Why the 2025 Blue Jays Deserve to Be in the World Series
When one thinks of big markets for U.S. sports teams, the same few cities generally get mentioned: New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Include cities with a rich baseball history, and you add Philadelphia and Boston. Not often does the city of Toronto get mentioned, and it should. The Blue Jays have a 50-year history and multiple World Series titles to show for it.
Maybe because they’re north of the border, or if you don’t closely follow the American League East, the Blue Jays often get overlooked. They had the best record in the AL this season and have had at least 89 wins in four of the last five. This is a team that has a recent history of consistently winning baseball games. Cruising past the Yankees and surviving the Mariners and both of their elite pitching this playoffs. Considering the strength of their roster and financial situation, it doesn’t appear they’re going anywhere soon.
This past offseason, the team extended franchise cornerstone Vlad Guerrero Jr to the tune of a 140-year $500 million deal. They have the fifth-highest payroll in the sport, behind the two New York teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who they are playing in this World Series, and the Philadelphia Phillies. Having been in the mix the past two offseasons for the top free agents in each class, Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani. The front office has shown a willingness to spend. With a market that insists on not only a large metropolitan area, but of the entire nation. They should have the media market and fanbase to sustain this level of spending. On top of that, the ability to maximize their revenue as a whole and specifically media is boosted by the fact that they are owned by Rogers Communications. Who owns the Regional Sports Network, which broadcasts Blue Jay games? Particularly in MLB, these RSNs play such a huge role in the overall financial health of organizations. The fact that they are vertically integrated sets them up well in the long run, particularly when so many clubs are struggling with their TV deals.
For Blue Jay fans, winning the American League Pennant and reaching the World Series is hopefully a sign of things to come. They are as well-positioned as any team with young controllable talent and the ability to supplement that with veteran free agents. This narrative of the Blue Jay team as a plucky underdog has come to an end. Now, regardless of whether they add another World Series to their record, the Blue Jays have firmly established themselves as one of the powerhouses of the American League moving forward.
