TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays are set to work out Tuesday evening but much like for fans eagerly anticipating the club’s first post-season action since 1993, waiting for Game 1 of the ALDS on Thursday against the Texas Rangers to arrive is the hardest part.
“You try to stay as sharp as you possibly can but also enjoy the moment, realize hey, this is special, where we’re at, take those days to really sit back and say man, this has been a cool season, especially for me,” all-star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki says of the break. “It’s going to give me a chance to sit back and say, wow, where am I, what went on these last two months. Then also, you’re going to be excited, we all play this game to ultimately be in the playoffs and try to win a World Series, and we have that opportunity.
“You celebrate but you also realize that the journey has just begun. Get ready, prepare, go out there, have fun, play the game you’ve played forever and try to enjoy it.”
Tulowitzki, who played twice over the weekend against the Rays in his return from a cracked shoulder blade, is making the third post-season appearance of his career but first since 2009 with the Colorado Rockies, who lost in four to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Leading MVP candidate Josh Donaldson, meanwhile, is going to the playoffs for a fourth straight season, losing twice in the division series to the Detroit Tigers and in the wild card to the Kansas City Royals last year with the Oakland Athletics.
His advice?
“Just continue what we’ve been doing all year. Enjoy it,” he says. “Enjoy the moment, but also continue to focus on the things that we’ve focused on to get here. We feel like we have a really good team, a really good ball club and we’re looking forward to getting that experience.”
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So too is Jose Bautista, going to the playoffs for the first time in his career.
“I’ve never done this, but my emotions will be fine,” he says of waiting to get started. “It’s just the anxiety a little bit of getting back on the field and continuing to play because when you feel good and you think your confidence is riding high and you’re playing good baseball, you just want to continue to play. You don’t want to take days off. That’s just going to be the only challenge is not getting too anxious and just letting the hours go by.”