The Toronto Blue Jays were agonizingly close to making the postseason in 2021. They were one game away from a wild card spot and were unfortunately eliminated on the last day of the regular season. Blue Jays star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr was emphatic that 2022 would be “the movie” and that fans should be excited about the team. The Jays may have lost American League Cy-Young winning pitcher Robbie Ray and star second baseman, Marcus Semien, to free agency but the additions of third baseman Matt Chapman and pitcher Kevin Gausman meant that they were ready to compete once again. But things were not as rosy as they seemed. What was responsible for the worst collapse in playoff baseball since 1922?
The front office did a good job in terms of signing Chapman and Gausman, but they were eventually revealed to be inept. The Jays also signed pitcher Yusei Kikuchi to a three-year deal and he has been a complete disaster. The Jays extended pitcher Jose Berrios to a huge seven-year deal and he has regressed to a backend starter at best. However, their most egregious oversight was revealed as their bullpen construction. Since the current regime consisting of President of Baseball Operations Mark Shapiro and General Manager Ross Atkins was installed, the Jays bullpen has been a disaster. From Brad Hand to Sergio Romo to Tyler Chatwood, the Jays have consistently had a bottom-five bullpen since Shapiro and Atkins have been in charge. This year, they attempted to bolster it with trade deadline acquisitions in Anthony Bass and Zach Pop. Unfortunately, that was not enough. The Jays have only one lefty reliever in Tim Mayza. They also have no high strikeout arms, a staple of any strong bullpen in modern baseball.
Although the front office has been inept, the players cannot be spared. Guerrero Jr. had a really underwhelming year. His power was down, but more problematic, his launch angle reverted back to 2020 where he hit everything into the ground. Bo Bichette was Jekyll and Hyde. His August and September reflected an elite offensive franchise cornerstone, while the rest of his season reflected a below-average and error-prone shortstop. Teoscar Hernandez and George Springer were often injured, while Lourdes Gurriel Jr and Alejandro Kirk traded any semblance of power for pure contact. But what may have been the most concerning aspect of the player’s performances was their lack of effort and focus. There have been multiple instances this season where the players looked like they lacked effort. This includes players not running hard for a fly ball, not running hard to first base, and making the comical decision to not wear sunglasses for a game during a July afternoon.
Could it be the coaching and not the players? The Jays began the season with manager Charlie Montoyo, the skipper since 2019. Known as a player’s manager, Montoyo was easy going and very outgoing. He was fondly remembered for playing the bongos in his office. A player’s manager is appropriate when a team is young and not looking to compete. The Jays are young, but are within their competitive window, thus requiring a manager who would hold players accountable. Montoyo could not do so, and ultimately lost the locker room and subsequently, his job. John Schneider became the interim manager, but he is also somewhat of a player’s manager. Furthermore, the actual coaches need to be examined as well. Third base coach Luis Rivera has had multiple blunders when sending players to home from third. Pitching coach Pete Walker was lauded as a wizard for turning Robbie Ray into a Cy Young winner, but maybe his DUI has affected his judgement because Jose Berrios seems to have been ruined. Finally, hitting coach Guillermo Martinez has been incognito and he is ultimately responsible for the horrible plate approaches so many Jays batters have had.
Maybe it’s not one factor, but the accumulation of many? During Game One of the Wild Card Series against the Seattle Mariners, the Jays came out flat, and ultimately stayed flat. Young ace pitcher Alek Manoah told Jays fans he felt no pressure and promptly hit the first batter he faced. He exited the game giving up only four runs, but the damage had been done. Opposing ace pitcher Luis Castillo was dealing, but Jays batters were again leading with horrible approaches at the plate. The vaunted Jays offence scored zero runs in their first playoff game at the Rogers Centre since 2016. However, spirits were still high. The MLB had changed the wild card series from one game elimination to a best of three series. The Jays would have to win Game Two to stay alive. Manoah took it very hard and it was up to his teammates to pick him up.
With Kevin Gausman on the bump for Game Two, the Jays came out firing. Teoscar Hernandez smoked two home runs off of Seattle’s highest paid player, a pitcher named Robbie Ray. In fact, the Jays knocked Ray out of the game after only three innings. They held an 8-1 lead after five innings. However, Gausman loaded the bases in the sixth which prompted Schneider to take him out, inserting Mayza into the game to face switch hitter Carlos Santana. Supposedly, Santana has historically been less likely to hit a home run when facing lefty pitchers. The Jays analytics department and Schneider must have been all over this matchup pre-game because there was no hesitation in taking out Gausman. Mayza has had an interesting year. He was injured, and when he was able to pitch he was hot and cold. In my opinion, he is not a high leverage arm but he was entering a high leverage situation. Mayza would go on to throw a wild pitch leading to one runner scoring. He would then give up a three-run home run to Santana. The score was 8-5, but the Jays had allowed the Mariners back into the game.
The Jays would eventually make it 9-5 after seven innings. The eighth inning has already become infamous in Toronto sports history. Anthony Bass had been a consistently good reliever for the Jays, but he ended up leaving two-on-base after giving up a run and recording no outs. Closer Jordan Romano came in and promptly loaded the bases, but he struck out the next two batters. With two outs, a softly hit fly ball was being chased by Bichette at shortstop and Springer in center field. Bichette had no business being that far out of position, running full speed and colliding with Springer. Seattle would clear the bases and tie the game at 9-9. Springer was concussed and knocked out of the game. The MLB Network ran the probabilities post-game, and the numbers showed Bichette had basically no chance of reaching the ball, but Springer had a 75% chance of making the catch–a catch he had made numerous times this season.
I do not have to go into the rest of the game, but the Jays had all their issues compounded into this disastrous outcome. The bullpen imploded like it had for years. The batters had horrible approaches in Game One, redeemed themselves in Game Two, but could not carry the team into Game Three after the disaster in the eighth inning. Management is being questioned for pulling their star pitcher for a shaky reliever. The players are having their pompous quotes tweeted as memes. This was the baseball equivalent to the Maple Leafs blowing their lead to the Bruins in Game Seven in 2013. May this disaster be a lesson for all future cocky sports teams: You have to play the games before you can strut your stuff.
