If John Schneider and his Blue Jays players have their way, the celebrations that began late on their final off day of the regular season will turn into a fall-long festival.
The more occasions to pop the cork, the merrier.
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The Jays secured one of three American League wildcard spots on Thursday afternoon when the last digit in their magic number was erased after the Boston Red Sox defeated the Baltimore Oriole 5-3 at Fenway Park.
The roars from the home crowd will come later, but we’re guessing the team was in full party mode following the final out.
“That’s the best part of baseball – celebrating what you’ve accomplished,” Schneider said this week. “You don’t want to ever take anything for granted in this game. Every point that you reached that was a goal, you should definitely celebrate it.”
The Jays have far bigger goals than snagging a spot via the expanded playoff format introduced this year.
Next up will be to lock down the top wildcard seed – a spot they currently hold – which would mean the entirety of a best-of-three wildcard round series would be played at the Rogers Centre.
The Jays will celebrate every accomplishment along the way, however, reward for grinding through a long and gruelling season. What began at the opening of spring training in mid-February will now extend through Oct. 8.
“We play every day and it’s hard,” Schneider said. “The guys that play 162 appreciate that you’re one of the few teams standing after that mark. And that’s how it’s always been. I appreciate that. It’s such a long season that you have to take a step back and appreciate where you are.”
The work is just beginning for a Jays squad that hasn’t exactly over-achieved in 2022. With six games remaining, they have 88 wins, three shy of the 2021 total that left them a game short.
After Thursday’s off day, they begin their final home stand of the regular season with a three-game series against the Red Sox. Ace Alek Manoah will get the ball in Friday’s opener of what is expected to be a sold out Rogers Centre for all three contests.
“You want to get in, but you also want to put yourself in position to have the best possible spot and to play at home (in the wildcard round.,)” Schneider said. “It’s a multi-layered process for sure.”
While claiming a wildcard spot has been inevitable for several weeks, there is nothing anti-climactic about it for the Jays other than seeing it happen on an off day.
But they’re up for celebrating now and driven to do it at least one more before the regular season concludes should they lock up the No. 1 seed.
“I don’t know if that means we’ll pop bottles twice, but I look forward to whatever that is,” said Jays reliever Anthony Bass. “It’s a long year. A lot of highs, a lot of lows, a lot of grinding through injuries. Lack of performance. Anything and everything.
“To celebrate getting a chance to be in the post-season is definitely worth it.”