Alek Manoah has a very high opinion of his contributions to the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Los Angeles Angels pitcher Manoah sparked backlash this week with his comments about his former team, the Blue Jays. Manoah told Sam Blum of The Athletic that he believes he played a major part in Toronto’s run to the World Series in 2025.
“I was a very big piece of that process, getting to that World Series run,” said Manoah. “[But] I wasn’t able to be there like I wanted to.”
Manoah was quickly roasted for his seemingly tone-deaf remarks by social media. Take a look at a sampling.
— Robbie Hyde (@gingersnaphyde) February 25, 2026
Did he even pitch a single inning in 2025?
— Red Cornhustle (@cornhustle37871) February 25, 2026
https://t.co/HEt9No2D5N pic.twitter.com/09tm4mciKa
— KutterIsKing (@KutterIsKing) February 25, 2026
What did he even do https://t.co/9XjegzqboC
— Trang (@traaang) February 25, 2026
The 28-year-old Manoah had a superb year for the Blue Jays in 2022, going 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA and finishing third in AL Cy Young voting. But that was [checks notes] three full seasons removed from Toronto’s 2025 World Series run, and Manoah did not even make it onto the MLB roster in 2025 after undergoing UCL surgery on his throwing elbow in 2024.
Along the way, Manoah also had horrific and negative WAR seasons in 2023 and 2024, and even at one point pouted and failed to report to Triple-A after being sent down by the Blue Jays. As such, it is probably safe to say that Manoah was not at all “a very big piece” of Toronto’s World Series run as he … was not even a piece at all.