Toronto Blue Jays fan Alejandro Lameiro waves the Canadian flag prior to Game 1 of baseball’s American League Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in Toronto. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The Toronto Blue Jays are often the forgotten team in Major League Baseball, as the only franchise not based in the United States.
However, there is an entirely different view of the Blue Jays in Canada. They are the nation’s team, and baseball is seemingly on everyone’s mind right now – even though the NHL season is underway — as the Blue Jays are trying to reach the World Series for the first time since 1993 after winning the American League East title.
Blue Jays Are Canada’s Team
The Blue Jays face a daunting task as they trail the Seattle Mariners 2-0 in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series after losing twice at Rogers Centre in Toronto. However, the Blue Jays should have plenty of supporters in the T-Mobile Park stands for Game 3 on Wednesday because of Seattle’s proximity to Canada.
The Blue Jays have also showed a penchant for comeback wins this season.
“It’s an unbelievable honor to play for a country,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “I think this team, more than any other team I’ve been around, has leaned into that a little bit, and they understand kind of how many people are watching them every night. The support we get (at Rogers Centre) is unbelievable. It makes it really tough to come in and play here, and we really like playing here.
“It’s cool to say that you’re playing for a country. It’s East Coast to West Coast; everyone is pulling for this team. It’s something we don’t take for granted for sure.”
The Blue Jays began playing in 1977 as an expansion team in the AL. They finished last in the AL East in each of their first five seasons, then moved up to sixth place in the seven-team division in 1982 before jumping to fourth place in 1983 and second place in 1984.
The Blue Jays broke through with their first AL East title by winning 99 games in 1985, but then lost a heartbreaking seven-game ALCS to the Kansas City Royals. Toronto also won the division in 1989 and 1991, but again fell in the ALCS.
Jays Only Canadian Franchise To Win Title
However, the Blue Jays broke through in 1992, beating the Minnesota Twins in the ALCS and the Atlanta Braves in the World Series to become the first non-U.S. team to win it all. The Blue Jays repeated as World Series champions in 1993, dramatically beating the Philadelphia Phillies with Joe Carter hitting a series-ending home run in Game 6.
Then came a 22-year postseason drought for the franchise that finally ended in 2015. Though the Blue Jays have reached the playoffs six times in the last 11 seasons, it has been 32 years since their last World Series berth.
The only other MLB franchise to play in Canada, the Montreal Expos, never made it to the World Series. The Expos came into existence as a National League expansion team in 1969 and played in Montreal for 35 years. They relocated to Washington before the 2005 season, rebranded as the Nationals.
Montreal Expos’ Rondell White (22) is congratulated by his teammates after hitting a grand slam in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium, Sunday, August 18, 1996 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Holly Stein)
Copyright 1996 AP. All rights reserved.
The Expos made only one playoff appearance, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a best-of-five National League Championship Series in 1981. The Dodgers won 2-1 in the decisive Game 5 at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium on a rainy Monday afternoon when Rick Monday hit a tiebreaker home run in the top of the ninth inning.
Twenty years after the Expos’ departure, the city’s baseball fans still refer to that game as “Blue Monday.” The franchise finally earned its first World Series title in 2019 when the Nationals defeated the Houston Astros.
Could MLB Return To Montreal?
There has been talk on and off over the last several years about the possibility of MLB placing an expansion franchise back in Montreal. MLB has given no official timetable for when it may expand again, but many inside the game believe Nashville and Salt Lake City are at the top of the list of cities to receive franchises.
Thus, the Blue Jays remain the only Canadian team to win a World Series, and they would like to add a third Commissioner’s Trophy to the ones they won in 1992 and 1993.
“I understand we have one team for an entire country,” Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman said. “A lot of things come with that. There’s extra pressure that comes with that, but there’s a lot of love that comes with that from the fans, from people who might never even see you play in person. But that’s just kind of the advantage that we have being one team for a whole country.”