Blue Jays dominance could result in best regular season in team's history

Edmonton Journal

4 days ago

After several years of witnessing MLB mediocrity, casual and diehard Toronto Blue Jays fans are being rewarded with a reason to watch and cheer for Canada's only baseball team.
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Depending on how this week's games play out — theirs and others — the Jays, already leading the American League East division with a 59-42 record, could find themselves in possession of the top record in baseball.
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And while a franchise-best 11-game home game winning streak ended with a 5-4 ninth-inning loss to the second-place New York Yankees Tuesday night, there's a lot of baseball left to play.
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But even if they don't finish as MLB's top overall team — a feat never accomplished by any Jays team — if they keep playing this brand of baseball, they could produce one of the best regular seasons in the organization's 49-year history and a possible rival to those that led to back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and 1993.
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Finishing as one of the top two teams in the American League (AL), meanwhile, would still be a major boon as it would grant the team a bye past the wildcard round that has vexed the organization. The team has gone winless in its last three straight best-of-three play-in series appearances (2020, 2022 and 2023).
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Statistically speaking, the Jays' best season ever came in 1985 when an all-star lineup featuring the likes of George Bell, Jesse Barfield and Dave Stieb finished atop the division with a 99-62 record, good for a .615 winning percentage. (Only the St. Louis Cardinals were better at 101-61, or .623)
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At the end of the 1985 season, a rained-out game wasn't made up because it would have no implications on the standings or playoff picture. That means if the 2025 squad can go 41-20 in their remaining 61, they'll finish 100-62 with a .617 winning percentage.
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Only the players, coaches and management can make it happen, but their body of work over the last two and a half months following a sluggish start to the season certainly makes it seem like it's possible.
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It's worth noting here that the Jays' 55 wins before the All-Star Game this year eclipsed the record set by the 1985 crew and matched that of the first World Series lineup. They also hit 50 wins in their 88th game, something else that hasn't happened since 1992.
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Heading into May, the team was playing sub .500 ball and languished in the standings, falling eight games behind the Yankees at one point. By month's end, however, the bats had come alive and the Jays climbed to just above .500.
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In June, they played just as well, if not better, and, as July approached, the Jays found themselves within striking distance of top spot in the AL East.
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They clinched it and haven't looked back since sweeping the Yankees in a four-game set at Rogers Centre to start the month.
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The team is 43-21 since May 8, and 29-14 since the start of June, a record second only to the Milwaukee Brewers, who are currently tied with the Chicago Cubs for first in the National League Central division and best record in baseball.