A Canadian baseball nerd trying valiantly to not get overly excited as she sorts out all the awesomeness that is the Toronto Blue Jays. Enthusiasm and sarcasm abound.
As anyone who knows me knows, I love a good montage. Music + rapidly edited clips of sports people doing sports stuff = an incredibly happy Emily.
I know everyone and his brother has probably created some kind of highlight reel for the Blue Jays this season, but one of the best ones I ever saw was one they showed before the Canada Day game at the SkyDome - it was set to 'We're All In This Together' by Sam Roberts Band (also Canadian!), which is one of my favourite songs, and has a message that really encompasses the energy and the message of this season.
I couldn't find that video anywhere online, and it would have only contained the first 3 months of the season anyways (pre-Tulo & Revere & Price) so I, like any sane person, decided to make own!
One week, a few late nights, and several sticky notes full of scribbles later, voila!
(I didn't choose the thumbnail, but I love that it's Mark Lowe petting Ben Revere's face. It makes me giggle)
A few things I should point out: It's only moments from the REGULAR season. Before anyone gets grumpy about it missing Bautista's bat flip, I did that on purpose, because there were already too many great moments in the regular season to cram into a 5-minute song, I didn't have space for any from the playoffs. One of Donaldson's walkoffs almost didn't make the cut. (And besides, I wanted to end on a happy note, celebrating the AL East title). I might make another video if I feel like it but, ya know, school comes first and all that.
I think I accidentally favoured some of my personal favourite players. Oopsie. Hopefully, if you're a Martin/Travis/Pillar/Goins fan too, you'll like it! I did throw Danny Valencia in there once or twice even though he's no longer a Jay.
I sneakily included a few 'audio easter eggs', bits where the song synced up perfectly with the content of the video. Let me know in the comments if you think you spotted any!
I also realize, since this is the first video I've ever edited, there are a few glitches. For some reason, the program I used, once I converted it to a video file, many of the clips got extended or shifted a few seconds beyond where I thought I'd clipped them (the narration too). As a result, some of them show a few frames of the next shot (if I cut right before a shot change in the original video, which thankfully I didn't do too often) or an extra half-word on the narration. Not sure how to fix that, although I did go back and try a couple times.
I'm also well aware that there are several moments that I would have liked to include but didn't. There may be a Part 2 in the works at some point.
Today is Friday the 13th, which naturally brings out the superstitious person in all of us. Baseball is a pretty darn superstitious sport in and of itself, so I thought I would revisit a couple of the 'curses' that supposedly led to the Blue Jays not winning the World Series this year (and maybe one that helped them?).
First and foremost, I don't really believe in curses *knocks on wood*. Other than the power that they can have over the people who DO believe in them, there's no evidence to prove these things are real. The only supernatural reason the Jays didn't get to the World Series is the Royals' devil magic. Helped out by a little lying bearded brat, and a crappy 9th-inning strike zone.
Huh, I really thought I'd be over that by now. Moving on...
First and foremost, there's the Taylor Swift curse. You know, the one that says every team whose stadium she gave a concert in started doing badly after she left town. Like the Nats, the Padres, and the Astros (although the Padres were at .481 and in fourth place in their division before she played in San Diego, so they shouldn't even count), some Jays fans got worried that her playing at the Dome would cost them.
I already addressed this:
The Jays are immune from the Taylor Swift curse because we have a banner from 1989 hanging in the Dome. It protects us.
But it should be noted that in 1989 the Jays lost in the ALCS, to the team that went on to win the World Series (just like every team we've ever lost to in the ALCS) so who knows?
The Jays might have 'lucked' out here, because her concerts in Toronto came in October, pretty much at the very end of the regular season, when they'd already clinched. They won the game in Tampa that occurred simultaneously with her concert on October 2nd, then lost the late-afternoon game prior to her concert the next day, then were thoroughly embarrassed by the Rays the day after that.
