[published_date]
Ten years after the Toronto Blue Jays’ long-awaited post-season return gripped a nation, club legend José Bautista sees similarities between that team and the 2025 installment.
In Toronto on Thursday to debut his Dominican coffee brand Bella Aldea, Bautista noticed a familiar buzz coalescing in town.
The vaunted slugger, who ranks second in franchise history with 288 home runs as a Jay, suggested this year’s team possesses a comparable sense of unity to his own star-studded group from the past.
“I think the vibe around the city and team is pretty close [to 2015] … The team got along together great. We enjoyed being around each other for 162 games, 180 days, which says a lot, and it looks like this group has that as well,” Bautista told CBC Sports.
The 2015 edition of the Blue Jays, which featured stars like Edwin Encarnación and American League MVP Josh Donaldson, ended a playoff drought that extended back to 1993 — when the club won its second World Series crown.
Although their campaign ended in the ALCS to the eventual champion Kansas City Royals, the run kept record audiences across Canada captivated throughout.
Bautista, 44, believes the present-day iteration, which boasts an AL-best 81-59 record, also has the on-field tools necessary to mount a title challenge.
“The offence is booming; everybody’s firing on all cylinders. The starting pitching has done unbelievable. The back-end of the bullpen has had its ups and downs, but they’ve been good enough,” Bautista said.
“[I’m] hoping that they can remain healthy and keep playing as good as they have, because I think they can make a deep playoff run.”
Bat flip ‘was fun then and it’s fun now’
On the subject of 10-year anniversaries, Oct. 14 will mark a decade since Bautista’s iconic bat flip during Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS against the Texas Rangers. A transcendent moment that has stood as the club’s zenith of the 21st century.
“It was an amazing moment for the franchise. I was lucky enough to be the guy at the plate … and we’re still talking about it 10 years later,” Bautista said.
“It was fun then and it’s fun now.”
While the 2025 Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee still lays claim to the most recent major highlight in Blue Jays history, he would welcome it if his moment were topped this October.
“Hopefully there’s another few more bat flips for Blue Jays players here in this playoff run that maybe even become bigger than mine,” Bautista said.
Entering a pivotal three-game series against the Yankees in New York beginning Friday, the Blue Jays maintain a four and a half-game lead on their AL East foes, with the Boston Red Sox also in pursuit.
Barring injuries, Bautista feels the team is otherwise primed as September kicks off the stretch run of the season.
With the playoffs approaching, he logged a prediction all Jays fans hope comes to fruition.
“You know, I’m not a betting man, but if I was a betting man I’d bet on the Blue Jays … a little bit of luck sprinkled with some good health. I think that’s all you need,” Bautista said.
“Hopefully it’s against the Dodgers, and hopefully we take it in six.”
