50 Seasons of Big League Hardball, Maple Leaf Style
- Andrei Ojeda
- Apr 1
- 3 min read
The 2026 season will mark the 50th season of the Toronto Blue Jays. During their 50 seasons, the Jays have experienced their share of baseball’s memorable moments, most notably their back-to-back World Championships in 1992 and 1993.
Prior to their first season in 1977, natives of Toronto were actually close to having an established Major League franchise. After what seemed like an apparent sale, the San Francisco Giants looked destined to leave the City by the Bay. If not for a restraining order, the Giants home would be north of the border.
Shortly after Bob Lurie had purchased the Giants, the city of Toronto was awarded an expansion franchise.
For over their first 12 seasons as an MLB franchise, the Toronto Blue Jays would play their home games at Exhibition Stadium, all starting on one snowy afternoon on April 7, 1977. The Blue Jays played 968 games from April 7, 1977 - May 28,1989 at Exhibition Stadium with a record of 492-476 and posting their first American League Division triumph in 1985.
The Blue Jays would still play their home games at Exhibition Stadium during the first two months of the 1989 season. Then on June 7th, the Blue Jays would move into Major League Baseball's first ever retractable roof stadium.
Skydome, an architectural marvel at the time, appeared destined to be the model of future ballparks with the retractable roof being its big draw.
“It is magic,” says Paul Beeston, then the club’s president. “You had to be here back in 1989, when the roof opened, to watch people stand up and applaud. When we opened it during games, you could see players looking up there, like, ‘Is this really happening?’”
The Blue Jays would waste no time creating memorable moments in their new yard as they would capture their second AL East crown on the final weekend of the season against the surprising Baltimore Orioles.
The Blue Jays would return to the post season in 1991, winning three straight division titles, culminating with back-to-back World Series triumphs in ‘92 and ‘93, both being memorable in their own right.
The ‘92 series would not only be the franchise’s first World Series triumph, but the first World Series Champion to belong north of the border.
And if 1992 wasn’t enough, the bottom of the 9th in Game 6 of the ‘93 series would see Joe Carter provide baseball fans one of the most dramatic endings in World Series history.
After a 21 year post season drought, the Blue Jays would return to October baseball and once again would waste no time providing baseball fans another October memory courtesy of one flipping moment from Jose Bautista.
The Blue Jays have reached the post season five times since, once again culminating with a World Series date with the defending 2024 World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. In what many baseball fans have called the best World Series ever, the Blue Jays, 2 outs away from capturing Canada's third World Series triumph, would fall to the eventual back-to-back champion Dodgers.
The ending to the Blue Jays 2025 season may have left Jays fans throughout Canada wondering what could have been if not for some missed opportunities to put the Dodgers away. What if Isiah Kiner-Falefa takes a couple more steps from 3rd?
The Blue Jays have given their fans plenty of memorable moments throughout their 50 seasons. Their most memorable moment will be celebrated on July 18, 2026 when a statue of Joe Carter will be unveiled outside the Rogers Centre.
Though 2025 brought a bitter ending for Jays fans in Toronto and throughout Canada, in no way does it diminish what they’ve achieved in their 50 seasons of existence.
