By Merv Moore
Sports Director & Head Baseball Coach
Well, well, well. Look who’s finally back at the big dance after a 31-year hiatus.
The Toronto Blue Jays have punched their ticket to the World Series, and I think I heard the collective scream of joy from their fans all the way here in Texas. That wasn’t just a victory; that was a release of three decades of pent-up baseball frustration.
For those of you who haven’t been keeping track since their last title in 1993, being a Blue Jays fan has been a masterclass in patience, with a side of hilarious pain.
Sponsored Links
It’s been a journey filled with moments that made you say, “Wait, that guy was a Blue Jay?” and playoff hopes that fizzled out faster than a Canadian summer.
Think about it. Since Joe Carter danced around the bases:
They’ve had 21 different managers. I’ve had fewer pairs of socks.
They became famous for having the coolest, most hitter-friendly ballpark, which was great, except their pitchers kept serving up home runs like it was a souvenir stand.
For years, the most exciting thing in the AL East was the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, while the Jays were somewhere in the background, like a friend who brings a really good dip to the party but leaves before anyone notices.
They tried everything! The “Vernon Wells and Roy Halladay” era (Halladay was magnificent, but often alone). The “Let’s Load Up on Big Bats” era that forgot about pitching and defense.
The “Maybe We’ll Win with Just Really Nice Guys” era. Each playoff miss was a new, creative way to break a city’s heart. It was like watching someone try to fix a leaky boat with different types of tape every season.
And then came this year’s ALCS against Seattle. Game 7. A rollercoaster that had everything. I’m convinced every Jays fan aged ten years in those nine innings. When the final out was recorded, it wasn’t just a win; it was an exorcism.
You could almost hear the ghosts of past bullpen blowups and missed opportunities flying out of the Rogers Centre, finally replaced by the pure, unadulterated roar of a fanbase that waited 11,315 days for this.
That’s a long, long time. In 1993:
I was coaching in Switzerland, trying to explain what a “split-finger fastball” was.
The kids in our Bohol Coconuts “Class of 2026” program? They weren’t even a twinkle in their parents’ eyes—their parents were likely in elementary school!
Cell phones were the size of a brick, and the internet made that funny dial-up sound.
That’s what makes this so special. It’s a victory for loyalty. For the fans who wore their faded Carter or Delgado jerseys every year, hoping. For the ones who endured the “wait ‘til next year” mantra for 31 “next years.”
Baseball is a game of failure, and no fanbase understands the sweet taste of success after failure quite like Jays fans do right now.
It’s a feeling we understand in our own way. We’re not waiting decades for a championship; we’re building the entire league from the ground up. Our struggle isn’t against playoff curses, but against creating something lasting where nothing existed.
Seeing the Blue Jays finally break through is a powerful reminder: whether you’re waiting 31 years or building for the next 31, the grind is worth it when you finally get to celebrate.
So, from one baseball builder to a city of long-suffering believers: congratulations, Toronto. You’ve earned every second of this. Now, go win the whole thing and give everyone north of the border a reason to forget about winter for a little while longer.
Marvin “Merv” Moore is the head coach of the Bohol Coconuts Baseball and Softball Club. He has coached in both Europe and Asia, and helped start the Mister-Baseball and BaseballdeWorld international baseball websites.
