and gave Estrada something to smile about even after being unsuccessful.

On August 22nd, Josh became the first player in the MLB to reach 100 RBI this season, which made him only the second Blue Jay ever (after Carlos Delgado in 2003) to accomplish that feat before everyone else. He also beat his own personal best for RBI in a season - 94 - that game. The same day, he became the first Blue Jays third baseman since Kelly Gruber to have six RBI in the same game.

Also in the month of August, Josh and Edwin Encarnacion became only the third pair of teammates ever in MLB history to both have more than ten home runs and 35 or more RBIs in the same month. (The 35 RBIs in one month are a Blue Jays record). They joined on that list pairs such as Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, aaaaand... Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. That's it. Ever. How insane is that?!

Off-field antics: His wicked sense of humour, and the sneaky smile that accompanies it, are two of my favourite things about him. He's perhaps the guy, out of the entire team, who's the most different in person from his intense on-field persona. Just watch this video:

Look at that cheeky grin. Just look at it. LOOK AT IT! 

A bunch of Twitter people made up 'Josh Donaldson as your boyfriend' stories one night, because they were bored. I, unfortunately did not get in on this until it was too late, but it was one of the most awesome running jokes I've ever seen. Somehow they turned him into John Bender. (If you don't know who that is, away with you and don't you dare come back until you've watched The Breakfast Club in its entirety).

As if that weren't enough, the man himself actually responded to it:

@MissStaceyMay @steven_lebron Oh my! How do you all know so much about me? 😂😂

— Josh Donaldson (@BringerOfRain20) August 19, 2015

Then there's the time the entirety of Canada rallied behind him to elect him to the All-Star Game - breaking the all-time record for votes for a single player in the process. He also had the help of two Canadian celebs who used their popularity to push the non-baseball-watching general public to vote for him: Don Cherry and actor Stephen Amell.
To officially cement just how much the country loves JD, he caught a ceremonial first pitch thrown out by Cherry, on Canada Day, no less. The Hockey Night in Canada host was nervous about embarrassing himself, and Donaldson apparently told him 'Don't worry, I won't let you look bad.'

Amell was present at a different game, where the two of them hung out during batting practise, and Donaldson challenged Amell to hit a home run, which he did. Amell then asked Donaldson if he would hit a home run during the game that day - and lo and behold, he did.

JD also took part in a recurring bit at the SkyDome where they show a brief video between innings called 'The Roof Report with Josh Donaldson'. I thought this was only a one-time thing (I only ever heard about them using it at the home opener) but then my sister went to a game, and then I went to a game - and apparently they use it every day! It's awesome!
Much in the same vein as Captain Obvious, it's literally a 3-second clip where he sits at a desk and informs the live audience whether the roof is open or closed. The intro and closing portions (wherein an announcer says "And now, The Roof Report with the Bringer of Rain, Josh Donaldson" and "This has been The Roof Report with Josh Donaldson") are longer than the part featuring JD himself.
If you haven't caught on yet, the joke is the fact that the audience are IN the SkyDome, and therefore fully aware of whether the roof is open or closed. For some reason I find this utterly hilarious.

Fictional/cartoon character he resembles: I'm gonna go with Sonic the Hedgehog, because of the spiky hair and the perpetually-arched eyebrows. Also because he looks good in blue.

Hopefully he'll also excel at collecting rings. (Get it? Championship rings?? Teehee)

He's as clutch as clutch can be, and brings whatever kind of precipitation is necessary to win a ballgame. No matter the city, no matter the weather, our boy can make it rain.

In closing, I'm just gonna leave these here*:

*Although not to burst anyone's bubble (including my own) I'm pretty sure he's just blinking. 

[GIFs created by the Blue Jay Hunter]

Know Your Jays: Jose Bautista

Jose Antonio Bautista. Joey Bats. Number 19. Our fearless leader. He's known by many names. You may be surprised to learn that apparently most people mispronounce his last name. According to his MLB player profile, it's pronounced 'bahhh-tista', not 'boww-tista'. Until he corrects the announcers, however, I remain unconvinced.

Does he have Twitter: He does! @JoeyBats19 His tweets are frequent, entertaining (if occasionally self-promoting) and emoji-laden. Bonus: He also has an equally-active Instagram! His hashtag game is possibly the best I've ever seen. 

Irrelevant Facts: He's one of only three remaining players from when the Jays had those black jerseys and the logo with the angry-looking bird. (The other two are Edwin Encarnacion and Brett Cecil).

The man REALLY loves his breakfast cereal.

His initials (JB) are also the team's initials (BJ) in reverse. Coincidence?? ... Yes. 

