Twenty-two months ago the Toronto Raptors made a trade that would drastically alter their future. And with Rudy Gay sent to Sacramento and the likes of Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson coming north of the border, thoughts of a rebuild began swirling in the minds of basketball fans across Canada.
But a funny thing happened to Dwane Casey’s crew—they caught fire. Suddenly, in spite of attempts to trade starting point guard Kyle Lowry (and any other player or contract deemed expendable for the sake of roster and financial flexibility going forward), the Raptors became one of the hottest teams in the NBA and they rode their momentum to a first-place finish in the Atlantic Division and the berth of a battle-cry that still resonates to this day.
“We the North.”
It echoed from coast to coast last season as well, when Toronto defended its division title and headed into the post-season boasting the highest regular-season win total in franchise history.
The Toronto Blue Jays have been down a similar path in recent seasons—including 2015. It was only a few months ago that some were speculating that stars like Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion could—or should—be shipped out of town.
In 2013, in two separate blockbuster moves, the Jays acquired Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes and R.A. Dickey. They were trades that propelled Toronto, on paper, to the top of the class in Major League Baseball. Every oddsmaker, for what it’s worth, had the Blue Jays as the favourite to win the World Series.
Yet in spite of the talent, the team failed to live up to expectations. John Gibbons’s squad finished last in the American League East and they followed up that miserable season with an 83-win campaign in 2014 and a mid-season scolding of management—from Bautista—for not doing more to add talent at the trade deadline to simply make the team better.
This year, the Blue Jays did do more. A lot more. In addition to already boasting MVP-candidate Josh Donaldson, GM Alex Anthopoulos had a five-day stretch that will go down in history, acquiring Troy Tulowitzki, David Price and Ben Revere. Toronto went from 50-51—floundering in the division—to 20+ games above .500 and the first division title and playoff berth in 22 years.
Baseball has become sexy again; the fan base in Toronto, across the GTA, and throughout Canada has been revitalized. Blue Jays’ hats and jerseys are on full display across the country and visions of a World Series parade—like in 1992 or 1993—have fans frothing for more.
It’s ironic that the Raptors found their formula for chemistry and success while trying, it seemed, to hit the reset button, while the Blue Jays simply couldn’t find the right formula. They’ve been trying to win and never endorsed or attempted the rebuild, but their window was certainly closing.
The old cliche “it’s the same, but different” probably rings true in this case with these two teams.
In fact, from a basketball perspective, Masai Ujiri thinks his baseball counterparts are much further ahead.
“I don’t think there’s any comparison,” said the Raptors general manager. “From everything I understand about baseball, and I hate to put pressure on (the Blue Jays), but that’s a World Series team right there.”
And Ujiri is right. Though his team has enjoyed two straight division titles, they have bowed out of the playoffs in the first round in successive years as well. Plus, there’s no denying that a division title in baseball carries a little more clout given the length of the MLB season and the number of teams that qualify for the playoffs (10) versus the NBA (16). The Raptors are not championship contenders yet. But the Blue Jays certainly are.
“For me, it’s phenomenal,” Ujiri said of the Jays’ success. “I started following it when I was in Africa in the summer and it started slowly and slowly and it started building and building. It’s incredible.
“I’m telling you I worship what those guys have done. They’ve been unbelievable.”
And the 2012–13 NBA executive of the year provided his peer, Anthopoulos, with the highest praise as well.
“I need to take notes from that guy!”