I was so mad I couldn’t sleep.
It was Friday night and the Toronto Blue Jays had lost the first game of their do-or-die series against the Boston Red Sox after dropping the previous two games to the Baltimore Orioles. After the game ended, I turned to CNN to watch the fallout from Donald Trump’s early morning Twitter rant against former Miss Universe Alicia Machado.
It pained me to realize that Trump and my beloved Blue Jays had something in common — both had jeopardized their own success because they were unable to let go of perceived slights.
Like Trump, the Blue Jays were acting like a bunch of Man-Babies.
Trump’s inability to let things go is well documented.
The Blue Jays’ track record of Man-Baby behaviour includes fighting with the media, arguing with umpires, and hot-headed plays like the one in which Jose Bautista re-injured his shoulder last April.
The Blue Jays are measurably more hot-headed than other teams in at least one relevant statistic. Blue Jays players and managers were ejected 17 times in 2016, compared with just 20 times for the rest of the American League East combined (Yankees, 6, Red Sox, 6, Orioles 5, Rays 3) according to closecallsports.com. To me, that speaks to a team that’s more focused on being right than winning games.
The worst example came in the recent Blue Jays-Yankees series when Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ threw at Yankees third baseman Chase Headley. The bench-clearing brawls that followed resulted in injuries to Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis and relief pitcher Joaquim Benoit. Travis is back in the lineup, but Benoit – who had been one of the bright spots in the Blue Jays bullpen – won’t likely pitch again for the Blue Jays.
If you think the Yankees are just as much to blame as the Blue Jays, you’re probably right. But that’s precisely the Man-Baby way of thinking. The bottom line is that Happ’s decision to throw at Headley means the the Blue Jays are a weaker team heading into the post-season. Adults learn that the path to success often involves letting the irritants slide to focus on what really matters.
Don’t get me wrong. I love this team.
Before Saturday’s game, I told my 12-year-old son that I was worried about the Blue Jays’ fortunes.
“But I though you said they were a bunch of Man-Babies. If you’re so mad at them, why do you still care if they win?” he asked me.
“Because they’re MY Man-Babies,” I replied.
Thankfully the Blue Jays won that game and won again on Sunday to ensure that they’ll play at least one post-season game – tonight at the Rogers Centre.
All I want is for the Blue Jays to grow up a little for the postseason.
That may not be easy. There’s no love lost between the Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles and even less between the Jays and the Texas Rangers who they would face in the American League Division Series if they win tonight.
The Rangers players and fans hate Bautista because of his Bat Flip from last year’s playoffs. Blue Jays players and fans hate Rougned Odour for punching Bautista in the face earlier this season.
If I’m honest, part of me would really like the Blue Jays to exact some revenge on Odor. But that’s the Man-Baby way. For the sake of another World Series run, here’s hoping they don’t.
***
A version of this essay originally appeared in FanReader, a weekly newsletter featuring the very best writing about sports, screen, music and gaming. Each week in October, we’re giving away a free copy of Bat Flip to FanReader subscribers. Sign up here.