TORONTO – The surge of interest in baseball across Canada created by the Toronto Blue Jays’ first American League East championship since 1993 is bolstering the case for the sport’s potential return to Montreal.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, attending Game 2 of the American League Division Series with the Texas Rangers on Friday, said in an interview that the explosion in attendance at Rogers Centre and in TV broadcast numbers are evidence of fertile ground north of the border.
“I’ve been clear that a larger international footprint is important for our game,” Manfred told sportsnet.ca. “I think Toronto enjoying success creates an atmosphere in which people are much more open to the idea of doing something more in Canada.”
The two-game exhibition series the Blue Jays have hosted in Montreal the past couple of years – a combined 96,545 fans attended the contests with the Cincinnati Reds this spring, while 96,350 took in 2014’s set against the New York Mets – tapped into the city’s lingering passion for the sport. Another two-game set at Olympic Stadium, this time against the Boston Red Sox, is planned for next spring.
None of that means the rebirth of the Expos – or any sort of expansion, with Mexico also drawing the commissioner’s interest according to some recent comments – is imminent. But Montreal has positioned itself in the conversation as a potential future home for another team, although a realistic stadium plan with legit financing remains a key ingredient.
“There’s really not much that’s happened over the course of the season with respect to Montreal,” said Manfred. “My comments about expansion in Mexico and to the extent that they relate to Montreal, as well, is that I see baseball as a growth proposition, a growth business, and over a relatively longer term, I think the business will grow and there will be an opportunity for expansion.”
The Blue Jays drew 2,794,891 fans for their 81 home dates this season, their most since 2,826,483 in 1995, and their broadcasts on Sportsnet averaged 973,000 viewers, the most in network history. The club’s games in September averaged 1.61 million.
“It’s a really important development, it’s one of the reasons I’m here today,” said Manfred. “We saw last year in Kansas City when you have a long drought and make the postseason, it can really ignite a market.
“We’ve been watching what’s going on here in Toronto really carefully in terms of people watching TV, people at the games, and we’re just really pleased with the way the end of the season went.”
Manfred is also encouraged about the team’s long-term prospects with Mark Shapiro set to take over the club as president and CEO once the season ends.
“I can’t say enough good about Mark Shapiro as a baseball executive,” said Manfred. “I’ve known him a very long time, he is a true professional, he’s systems-oriented, he’s organized, he understands what it takes to build a sustained contender in a market that’s not a mega-market, and I think Mark will have good success here in Toronto.”
Settling the Beeston succession issue, which blew up last winter with leaks that they pursued Dan Duquette of the Baltimore Orioles and Ken Williams of the Chicago White Sox, was pivotal in the commissioner’s eyes.
“We always want our franchises, particularly as they go through those important months in the off-season, to be as stable as possible,” said Manfred. “I think it’s good the Blue Jays have the situation resolved with Mark coming in at the end of the season.”