"The Secret" for winning The World Series

(Would you have believed at the beginning of the 2025 season that the Toronto Blue Jays had even a remote chance of playing and finishing the season the way they did?)

How did The Jays beat the American League's leading home run-hitting New York Yankees and advance towards the World Serious?

There's BLUE everywhere!

Have you noticed the Blue Jay caps, jerseys and flags in opposing teams' ballparks when the Jays are on the road? Anaheim, Detroit, Baltimore, Miami, Denver, Seattle. Jays fans are everywhere! It's a team that all Canadians can gather around, support and cheer for. You can see Jay's paraphernalia in the most unusual places.

Photos by your scribbler  ...

I've seen Jay caps at The Vatican in Rome, Tracé-déroulé in Paris, and on La Rambla in Barcelona, as well as on the beach at Juno in Normandy.

Whenever I do, I always ask the cap owner ... "Who's your favourite Blue Jay, all time?" The answers aren't surprising... Carter! Olerud! Robbie! Tony Fendandez! Gruber! Jack Morris! Devo! Cone! Stieb! Borders! Jimmy Key! Alfredo Griffin!

But the one I hear the most is Cito Gaston. Probably because he was the first coach/field manager to bring a World Series Championship to our city, and, to prove it wasn't a fluke, he did it again, back-to-back.

He's one of us and calls Toronto his "second home". He and I have been friends for 40 years since he joined the Jays as their first hitting instructor. If you're curious, you can get to know him by reading the essay I wrote for my blog. 

Here's the link ...

https://allworldhockey.blogspot.com/2019/10/world-series-starts-today-my-buddy-won.html

Following the 1993 win, I asked him,

"What does it take to win it all?"

Before revealing the secret, I must address an unforgivable statement in the press by the flamboyant 2nd baseman for the Yankees. Just a few weeks ago, and before the postseason, 2nd baseman "Jazz" Chisholm claimed that "the Yankees were the team to beat". This guy actually thought he was in the company of the great NFL'er Joe Namath and the outstanding Ranger captain, Mark Messier, who predicted their victories in advance.

Mr. Chisholm clearly doesn't know his place in the game ... why would he put that kind of pressure on teammates and then contribute absolutely nothing to back it up? And, you have to look no further than his Game 4 7th inning one-hopper that he couldn't field and led to the Jays scoring 2 insurance runs (with two out) for proof of his lack of contribution. And, not to rub it in, but he was 0 for 3 at the plate with a walk.

I doubt the former Yankee owner, Geo. Steinbrenner would have taken the Jazz boast very well. George didn't even allow bearded players.

Hey! Is that the guy from Seinfeld?

Fun Fact: Following the Jays' 1992 World Series win over the Atlanta Braves, Steinbrenner went on record to say "the Jays bought the World Series with their over-the-top payroll". It was $42 million for the whole team! 

Jazz and his cockeyed NY baseball cap, and penchant for saying stupid things would have earned him a Steinbrenner trip out of the Big Apple the day after they were clobbered.

Did I just say the Jays clobbered the Yankees?

But, back to the Jays and their success.Cito ... "What does it take for a team to win the World Series?"

He said, "With everything being equal and the team has the numbers to be there, the most important thing is how much Energy the team has left to grind out the postseason and continue to advance".

He explained that following a game-a-day pre-season for a month, the team's regular season games start in April. They play almost every day while they cover 162 home and away game and players have to stay focused, live out of a suitcase, sleep in foreign beds and strange surroundings, wait ... and then wait some more, huddle in airports and wait some more, try to balance their food intake and stay fit and hope they don't get injured, watch their stats and their teammates stats and the other team's stats and try their best to stay connected to their family and their friends and relatives.

"By the time September arrives, everyone's exhausted. A team has to have some Energy left to make it through another 6 or 7 weeks. Then, they might have a chance to win." 

So, here we are. 

It's October.

The Jays bounced the Yankees, and now we have that chance.

Like me, you're surprised. You've already admitted to the question that was asked at the beginning of this essay ... you didn't really think the Jays had a chance to do well this year.

From what you've seen in the past few weeks, do you think they have enough Energy to finish the job?

I think Energy is made up of several things. Possibly starting with a positive vibe on the bench. And, what about grit? It's a hard thing to describe, and you certainly can't teach it -- have you seen any signs of it in this year's dugout?

You could say they don't seem to rely on a single player to carry the load. For me, the 2025 edition of the Jays seems to understand that their whole is bigger than the sum of their parts.

They had the best record with the most come-from-behind wins and hits. Winning seems to be contagious for this team. I can see it in their faces. Again, there's that Energy thing.

And, what about the skipper?

He seems zoned in and in tune with the smallest details. He's figured out his baseball puzzle, knowing what pieces go where and when. He is a master of balancing the egos and personalities, and he makes good use of a solid baseball IQ and reminds me of another champion with the same traits, Cito.  

It's going to be fun to watch!

Look for the Energy.

An Afterthought ... The Jays have been spectacular without their best player, Bichette. The situation reminds me of the Leafs. You may recall, 2008 Maple Leafs vs Boston ... Leafs win 3 of 4 without captain, Mats Sundin, due to injury. He returns. Leafs lose.

Everyone loves Bo, including me. I know it's terrible, but please let him stay on the bench. The team is doing just fine without him.

And, One More Thing ... The arrival and success of pitching phenom, Trey Yesavage, reminds me of another fresh-faced rookie -- the year was 1971, and the Montreal Canadiens promoted a minor leaguer to finish off the last 6 games of the regular season. Ken Dryden won em all, then went on to beat the Bruins for the first of his 6 Stanley Cups.

G'luck, Trey ... and welcome to Toronto!

OK. One more ... The last time a Canadian team won the World Series was the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup.