The message you get from the Toronto Blue Jays is consistent: No offense, Buffalo. We appreciate the hospitality the last two seasons, but it's time to go home.
The Blue Jays are in fast-forward mode getting ready for their July 30 opener in Rogers Centre, but they are still feeling giddy over the news they got Friday night from Canadian government officials finally giving them the go-ahead to head back across the border.
The Blue Jays got their long-awaited approval to return to Rogers Centre early Friday night. They are scheduled to start the Toronto portion of their schedule with a July 30 game against the Kansas City Royals.
When the Jays take the field that night against the Kansas City Royals, President/CEO Mark Shapiro noted Saturday it will mark 670 days between home games for his club. Shapiro got the email he wanted Friday night and the news quickly spread through the clubhouse prior to the Jays' 10-2 win over the Texas Rangers at Sahlen Field.
That game was played before a season-high crowd of 10,100 that roared much of the night as the Blue Jays clubbed five home runs, including two from All-Star Game MVP Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
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"It was a great moment," Shapiro said of the email on a video call Saturday. "It's been an incredibly challenging, at times, year and a half, two years, but I think one that's going to be an important part of who we are as a team and an organization moving forward, and one that will be a part of our championship foundation moving forward as well."
On the day after he learned his team had received approval from the Canadian government to f…
Shapiro made sure to thank Bisons operators Bob and Mindy Rich, long-time club president Mike Buczkowski and his staff, as well as the city, Erie County and the state for the support they've offered.
"We're going to leave here having, I think, built a bond with the fans here that we have never had before to this level," Shapiro said. "We're going to leave here knowing that the player development conditions here are better than they've ever been (due to millions of dollars in stadium renovations), and knowing that the roots of a long term relationship have been reinforced, cemented and will have greater meaning, historic meaning, than they've ever had in the past."
Manager Charlie Montoyo couldn't stop smiling during his video call after Friday's win, but made sure to give it up to the 716 as well.
"I don't want to forget about how great Buffalo has been to us here," said Montoyo, who has been coming to Sahlen Field as either a player or coach since 1991. "The job they did here to make it closer to a big league ballpark and the Buffalo people, the stands are full. Buffalo has been great. But of course we're the Toronto Blue Jays, so it will be great to go home and show this team to the whole nation and Toronto."
After Saturday's game was rained out, the Jays have five games left in Buffalo, starting with Sunday's doubleheader against the Rangers. They'll be gone for good after Wednesday's game against the Boston Red Sox.
Ben Wagner and Pat Malacaro are away from the microphone and not by choice.
When they return to Rogers Centre, Shapiro said the Blue Jays will initially be able to have crowds of 15,000 in the 49,000-seat stadium. They will become the first MLB team since 1903 to play home games in three different cities in the same season (Dunedin, Buffalo, Toronto). The 670-day stretch between home games will be far and away the most in MLB history. The Miami Marlins went 327 days from the end of their 2019 season to their 2020 home opener.
"It should be fun. I mean, I've never been in the home clubhouse," said pitcher Robbie Ray, who joined the club in Buffalo last year after a trade from Arizona. "So that's something I'm looking forward to checking out over there."
"The more games, the better, being in Toronto," infielder Cavan Biggio said. "Buffalo has been nothing but good to us. Coming out on a whim and having a season for us last year and then preparing for it this year, it's been nothing but good to us, but it will be a big difference.
"The biggest thing is having our fans back and having our fans root for us, especially when we play New York and Boston. This place (Sahlen Field) gets packed out with Yankees fans, so it will be nice to have those fans cheering for us."
The support for the Blue Jays has been enormous in Buffalo most nights, but the organization was shaken for the three days last month where virtually the entire crowd rooted for the New York Yankees. The Jays lost all three games.
If you have a ticket for Sunday's action, you're going to get double the fun for the same price.
Returning to Toronto was always a priority, but July 30 became more important because it opened a 10-game homestand that included another series against the Red Sox, who should have much of the crowd here this week.
"That was monumental. That wasn't small," Shapiro said of the homestand that also includes a four-game set with Cleveland. "That's more than 25% of our remaining games. That's almost 10% of our entire home schedule. So the swing of those 10 games versus having to delay getting back. ... To me, delaying getting back created more uncertainty about us ever getting back because I wasn't sure what the players would feel at that point anyway."
"It's definitely going to be just an energy boost the minute we walk out (on the field)," pitcher Ryan Borucki said. "That first national anthem is being sung and guys are going to be ready to go. I'm so excited to just to hear that national anthem get back going again in Toronto."
Here’s a quick video of #Bluejays president Mark Shapiro talking about his appreciation to Buffalo fans for their support from the first inning on June 1 (OK, minus the three #Yankees games) pic.twitter.com/O00jld36x0
— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) July 17, 2021
As for the Bisons, they continue to lightly plan for a potential Aug. 10 return to Sahlen Field, provided stadium retrofitting goes well. The moving of equipment back to Toronto and the construction to change things up for the Bisons starts immediately on Thursday.
"I do think we will all feel like we've been part of something historic here. ... to have been part of something that will always be part of the annals of baseball history in Buffalo," Shapiro said. "To have really cemented a special relationship both professionally and personally between our organizations, between the people that work in those organizations and between the fans in Buffalo, it's one that we will have a greater bond."
Shapiro is already anticipating July 30 in Toronto as a day that won't be forgotten. He said he's always felt the pull of baseball helping people overcome adversity like wars and 9-11, and a global pandemic rates at that level as well.
"I really feel like it's going to be a celebratory moment for the country, for the city, and one that we're excited to share," he said. "We're excited for our players to feel, you know, what it means to represent a country and how incredible Toronto is as a city. It is one of those moments, one of those days, that's going to actually hold up to the expectations."
The Blue Jays have plenty of hopes on the field as well. They have plenty of games left against the Red Sox to get in the AL East race and feel they're in the wild-card race as well. And what else is going on July 30? The MLB trade deadline, where the Jays are expected to go shopping for more pitching.
"From a human nature perspective, I'm not going to lie that thinking about ending this story with an October that we all remember would be the ultimate," Shapiro said. "How incredible would it be to think about the journey that we've experienced, the uncertainty of last season playing a 60-game season in Buffalo, playing in three different homes for this season and finally getting back to the place that we all believe in, care about, and feel a bond and tie to?
"To end with winning the last game would be maybe one of the greatest baseball stories ever written. That's certainly the story I'd like to be a part of."
