This past weekend saw the Rogers Centre jam-packed with fans. The main reason, the prodigal son Roy “Doc” Halladay returned home.. After a G20 Summit last year prolonged the much anticipated return, it was nice to see an old friend. Except in Baseball there are no old friends!
In sports it is extremely rare to see Fans cheer for a player on the opposing team, but Roy Halladay is different. During Game 1 of the Series Charlie Manual made a classy move by allowing Halladay to handout the line-up card at the beginning of the game. To no surprise the sold out crowd of 50,000 fans (Most of which came to see 'Doc')cheered. It would be 24 hours later when Doc took the mound that the real homecoming began. A standing ovation, as he jogged out of the dugout onto the mound,only this time it was from the Visitors Dugout.
J.P. Riccardi's inability to build a successful team around Halladay led to him being traded to the Phillies. The 1 time CY Young Award Winner with the Jays could have had a few more trophies on his shelf as a member of the Jays, but was never able to crack the Playoffs. Since being traded to Philly, Halladay has been a man on a mission. The mission simple. Win a World Series Ring.
Halladay epitomizes what is needed to pitch and compete at a professional level.It is for this reason that so many fans not just in Toronto but around North America cheered on Halladay and the Phillies last year in the playoffs. To no surprise Halladay went onto the stage that he spent his whole career waiting for, wondering what it would be like to pitch in the playoffs,and pitched a No-Hitter.
This past Saturday Roy once again went about his business and pitched the 64th Complete Game of his career, 14 more then second place Livan Hernandez.
BUT there is reason for Optimism with the Jays now more then ever. With attendance ratings being low (discounting the Phillies series)NOW is the time to rally around them.
With a young and up and coming team, General Manager Alex Anthopolous has taken a Farm Team ranked near the bottom of the League, to a Top-5 Farm System. With the likes of: Drabek, Thames, Snider and Gose to name a few, the Jays have a decent chance of being a good team in years to come.
There is no questioning Halladay’s brilliance, but he pitched once every five days, and there is a player on the current roster by the name of Jose Bautista who plays every day, and is someone worth coming out to the ballpark for. A Sensation a year ago, Bautista has proven that it was no fluke. Once again heading into the All-Star Break with the Home-run lead with 28 (as of now), he is on pace to pass the 53 he set one year ago. Joining Bautista are Adam Lind, Ricky Romero, J.P. Arencibia and young-gun Eric Thames as a solid core,able to compete with any team. While the Toronto Maple Leafs have not made the playoffs since before the lockout, every single home game remains sold out. The excuse that Toronto is only a Hockey Market is completely bogus. Toronto fans have been craving for a successful team, one with a star that we can rally around. It used to be Halladay,Vince Carter and Mats Sundin but none of those guys were ever able to take their team to the next-level. With Bautista's record breaking 7.5 million All-Star votes, obliterating the record set by Ken Griffey Jr. by more then a million, fans should realize that he and the team are the Real Deal.
Most fans had hoped for a playoff berth this year, however as we reach the halfway mark of the season and 10+ games out of first it may have to wait another year. But for the first time since 92 there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The future looks bright for the Jays the question you need to ask yourself is; Do you want to be apart of it or not?
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