Best quote: (On the players added at the trade deadline) "It’s almost like being at war and running low on ammo, and the next thing you know, here comes a little parachute with a crate. And it lands right next to you. And it’s full of ammo. You’re like, ‘Yeah, baby,'"

(When asked if he had a response to an opposing pitcher griping about his bat-flip) "No."

What he's good at: Lots of things! Hitting things, catching things, looking very casual while doing those things... Or better yet, catching things dramatically. He's a good 8 years older than his centerfield counterpart Kevin Pillar, but is just as capable of the acrobatic catches. They're just not always necessary. But when they are, they're spectacular. (See second video) He's probably able to do those things because he stretches more than a yoga instructor.

He's also legendary for responding to bush-league moves (i.e. throwing at him) with his swing (see first video), often in the same at-bat. You don't want to make this guy angry. You won't like him when he's angry. Especially if you're a member of the Baltimore Orioles.

He's been the face of the franchise for several years now, and the face of some other things, including Booster Juice and TD Canada Trust Bank, for some reason.

He's also crazy smart. He wrote this amazing article about the importance of education for international baseball prospects. He's from the Dominican Republic (but you probably already knew that) and has a foundation to provide opportunities for amateur ballplayers to get a higher education. Good guy.
  
What he's not so good at: Keeping quiet. Which is actually a good thing. Sometimes you need to stand up for yourself, or a teammate, even when everyone's saying you should just shut up. When Joey Bats sees that something is wrong, he points it out, and he doesn't let anyone sweep it under the rug. When an asshat of a radio sports commentator implied that baseball players in general and Dominicans in particular weren't smart, Bautista responded to him on Twitter in a manner that actually seemed fairly calm (judging solely by the lack of caps lock and exclamation points).

Dear Mr. @ESPN_Colin before i rip you a new one i would like for you to explain what u meant to say about baseball and dominicans, please

— Jose Bautista (@JoeyBats19) July 23, 2015

Who among us wouldn't have let loose a few curse words at a guy insinuating our entire country is lacking in intelligence? Remarkable restraint, and for a man reputed to be a 'hothead', no less. He even included the sarcastic 'please' at the end.

Another thing would be knowing his 'limits'. I would like to say the man HAS no limits (certainly the field has no limits as far as his bat is concerned) but there was that one time he got pissed off at the Orioles and overthrew on a play, and hurt his arm. Apparently it got to the point where he couldn't raise his arm to comb his hair, and this led to him having to DH for a while, which in turn led to the circus that was our outfield. But we'll forgive him for that, Because he's Bautista. And his rage was justified. At least it didn't hurt the team much in the long run. 

Why I love him: Because of all the things he's good at! He mashes, he catches, he dances, he bat-flips, and he speaks up about things that no one else will. Really just a badass in general. And he has a soft spot for kids, and a sense of humour, as evidenced by his goofy selfies on his Instagram and his frequent use of the 'crying from laughter' emoji.

He also follows pretty much everyone in Canada on Twitter (including both of my accounts, teehee), which has become somewhat of a running joke in the Blue Jays Twitterverse. Also a running joke? The Bautista quote 'Who are you and why are you talking to me?', which came about in response to a reporter claiming to know what Jose was thinking last year at the trade deadline. He's the stuff of legends, a giant brushing an inconsequential fly off his shoulder. A fly that didn't need to be addressed, to begin with, but for some reason I have this mental image of him sitting behind his computer after crafting these cool-toned takedowns and just giggling.

I love how he can go from intense and focused, to exuberantly proud (of himself or a teammate) to calm and calculating and back again in a second. Even when he appears to be at his most relaxed, you can always tell he's thinking, observing and strategizing. No one can tell you he isn't smart. Sometimes the smartest people are the ones who don't feel the need to inform everyone of just how smart they are. There's something in his eyes that gives it away. That, and a slight sense of mischief.

"I'm gonna hit a home run against them later."

As for the thing about him being a hothead - many people have pointed out this might be a little bit of a racist criticism, especially since Josh Donaldson has done similar stuff (and worse) and been called much fewer names over it. That may be true. My dad also pointed out that Jose has had a temper with unfair calls and such for several years, and maybe people are just getting tired of it. But even compared to the stories of past seasons, he's seemed to have cooled off a fair bit as of late. The only times I've seen him really lose his temper was on a lousy strike call. And you can say here that he's disrespecting the umpires, or whatever. But he's one of the best judges of strikes and balls in the league. As Arden Zwelling once famously said - "When Jose Bautista says the pitch is a ball, its a f***ing ball." He has an amazing eye.  He gets mad because he wants to be given a fair chance, and if the umpire were judging the game accurately, there'd be no need for him to be angry. Bryce Harper is another player noted for doing this - but no one, save for Gregg Zaun, seems to think he's hot-headed.
Baiting, especially from the other team, is met with cool indifference (like "I could care less what Adam Jones is saying."). Or this lovely gesture, also directed at the O's:

"Don't talk to me." A wave of dismissal more suited to an Elizabethan lady. That's how above all of this Jose is. Considering all the grief that team has given him, all the near-misses he's suffered at the hands of their pitchers, he could have a lot more to say to them at that moment. But he refuses to sink to their level, and that makes me really proud.
He also chose not to berate an ignorant Jays fan who interfered with a fair ball (unlike the Yankees' Mark Teixiera, who fell into the stands trying to catch a foul one later that same week). He gave said fan an icy glare, but didn't say anything. It was a look that could kill, for sure, but wouldn't a hothead likely choose to engage in a screaming match?

