While many consider the success of the 2014 Toronto Blue Jays unexpected, neither Joe Carter nor Paul Godfrey is surprised by the way the season’s unfolding.
“I think last year all the fans here had us winning the World Series in February, before the year began,” said Godfrey, the president and CEO of Postmedia Network who was instrumental in bringing the Blue Jays to Toronto and served as team president from 2000-08.
“This year you’ve got the same guys – how are you going to win? But baseball’s a very funny game. It can take a year for guys that have never played together to gel as a ballclub.”
Though Carter’s best remembered for successes such as his World Series winning walk-off home run in 1993, his five All-Star Game selections and his 396 career home runs, he also played on some disappointing teams during a 16-year MLB career. Sports Illustrated put Carter and the Cleveland Indians on its cover before the 1987 season with the headline ‘Indian Uprising.’ Six months later, the Indians finished 61-101.
Fast forward to 2013 and Carter wasn’t surprised to see the Blue Jays fall short despite the lofty expectations.
“I said last year was going to be tough, but the best year’s going to be the second year because now they’ve had time to gel and the pressure’s off of them,” said Carter while in Toronto to host his annual Joe Carter Classic Golf Tournament. “This year they have come a long way, because now you can see the confidence they have out there.”
Thanks to bats like Carter, Roberto Alomar and John Olerud, the Blue Jays ranked second in the league in runs scored both times they won the World Series in 1992 and 1993. A big offence can power a team to success, which is why Carter’s content with the state of the Blue Jays’ current rotation — “I think they have more than enough pitching” – and impressed by Toronto’s big bats.
“Encarnacion has just been phenomenal. He has what, 24 home runs?” Carter said. “Then Joey Bats – 50 home runs a few years ago. I like what I see out there.”
So does Godfrey, who continues to follow the Blue Jays closely even though it’s been six years since he ran the team (“I eat, breathe and sleep Blue Jays. I don’t sleep as well when they lose and I sleep a lot better when they win”). Asked which players stand out on the current club, Godfrey also highlighted the success of Toronto’s big bats.
“Bautista and Encarnacion stand out, because I don’t think there’s a better three-four punch in major league baseball,” Godfrey said. “Mark Buehrle, who is so calm, cool and collected. He gets it done. He gets beat the odd time, but he’s been a teacher, he’s been a leader in so many ways. I think Jose Reyes keeps the effervescent bubbliness of the clubhouse. But it’s not just one player.”
Godfrey expects “a very exciting fall” in Toronto and anticipates that ticket sales will increase as the season progresses. Attendance has dropped off to an average of 26,424 per game, a decline of 4,631 compared to 2013, when trades for Reyes, Buehrle and R.A. Dickey led to a surge in fan interest. But Godfrey expects that “people are buying tickets now for sellout crowds in August and September when it really counts.”
It stands to reason that attendance will indeed climb if the team keeps winning. But most importantly, the current Blue Jays have made real progress toward returning to the playoffs for the first time since Carter circled the bases in 1993.
