Our counterparts at Bluebird Banter have a fun segment where they reached out to the opposing team’s SB Nation page before an upcoming series. Accordingly, before the upcoming Toronto Blue Jays/Dodgers series, Bryant Tefler asked me some questions that he had on his mind regarding the current state of the Dodgers.
That interview, in its entirety, can be read below.
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After engaging in a discussion that ranged from reasons why I should give Rogers Centre another shot in 2026 to appreciating Canadian satirist / and Blue Jays superfan Clare Blackwood, I had some questions of my own, which Mr. Tefler was kind enough to answer.
That exchange is posted below, with some light editing for clarity and context.
Question Time
The Toronto Blue Jays have been disappointing over the last five+ seasons. Are fans thrilled that the team is doing well, or is there some hesitancy given the past few years?
The last five years have been a mixed bag for Jays fans. We haven’t won a single playoff game during that span, but other than missing 2021 on the final game of the season and 2024 as a write-off by mid-June, the Jays have made the postseason. For a fanbase that went from a 1993 championship to the end of the 2014 season without a single playoff appearance, the last five years have been disappointing but not in the same way the two decades of third place finishes in the AL East were.
The main hesitancy about this team is that it doesn’t seem like it should be as good as it is. You’re getting contributions from guys like Ernie Clement, Eric Lauer, Nathan Lakes, Tyler Heiniman – none of whom seem like they have any business being on a first place team and yet here they are. Eight weeks ago, I wrote that this team was two bad weeks away from being sellers at the trade deadline. Instead, they rolled through it like a juggernaut and are twenty games over 500.
It’s my long way of saying for most Jays fans, we’re just trying to enjoy the ride because I don’t think anyone really gets how it happened the way it has.
Accordingly, are there any expectations as to how far the 2025 Blue Jays will go?
Building on the last question, who knows? The bullpen, the defense, and the Jays inability to strike out makes them a really interesting contender. The biggest question is going to be starting pitching. If Shane Bieber returns as a front end starter, Lauer continues his improbable run and guys like Gausman and Scherzer keep dealing, the Jays have a bizarre patchwork configuration capable of making a deep run.
I think the thing is that the Jays keep beating teams that if you match up player for player up and down the roster, the Jays don’t grade out as the better team, but as a sum of the whole, they keep out performing their individual value. I wouldn’t bet my savings on a Championship, but I think they’ll be a real dark horse if they make the playoffs, and could be giant killers against the more storied and talented NL teams.
Sell a Dodger fan on visiting Rogers Centre in Toronto. I went in 2024 amidst ongoing renovations and had an okay time. My review, which will come out in 2026, will say accordingly.
It depends [on] what you want out of a stadium. I like the Rogers Centre because the games all start as scheduled and on time, I can wear a t-shirt inside in March when it is snowing outside, and there are no bad or obstructed sightlines. I’m there for a baseball game, not to ride the rides. That said, the park has massively improved its options for food and drink, as well as community spaces for people who like to drift to different spaces and see the game from different angles and places. The WestJet Flight Deck in center field, in particular, has been a big game-changer for a lot of fans to enjoy the game. The other big thing is that unlike a lot of stadiums, the Rogers Centre is right in the middle of downtown Toronto, so you’re in a nexus of public transit and a few blocks away from top restaurants, bars, clubs, entertainment venues, city landmarks, etc.
A lot of stadium reviews tend to discount location, and for me as a baseball fan, I’m always happier when seeing a game doesn’t mean a trek out to the suburbs to a venue only accessible by car.
Who is the Blue Jays player you wish more people knew about?
I’m sure this question is meant to be about current players, but this is a team full of players no one knows about, so I’m going to dip into history. Dave Stieb should be in the Hall of Fame. The Jays stalwart of the 80s wasn’t just the greatest pitcher of the decade but was virtually ignored because he played on bad teams who weren’t good enough to get him the 20 wins he deserved or even when good, still played in Canada and got zero media attention in the US.
Joe Posnanski has a series about underrated pitchers he named ‘Cy Stieb’ after Stieb’s career and his lack of recognition. But Stieb also has one incredible story attached to his career. He missed three no-hitters with two out in the ninth due to fluke hits, the last two in back to back games, before he finally secured his no-no.
In 1998, Stieb was at spring training as a coach, looked around, and unretired to make the team, making three starts and 16 relief appearances for the Blue Jays that year. He was in the bullpen when a rookie named Roy Halladay would take a no-hitter into the ninth with two outs before Bobby Higginson took Halladay deep for a home run that landed in the Jays bullpen. Stieb quickly collected the ball and got rid of it, deeply superstitious that the ball might curse the rookie pitcher. Halladay would go on to record a perfect game against the Marlins and the second post-season no-hitter in baseball history against the Reds on his way to the Hall.
There’s a fantastic four part documentary on his career available.
I will have to check it out. A kind thank you to Bryant Telfer for his time. I am sure my travels will bring me back to Toronto at some point, and it’s always fun to go to a game with friends, even if they are from the other side.