And then came the playoffs. One theory is that she doesn't curse the team so much as she curses the stadium, so here's how that played out: The Jays were 3-3 in home games in the postseason, and 2-3 in away games. So much for that.
The jury's still out, but just to be safe, Taylor, the next time you're in Toronto - please play at the ACC.
The next and last curse is the Sports Illustrated Cover Curse. This one is far more well-established and documented (heck, it even has its own Wikipedia page) and is one of those stories where there are just SO many coincidences that even skeptics are scratching their heads. But it can't be that powerful, or else all athletes would refuse to appear on the cover, right? Right?!
Still, when this cover was released, for the October 17th issue, I was more giddy-excited than apprehensive. I mean look at all their smiling faces! They look like the cast of a sitcom! (A sitcom I would totally watch, by the way). Gibby's even got that 'They're zany, but what can I do about it' shrug down pat.
At the beginning of the ALDS, they lost two games and everyone was ready to 'blame the curse!' But then they turned it around, won three in a row and took the ALDS crown. That seems pretty un-curse-like to me. Obviously, they lost in the next round to the aforementioned Royals, but it's not like they got swept. Aside from losing, there's not much to be said for this curse.
And then I did some thinking about the individuals on the cover, and I realized the curse may have affected each of them individually, in more minor ways. And I got some MAJOR goosebumps. Let's break it down:
David Price: This guy seems to have his own personal curse, in that he's never won a postseason game he's started. Three times this year that happened, despite a strong beginning in ALCS Game 2. He pitched well most of the time, but never got enough run support. He also gave up three times as many runs as RA Dickey did in ALDS Game 4, in fewer innings. (That's more of a compliment to Dickey than it is an indictment of Price). Also, in that very Wikipedia article, I found that this (sorry for the tiny text):
Russell Martin: He had a minor slump at the plate in the postseason, and didn't hit a single home run (surprising, considering just about every other Jays player did). But the most obvious symbol of his curse was 'the throw that launched a thousand beer cans' in ALDS game 5, a.k.a. his return toss to Aaron Sanchez that somehow managed to find Shin-Soo Choo's bat and roll away, allowing Roughned Odor to score and causing mass hysteria at the Dome. It was the flukiest of all flukes, something nobody on either team or the umpiring staff had ever seen before.
Here he is discussing that very moment:
Troy Tulowitzki: Tulo also had an issue with the umpires and with Odor (maybe Odor himself is a curse, hmmm...) because he was the one who laid down the tag in the 14th inning of Game 2 that was reviewed, and somehow still ruled safe. If the out was called properly, it would have ended the inning - but instead, Odor and another run scored, leading to the Jays losing that game.
Tulo also was involved in a debacle with Sam Dyson in the 5th game of that very series (keep your hands to yourself, Dyson!) and got bizarrely ejected for no apparent reason from ALCS in game 3.
Now you might think Jose Bautista was immune from the curse, being that he probably had the best postseason out of anyone - hitting 4 homers, including the one that brought the house down and sealed the ALDS. But he, Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion - the remaining fellows on the cover - all were removed from games with minor injuries, 3 of the 4 Jays players this happened to (Brett Cecil being the 4th). In game 1 of the ALDS, Bautista felt a tightness in his hamstring that prevented him from taking the field in the ninth inning.
Donaldson was the final out in the last game of the ALCS, down by 1 and unable to drive in the man on 3rd. As mentioned earlier, he was also pulled from ALDS game 1 for fear of a possible concussion after he slid into 2nd base and smacked his head off Roughned Odor's knee (damnit Odor!)
Ouch.
Encarnacion suffered another sprained finger during the first game of the ALCS that caused his swing to become painful, prompting him leaving the game early.
The only Jays player missing from this cover that possibly had an even worse postseason was Ryan Goins, who went 0-for-18 in his first 5 games. And then there was that time that he didn't catch a pop-up in RF in Kansas City... Stupid ghosts.
