Photo by Frank Gunn-The Canadian Press
The circumstances were so odd, the Blue Jays didn't even get to celebrate their first postseason berth in over 20 years when it became official. Russell Martin and Dioner Navarro—and likely a long list of other players—didn't know until they showed up to the park Saturday. That's when the masses realized the team clinched.Jose Bautista wouldn't talk to the media about it before Toronto's afternoon contest against the Rays. Even though the Blue Jays assured themselves a playoff spot, he was reluctant to acknowledge it because the team's magic number was one. The club's Twitter account tweeted that the Blue Jays needed to win Saturday in order to clinch a spot. There was confusion all around, but it happened, all right."We just got in here and the emotion, the excitement took over and we just started celebrating," he said."It got a little crazy. We expect to have another one of these when we win the division. That's our goal, and we're gonna get it done."A remarkable second-half surge that followed after trades for All-Stars Price and Troy Tulowitzki helped Toronto leapfrog the Yankees in the AL East standings and take control of first place."We just took off and played great ball ever since," said manager John Gibbons, who along with Bautista, fellow slugger Edwin Encarnacion and knuckleballer R.A. Dickey will be heading to the postseason for the first time.General manager Alex Anthopoulos, the man who orchestrated the big deadline deals, talked about how special it was for the fans. In addition to bringing in Tulowitzki and Price, Anthopoulos also made moves for pitchers Mark Lowe and LaTroy Hawkins, while trading for left fielder Ben Revere.He's made smaller pickups along the way, too, and helped transform this team into one of the game's best."I was there for a little, hugged some players and all that stuff," the GM said about the postgame celebration. "LaTroy Hawkins poured some champagne over me and said thank you."Gibbons was happy for Bautista and Encarnacion, two long-time serving Blue Jays who've been among the premier power hitters in the game, but never had enough help around them."There has been some tough years, some lean years here, and they've done their part," he said. "It will be very rewarding. It will be a chance, too, for really the whole world to see what those guys are about."Fans have shown up in droves over the last month-plus and sellout crowds have become the norm. The excitement is not lost on the players."Getting to the playoffs means a whole lot, especially for the fan base that's been waiting for so long," Bautista said.Well, the wait is over. The offensive juggernaut is less than two weeks away from playing its first postseason game since Oct. 23, 1993, when Joe Carter hit a walk-off homer against the Phillies' Mitch Williams to secure the Blue Jays' second consecutive World Series title.There's been 658 postseason games played since Toronto's Game 6 World Series win over the Phillies. The Raptors, Rock and TFC—three other professional sports franchises in Toronto—didn't even exist yet.Yes, a lot of shit has happened since the Blue Jays last made the playoffs.They're back now.
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The Blue Jays snapped the majors' longest playoff drought in undramatic fashion. As loud as the team and consistently sold out Rogers Centre has been, Toronto's arrival to the postseason could not have been any quieter. With rental ace and Cy Young hopeful David Price on the mound Saturday facing his former squad, the stage was set for the team to punch its postseason ticket in a dream scenario in front of a crowd of 47,000-plus.But the Blue Jays didn't need a win or any more help, and officially made it through after it was realized the team can't finish with more losses than any of the three American League West clubs also fighting for the playoffs. Toronto has guaranteed itself a wild-card spot, but winning the AL East division appears to be just a formality at this point after the club won two of three from the Yankees earlier in the week and have a commanding four-game lead over New York with eight contests remaining.That's when the celebrations came. The Blue Jays partied in the clubhouse, dumping beer and champagne over one another, following a 10–8 win over the Rays.
Bautista, who swatted two homers in the victory, said the team didn't intend to celebrate after the win. But plans changed once they entered the clubhouse.#SQUADGOALS @BlueJays #PLAYOFFS pic.twitter.com/BipHS60BJP
— Marcus Stroman (@MStrooo6) September 26, 2015
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