Politics at play? Surprise triumph for the Blue Jays was a battle for Canadian pride

It had been 32 long years since the Blue Jays last played on baseball’s biggest stage. There have been flashes of brilliance and seasons of promise since, but none that reached championship status. Now, at last, the wait was over. Toronto would meet the reigning champions under the bright October lights in game one of the best-of-seven series.

Unable to grab a ticket, people were packed in almost every sports bar and restaurant showing the game across Canada. And for every perfect pitch or hit, screams, hugs and occasional beer showers took over the place. The streets of Toronto and neighbouring cities were empty – an unusual scene for a Friday night.

It was an emotional moment for some long-time fans. Andrew Sissons was a child when the Jays last played in the World Series, he doesn’t even remember it. “It was emotional because my late dad was a big Jays fan,” said Sissons, who was watching the game with a group of friends at a sports bar. “We’d go every year on his birthday, but he passed in 2021. For me, it feels like it’s about the people who aren’t here any more, the ones who got me into baseball like my dad, my grandma. That’s what makes it feel like such a big deal.”

Fans of all ages, about 44,000 of them, were packed into the stadium. As the cameras panned across an electric Rogers Centre, the flags of both nations began their slow climb toward the rafters. The Maple Leaf and the Stars and Stripes, side by side.

The neighbourly bond between Canada and the United States has faced a challenging political climate following the second election of Donald Trump. A series of US tariffs on Canadian goods such as steel and aluminium has caused anger north of the border, prompting Ottawa to impose counter-measures. And Trump’s renewed talk of Canada as the 51st state has sharpened irritation.

That tension was heightened when on the eve of the series, Trump cut off trade negotiations with Canada. He had apparently been infuriated by a television advert, paid for by the province of Ontario, quoting President Ronald Reagan’s opposition to tariffs.

These tensions were all too evident in the stands. The Dodgers emerged on to the playing field to a deluge of boos, only paused briefly when the national anthems were sung by a group of 500 Canadian and American vocalists.

In 1992, when the Jays made their first appearance in the series, the Atlanta Braves had greeted the players with an upside-down Canadian flag. President George Bush had to apologise hastily to Canada. Twice. There were no such slip-ups here.

And once the game began, the Blue Jays, energised by the raucous support, ran riot. The game pitted two contrasting pitchers against each other.

Blake Snell has twice won the Cy Young Award and will be paid $182m (£136m) to lead the Dodgers’ stellar pitching staff over five years. He was opposed by Trey Yesavage, a rookie making only his seventh Major League start. But it was Snell who ended the loser.

The Dodgers’ biggest star, Japan’s Shohei Ohtani, hit a two-run homer but was left in the shade by the Jays’ Addison Barger, whose grand slam took the game away from LA for good in the sixth inning on their way to an 11-4 win.

The Blue Jays are the only Major League team to represent an entire country, and only when they reach the series is it truly an international event. They have only one Canadian player, their best one, Vladimir Guerrero Jr, who was born in Montreal and even he spends much of his off season in the Dominican Republic where he has dual citizenship. But the Jays are Canada’s team.

The Dodgers on the other hand are by no means America’s, even though they are the defending champions. They boast the largest annual payroll in the sport – an estimated $320m, rising to $500m once “luxury tax” (MLB’s version of a salary cap) is applied – though the Jays, are no minnows themselves, having the fifth highest payroll in the major leagues. They are often accused of “ruining baseball” by spending their way to success. Todd Boehly, the chairman of Chelsea, is part of the Dodgers ownership group and has faced similar criticism in England, despite also winning a version of a world title in America.

The second game took place early this morning UK time before moving to Los Angeles for the next three. Ohtani is expected to be the starting pitcher in game three or four.

Photograph by Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press