I should note that, aside from that bloop, he was spectacular defensively all postseason long, and totally redeemed himself at the plate afterwards (including with a home run!). Good for you, Go-Go!
There may have also been some awesome sort of magic working in the Jays' favour - such as this tweet from the governor of Texas that seemed to have jinxed not one, but both of the teams mentioned. The Jays won the 4th game of the series that very night in Texas, and then all the errors in Inning 7 of Game 5... well, you know the rest.
Still, the SI curse is kind of spooky, and in terms of MLB it didn't even stop with the Blue Jays this year. They featured Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy prior to the World Series, after he'd hit a crazy number of home runs in consecutive games - and then he made a bunch of errors and didn't hit a single homer in the WS.
But the photo shoot for the Jays' cover did gift us with this gem, so it can't be all bad, right?
Being that today is Thanksgiving, and that I am sappy, I composed a mini essay on Twitter of things to be thankful for from this season. I've decided to compile them here. Bear with me.
No matter what, we have so much to be thankful for this year. Let's be thankful for the amazing season, and the end of a playoff drought.
Let's be thankful for all the times we got to stand on our feet and
scream, yell and holler - not in outrage, but from excitement.
Let's be thankful for all the records broken and firsts that were achieved this year.
Let's be thankful for all the good memories, inside jokes, hilarious reaction GIFs and memorable quotes this team has blessed us with.
Let's be thankful for the fact that David Price was, and is, for the immediate future, a Toronto Blue Jay.
Let's be thankful for Josh Donaldson and his 42 rainstorms (and his hair). Heck, let's be thankful for Josh Donaldson in general.
Let's be
thankful that Jose Bautista has worked his butt off for us for so long and he was finally rewarded with a post-season appearance.
Let's be thankful for Mark Buehrle, who gave us everything until he
literally couldn't anymore and never asked for anything in return.
Let's be thankful for Marco Estrada, who wasn't even supposed to be a starter and then blew our minds with two near no-hitters in a row.
Let's be thankful for all the quiet wisdom, eloquence, and logic-defying knuckleballs brought to us by RA Dickey.
Let's be thankful for being able to proudly say that we have a Canadian
behind the plate in Russell Martin, and he proves we can play baseball as well as anyone.
Let's be thankful for Edwin Encarnacion's parrot wanting three walks in one day (and 36
other times this year) and for Dioner Navarro knowing what the hats meant.
Let's be thankful for the miraculously healing bodies of Marcus Stroman and Troy Tulowitzki.
Speaking of Stroman, let's be thankful for the boundless balls of energy that are him and Ben Revere.
Let's be thankful for the underdogs like Kevin Pillar and Chris Colabello, who were
never supposed to even get a chance, but did, and got to shine.
Let's be thankful for Ryan Goins, already an A+ defender, basically reinventing himself
at the plate and hitting a walkoff I know I'll remember forever.
Let's be thankful for Brett Cecil turning around his season and returning to be the shut-down pitcher we know and love.
Let's be thankful for Roberto Osuna, who magically struck out A-Rod as the first
batter he ever faced and didn't look back (K'd him twice more too).
Let's be thankful for all the times Pillar and Donaldson and Dalton
Pompey made us believe, even for a second, that men really could fly.
Let's be thankful for all the times this beautiful bunch of guys gave us (and Tulo) a reason to smile.
Let's be thankful that Justin Smoak has a powerful bat and a name that lends itself easily to puns. Because I know we baseball fans love our puns.
Let's be thankful for Devon Travis just because we can. Let's be thankful for his cheerful smile and his dedication to rooting for his team even after he was injured.
Let's be thankful for the unsung heroes of the bullpen, who have a really tough job and without whom, we wouldn't be here.
Let's be thankful for Gibby, who always knows what's best and doesn't listen to the idiots telling him otherwise.
Let's be thankful for Alex Anthopolous, who must know hypnotism or something to be able to pull off the moves he did.