He's a leader, and I really mean this, despite him becoming kind of overlooked in that role in the 2015 season. There was that time he wouldn't let starting pitcher Matt Boyd (making his big-league debut) get his own water after his first inning.

There was that other time he chose to sit out the glory and excitement of the All-Star Game & Home Run Derby because he was afraid it would cause further injury to his irritated arm, and end up costing his team later on. He put the success of the team before personal recognition, even though it was the first time he missed the ASG in 6 consecutive seasons.

There was another time when he stood up for teammate Devon Travis when he felt the rookie was being taken advantage of - read about Suitgate over here

And then there were the countless times this year I've noticed him be the first one to step between an angry teammate and an umpire/opposing player, try to calm the other guy down, and avoid an argument or, even worse, an ejection. More often than not, this teammate is Josh Donaldson, and while I'm definitely not saying Donaldson is wrong to be angry, he does the team more good in the lineup than in the clubhouse, and Jose knows this. Which is probably why he steps in, having been there numerous times himself. The point can also be made that since he bats third to Donaldson's second, he just so happens to be the nearest person since he's on-deck at the time. But he could just as easily stay put and wait for Gibby to do something about it. Attempting to de-escalate a situation like that goes a long way in terms of showing leadership. As much as I can enjoy the drama created by a mid-game argument, I love the guys who keep the peace even more. And for that, he earns my respect.

2015 Season Highlights: Well, he's hit a lot of home runs. Including the 250th of his career, as well as his 200th as a Blue Jay. He and Josh Donaldson also are tied for first on the list of MLB teammates who homer in the same game (7 times as of August 12th). He slid comfortably into second place on the list of all-time home runs as a Jay, prompting legend Vernon Wells to tweet this, when Bautista tied him:

Joined now by @JoeyBats19 on the @BlueJays HR list. Welcome bud! Pass me tomorrow! #GoJaysGo

— Vernon Wells (@VernonWells10) July 22, 2015

Have I mentioned he hits a lot of homers? One (or two, or four) of the most enjoyable ones were when he glared down the Orioles, or the time he hit a homer and yelled 'f*** yeah, bitch' in slow-motion at the Orioles bench as he ran to first, or hit one against the Royals in that game where they rattled JD so much with beanballs that he couldn't hit one himself. And then there was the one where he hit one in extra innings in New York to end a 1-1 10-inning game. (Also happened to be the first Jay since Gregg Zaun to do so against the Yankees. Pretty cool.) 

Then, on September 22nd against the Yankees, after struggling with his arm all season, he unleashed not one, but TWO cannon-like throws which nailed out the runners and kept the Jays in the game. They ended up losing in extra innings, but after this magnificent display we all kind of looked at each other and knew - he was back.

Off-field antics: Well, I mean. There's all the dugout dancing. It was started by Jose Reyes, I'm sure, but Bautista joined in wholeheartedly.

There's also this, which is about a year old, but is definitely one of the cutest, most good-natured things I've ever seen happen in a pre-game warmup.

(Side note: Isn't Orbit seriously the best mascot in all of baseball?!!)

And Joey Bats, the Barcelona FC superfan, once traded his batting practice shirt to a Jays fan for his Messi jersey - even though said jersey was much too small. Legend.

He's not without his problems, but he's one of the most prolific and consistently amazing players the Blue Jays have ever had. I for one was astonished he didn't make the Franchise Four, because god knows I voted for him! He's set all kinds of records and contributed to all kinds of wins. There is no modern-day Blue Jays without our Joey Bats.

[All GIFs were made by the Blue Jay Hunter]

Why Baseball?

I played baseball when I was a kid. (Well, technically softball, because I'm a girl, but aside from the ball being slightly larger and bright yellow, and our jerseys being a lot lousier quality than those for the boys' teams, I fail to see any difference). I played for nine years, which should surprise anyone who knows me, given my lack of athletic ability and basic coordination.

Ah yes, purple and orange. A classic colour combination.

