Toronto Blue Jays

After an unsuccessful attempt to bring the Giants to Toronto, the city gained an American League expansion franchise. The original investment group comprised Labatt, R. Howard Webster and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, holding 45, 45 and 10 percent respectively. Peter Bavasi, Pat Gillick and Paul Beeston helped establish management.⁠[1]

On April 7, the Blue Jays beat the White Sox 9–5 at a snow-covered Exhibition Stadium in their debut. They finished their first season 54–107.⁠[1]

Bobby Cox became manager in 1982. With players including Dave Stieb, Jesse Barfield, George Bell and Tony Fernandez, Toronto won 99 games and its first division title in 1985, but lost the ALCS to Kansas City after leading 3–1.⁠[2]

SkyDome held its opening ceremony on June 3 and its first baseball game on June 5. The Blue Jays moved into a home with a retractable roof.⁠[3]

Dave Stieb threw a no-hitter against Cleveland on September 2.⁠[2]

Labatt bought the Webster estate’s 45 percent stake in 1991, increasing its holding to 90 percent. Interbrew took control after acquiring Labatt in 1995, while CIBC retained 10 percent.⁠[4]

Cito Gaston led Toronto past Atlanta, becoming the first African-American manager to win the World Series. Dave Winfield’s two-run double in the 11th inning of Game 6 helped secure a 4–3 victory. The Blue Jays became the first champions based outside the United States.⁠[5]

Joe Carter hit a three-run walk-off homer in the ninth inning of World Series Game 6, giving Toronto an 8–6 win over Philadelphia and a second consecutive title. Paul Molitor was series MVP after batting .500.⁠[5]

Roy Halladay spent his first 12 major league seasons in Toronto, recording 148 wins and 1,495 strikeouts as a central figure in the pitching staff.⁠[6]

Rogers acquired 80 percent of the club in 2000 and the remaining 20 percent in 2004, bringing the team into full ownership.⁠[4]

The company’s 2004 financial report records a January 5 payment of approximately C$39.1 million for the remaining amount due on the minority-stake purchase.⁠[7]

Rogers purchased SkyDome in 2004; the ballpark became Rogers Centre in February 2005.⁠[8]

Toronto won the American League East and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 1993.⁠[2]

Toronto lost 1–4 to Cleveland.⁠[9]

During pandemic border restrictions, the club played home games in Buffalo and Dunedin before returning to Rogers Centre on July 30, 2021.⁠[3]

Renovations rebuilt outfield areas and seating, changing wall heights, distances and angles to make the former multipurpose stadium more suited to baseball.⁠[3]

Toronto faced the Los Angeles DodgersLos Angeles DodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball club in Los Angeles, playing in Major League Baseball’s National League at Dodger Stadium.Open the full entry in the World Series and lost Game 7 by 4–5.⁠[10]

The Blue Jays were eliminated from postseason contention.⁠[11]

Rogers Communications owns 100 percent of the club.⁠[12]

Toronto Blue Jays: Official website: https://www.mlb.com/bluejays (opens in a new window).⁠[13]

Toronto Blue Jays: X: https://x.com/BlueJays (opens in a new window).⁠[14]

Toronto Blue Jays: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluejays (opens in a new window).⁠[15]

Toronto Blue Jays: YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: https://www.youtube.com/@bluejays (opens in a new window).⁠[16]