Let's be thankful for a team that sticks up for one another and believes in each other as much as we believe in them, if not more.
Let's be thankful for the fact that we really did #ComeTogether in a display of unity like nothing I've seen in my lifetime.
Let's be thankful for our ability to keep our senses of humour and community even when things weren't going so well.
Let's be thankful, that for the first time in a long time, we've really had something special to be thankful about.
Josh Donaldson. Son of Donald. Dosh Jonaldson. Our Savior. He Who Gets It Done. The Bringer of Rain. Bringer of Homers. Bringer of Walk-offs. MVP! MVP! For some reason I always want to call him Joshy Don, but I'm sure he would not like that, so I don't do it (because sometimes he scares me a little). If you ask anyone who just began following the Blue Jays this year, he's responsible for literally every win they've had.
As you probably already know, he was traded for Brett Lawrie (and friends) before the 2015 season, which surprised a lot of people because A) A lot of people loved Brett Lawrie and B) A lot of people were surprised Oakland would let him go for such a low price.
His hair is kinda weird, but that's OK because he's the best and we love him. At least it's not that bizarre mohawk/rattail he had the last few years with the A's. What's not OK is the Yankees' Twitter mocking said hair, because that's just douchey. We do it with love. It's like how it's fine for you to tease your family, but if anyone else does it, you'll kick their ass. Not cool, Yankees.
Does he have Twitter?:Yup, and it's where the 'Bringer of Rain' handle came from - he gave it to himself. He's semi-active online when he doesn't have a game to play, and pretty sassy, too. I asked the Jays to play all day games so that he could devote his evenings to tweeting, but no luck. Irrelevant Facts:The nickname 'Bringer of Rain' came from the TV show Spartacus, which he apparently is a huge fan of. And considering how much I love TV, anyone who names themselves after their favourite show is pretty awesome in my book.
He also appears to be friends with Freddie Prinze, Jr. Lucky guy. (Or is Freddie Prinze Jr, the lucky one because he's friends with Josh Donaldson?)
@RealFPJr it's a tough game. Good thing my about having teammates is they can go deep too. 😂😂
During his first two seasons in Oakland, he was a catcher. Which seems weird to me. That would be like Kevin Pillar playing shortstop. It's just wrong. I would, however, love to see JD in catcher's gear at some point (although hopefully not during an important game... because that would mean something bad happened to Martin and/or Navarro, and besides - who the hell would play third?!). Solely for selfish reasons, because catchers are my favourite. Best Quotes:(On Edwin Encarnacion, said at 2 a.m. EST while possibly falling asleep) "He's a guy who... hits balls really hard."
(On learning he'd been traded to the Jays) "I seen on Twitter somebody put me in one of those Toronto Blue Jays uniforms — the all-white one. I tell you what: those uniforms are pretty sexy.”
What he's good at:He hits lots of things, like home runs. He hits in important situations, like late innings in close games, or to start off the scoring in a game. Have I mentioned that he hits a lot of home runs? Because he does. (True fact: just after I typed that sentence, he hit another one. I'm not kidding. August 18th, 2015. First inning in Philly. Look it up).
He's had so many home runs this year that it's hard to pick a favourite, so here are a bunch from the first half of the season handily compiled together. My favourite part of these astonishing feats of power are his reactions - particularly around 0:29 and 1:15. The way that smile creeps across his face is just beautiful.
He also doesn't need no stinking glove to be one of the best 3rd basemen in all of baseball. He snags, he jumps, he stretches, he pivots, he dives, he leaps, and he throws. Sometimes he does more than one of those things at a time.
I mean at this point, the glove is just a formality.
An accessory, at most...