But I loved the game. I loved it because unlike other sports, it didn't involve a lot of running (which I hate) and even when it did, it was only a small amount at a time. It also was more interesting to me, because so many different things could happen, and unlike other sports (hockey, basketball, soccer) it wasn't merely 'go back and forth and try to put this thing in this other thing'. I also loved it because I knew everyone would get their turn to contribute. As I grew older, I realized there was a lot of strategy to it, a lot of mind games to be played between batter and pitcher, and batter and fielder. Such as when I was 13 and known as one who hit a lot of grounders, so the other team moved way the heck in and that made me mad so I smacked an RBI double way over their heads. Or when I was 10 and known as one who never swung at anything (the pitchers were also 10) so their determination to throw strikes almost always made them throw more wildly, and ended up with me walking safely. And then just to get in their heads even more I'd steal bases all the way to third.

My dad always came to my games, and we would discuss the things I did wrong (never swinging at anything) and the things I did well (stealing bases) on the way home. My dad has three daughters and no sons, and while he's not the most sports-obsessed guy in the world, he still likes them enough to want to discuss them from time to time. My sisters have little to no interest in sports (unless you count dance as a sport, which I don't) and so me liking baseball was his first chance to have an interest in common with his animal-loving, bookworm eldest daughter.

He took me to my first Blue Jays game when I was about 6 or 7. I can't remember who we played, or who was playing, other than Carlos Delgado (and him I only remember because my dad pointed out a Milk ad on the subway with him in it, and I thought he had a cool name) and the roof of the SkyDome was open so I spent most of the game watching the elevator cars go up & down the CN Tower. (Oops.) I'm pretty sure they lost, and we left early because I was getting sleepy (who brings a 6-year old to a night game an hour away from home when her bedtime is 8:30?? My dad, that's who). But I do remember that it was fun.

The second time around, I was about 9 or 10 and I don't remember any of the players on the Jays team, but I remember they were playing the Red Sox and they won. That was fun. I remember this being during that brief time that they experimented with that stupid logo of a giant 'T' with a bird peering around it. I remember being very disapproving of that logo. Needless to say, I'm glad they changed back to a revised version of the original.

Then I didn't go to any games for a while, but I had a poster on the back of my door of Roy Halladay that I'd found in the newspaper and put up even though I hadn't heard of him at the time, but he was wearing a Jays uniform so I wanted him on my wall. And I kept asking my dad about him, because his was the only Blue Jay name I knew. I got really sad when he went to the Phillies, but left the poster on my door.

I stopped playing baseball when I was about 16. I had other things going on, I wanted to focus on school and friends and getting a job blah blah blah. I occasionally asked my dad how the Jays were doing, and he basically said 'meh' every year. I had a natural allegiance to the team, but it had become a casual one.

Then in the summer of 2014 some of my friends at school were watching the home opener on TV and I tagged along. They were pretty surprised that I understood everything that happened. I kept checking in on the team's progress throughout the next few months, which I must say was pretty exciting for a while.

Then I got my dad and grandpa and I tickets to a July Jays game for Father's Day. My dad was disappointed because a bunch of the big players - Brett Lawrie, Adam Lind, Edwin Encarnacion - were out injured, but he was a fan of R.A. Dickey and chose to go see him anyways. And being there in the stadium I remembered how much I loved baseball. How exciting it is, watching the plays and holding your breath hoping something exciting will happen. How every at-bat is a new chance to make a difference. How the smack of the ball into a glove is one of the most satisfying sounds on this earth. We arrived to the Dome late, in the bottom of the 4th inning, due to traffic, and the Jays lost 1-5 to the Rangers, but that didn't matter. My love of the team and my passion for the game had returned.

I spent the rest of that summer - all the way to the end of September - catching the tail end of games when I got home exhausted from work. Even when there was no hope for a playoff spot, I watched. My roommates and I went to the last game of the season. Neither of them really knew much about baseball, and it felt really good to be the undisputed expert for once! The Jays lost to the Orioles 0-1, which was a disappointment for sure, but we still had fun. And all I could think was 'Man, I can't wait for next season to start.' 

I love baseball because the season happens to fall in line perfectly with the 'offseason' for my other obsession - TV shows (you can access my blog about those over here). Because my inner history nerd is so fascinated with the nostalgia, and the culture, and the tradition of this amazing game. Because everyone who loves this team is so enthusiastic and so willing to talk to someone who's basically a stranger, just because they have one thing in common.

I love the Blue Jays because I love Canada, and this is Canada's team. I barely pay attention to sports, but the one time I do is at the Olympics - and the community and the excitement surrounding Canada's success at those Games is exactly what this feels like, but for six months instead of just two weeks. Even when the team's not doing well, there's always the hope for tomorrow, or next week, or next season. And we still have our little community to wish and commiserate and be sarcastic and mope with. 

Go Jays Go!