His spray chart is astonishing, in that it's so evenly spread-out. Most right-handed hitters tend to hit to the left side of the diamond, but other than on balls he's been thrown out on, that doesn't seem to be the case. You can never really predict where he's going to hit to, which is probably why he keeps everyone on the opposing team on their toes. His home runs, in particular, are more perfectly distributed than sprinkles on a cake. (Fun fact: Once during BP, he batted from his left side, just to see what it was like - and he hit a home run. Because of course he did. He's Josh Donaldson.)
What he's not so good at:Keeping the ball inside the park. Mwahaha.
He's also got the most errors per games played for any Jays player not named Jose Reyes in 2015. Many of those are throwing errors, overshooting the first baseman in his haste to be rid of a ball. Fortunately, most of these errors didn't end up costing the team. The haste also calmed down a fair bit in the second half of the season, which is good. But it's still something to be concerned about. If his glove (or other hand, as the case may be) are so steady, why doesn't he have time to prepare the throw? Sometimes it's completely necessary, like when the runner is crazy fast, but it's generally better to be accurate than to be early.
Though he's fairly mild-mannered and smiley once the game is over, he's intense to the point of scary at times when playing. Like a tightly wound spring being released, he explodes with energy, either with his bat or his arm or, on occasion, his mouth. Who can forget the storm of curses which turned us all into lip-readers that he unleashed in the direction of the LA Angels dugout? Who even knows what exactly provoked that?
I'm always concerned that that kind of thing is going to get him in trouble, especially when he's angry at an umpire, or one of the numerous pitchers who mistook him for the catcher's mitt. Obviously, having a guy throw at your head is not to be taken lightly (especially when that guy has zero repercussion for it, as happened with the Royals) and I absolutely expect him to get mad in those cases. But if a fight were to break out in a close game, the Jays can't really afford to lose their biggest masher to an ejection. I'm worried that one day, he's going to cuss out the wrong person, and said person will send him packing. This is another reason I appreciate Jose Bautista's efforts to insert himself between Donaldson and the object of his anger. A step back and few deep breaths in those moments could go a long way.
Why I love him:Did you not see the thing about all the homers he hits?
The ritual of 'throwing up the six' after crossing home plate each time he homers is a tribute to his buddy, starting pitcher (and #6) Marcus Stroman, who was out injured for most of the season. Every time, we were reminded that even though Stroman couldn't be with the team, he was nonetheless a part of it, and Donaldson was making sure he wasn't forgotten.
He puts 100% of himself into everything he does on the field. Even when the Jays are winning by a huge margin, he goes all-in on a play, or smacks the ball as hard as it will go, just because he can. He's incredibly intense, focused and dedicated - and that's really hard not to respect.
He's also astonishingly modest considering all his impressive skills. When asked about the MVP chants that fans were sending his way, he pointed out that baseball is a team sport and he expects himself to play well for the purpose of helping out his teammates. He wants to win, obviously, but it's not about personal glory or taking all the credit. He was blown away by the support of Canadian fans voting him into the All-Star Game and really just seemed thrilled to be there.
He deserved every single vote he got. And in his own words, Canada 'got it done'. 2015 Season highlights:His previous record for home runs came last year with 29. On August 5th he hit his 29th of this season, and 2015 Josh Donaldson took a look at 2014 Josh Donaldson, nodded, and kept right on going. He hit his 30th two days later. He eventually reached 41 homers in the regular season, more than any of his teammates.
His home runs seem to come at the most timely of times, with the majority of them either tying the game or giving the Jays the lead. Two such homers were responsible for impressive walk-off victories, including the Jays' first walk-off of the season, on April 18th in the 10th inning against the Braves. A second came, on May 25th, that scored three runs in a game it didn't seem the Jays would be able to win over the White Sox. It was his second homer in that game.
He also caused a third walk-off on July 31st facing the Royals when he hit a single that scored Troy Tulowitzki from second base in the 11th inning.
On June 23rd, in Tampa Bay, pitcher Marco Estrada had a seven-inning perfect game going when David DeJesus hit a foul ball. It was well over the line, into the stands, but Donaldson wanted so badly for Estrada to get his perfect game that he launched himself into the seats and snagged the ball. Considering all the stupid and recurring injuries Jays players had suffered this year, I was afraid he had broken something, but he emerged triumphantly, grinning and holding the ball aloft. The guy is indestructible.
That turned out to be the last out of the perfect-game bid, as the next batter hit a single that JD couldn't get to first base in time, but no matter. That catch went down as one of the most impressive of the Jays' season, and gave Estrada something to smile about even after being unsuccessful.
On August 22nd, Josh became the first player in the MLB to reach 100 RBI this season, which made him only the second Blue Jay ever (after Carlos Delgado in 2003) to accomplish that feat before everyone else. He also beat his own personal best for RBI in a season - 94 - that game. The same day, he became the first Blue Jays third baseman since Kelly Gruber to have six RBI in the same game.
Also in the month of August, Josh and Edwin Encarnacion became only the third pair of teammates ever in MLB history to both have more than ten home runs and 35 or more RBIs in the same month. (The 35 RBIs in one month are a Blue Jays record). They joined on that list pairs such as Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, aaaaand... Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. That's it. Ever. How insane is that?! Off-field antics:His wicked sense of humour, and the sneaky smile that accompanies it, are two of my favourite things about him. He's perhaps the guy, out of the entire team, who's the most different in person from his intense on-field persona. Just watch this video:
Look at that cheeky grin. Just look at it. LOOK AT IT!
A bunch of Twitter people made up 'Josh Donaldson as your boyfriend' stories one night, because they were bored. I, unfortunately did not get in on this until it was too late, but it was one of the most awesome running jokes I've ever seen. Somehow they turned him into John Bender. (If you don't know who that is, away with you and don't you dare come back until you've watched The Breakfast Club in its entirety).
As if that weren't enough, the man himself actually responded to it:
Then there's the time the entirety of Canada rallied behind him to elect him to the All-Star Game - breaking the all-time record for votes for a single player in the process. He also had the help of two Canadian celebs who used their popularity to push the non-baseball-watching general public to vote for him: Don Cherry and actor Stephen Amell.
To officially cement just how much the country loves JD, he caught a ceremonial first pitch thrown out by Cherry, on Canada Day, no less. The Hockey Night in Canada host was nervous about embarrassing himself, and Donaldson apparently told him 'Don't worry, I won't let you look bad.'
Amell was present at a different game, where the two of them hung out during batting practise, and Donaldson challenged Amell to hit a home run, which he did. Amell then asked Donaldson if he would hit a home run during the game that day - and lo and behold, he did.
JD also took part in a recurring bit at the SkyDome where they show a brief video between innings called 'The Roof Report with Josh Donaldson'. I thought this was only a one-time thing (I only ever heard about them using it at the home opener) but then my sister went to a game, and then I went to a game - and apparently they use it every day! It's awesome!
Much in the same vein as Captain Obvious, it's literally a 3-second clip where he sits at a desk and informs the live audience whether the roof is open or closed. The intro and closing portions (wherein an announcer says "And now, The Roof Report with the Bringer of Rain, Josh Donaldson" and "This has been The Roof Report with Josh Donaldson") are longer than the part featuring JD himself.
If you haven't caught on yet, the joke is the fact that the audience are IN the SkyDome, and therefore fully aware of whether the roof is open or closed. For some reason I find this utterly hilarious.
Fictional/cartoon character he resembles: I'm gonna go with Sonic the Hedgehog, because of the spiky hair and the perpetually-arched eyebrows. Also because he looks good in blue.
Hopefully he'll also excel at collecting rings. (Get it? Championship rings?? Teehee)
He's as clutch as clutch can be, and brings whatever kind of precipitation is necessary to win a ballgame. No matter the city, no matter the weather, our boy can make it rain.
In closing, I'm just gonna leave these here*:
*Although not to burst anyone's bubble (including my own) I'm pretty sure he's just blinking.
