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It’s starting to feel like 2015 for the Blue Jays
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Photo credit: © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Jul 2, 2025, 08:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 2, 2025, 04:13 EDT
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The 2025 season has a different feeling to it, one that hasn’t been felt in a long time.
Every Toronto Blue Jays fan can attest that the 2024 season was the worst since Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was called up in 2019. It looked as if the Jays were falling right back onto that path, as on May 7, the Los Angeles Angels walked off the Blue Jays to move to a season low four games behind .500.
The Jays won the series finale against the Angels, then swept the Seattle Mariners before some mediocre baseball over their next 14 games, where they went 6-8. After defeating the Texas Rangers 2-0 on May 28, this season just started to feel different. On the night of May 28, the Jays finished with a 27-28 record, eight games back of the division lead and three games behind the final Wild Card spot.
Since then, the Jays have won 21 of 31 games, bringing them to one game behind the New York Yankees for the top spot in the American League East. Does this sound familiar?
Let’s go back a decade. On June 2, 2015, the Jays fell 2-0 to the Washington Nationals, with their season record dropping to 23-30. Although their record was significantly worse, the Jays were just 4.5 games behind the division-leading Yankees. 
During the second game, it was reported on the Nationals’ broadcast that the Blue Jays napped together in between the games. What came next was a 7-3 victory, as Kevin Pillar hit two home runs off of prime Max Scherzer. Then came an 11-win streak to bring them to 34-30, bringing the Jays to within one game of the division lead.
Alex Anthopoulos, who was in the final year of his contract, decided to go for broke, acquiring All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and ace David Price. That was enough to push the Jays to the top of the division, as well as their first postseason berth since they won the World Series in 1993. A home run by Russell Martin in late September against the Yankees essentially gave the Jays the division.
For younger fans like me who weren’t able to experience the back-to-back World Series wins, this was the pinnacle of Blue Jays baseball, and it deserved a World Series title at the end of it. Unfortunately, they lost to the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series.
The Jays made the postseason in 2016, even making the ALCS again, losing in five to the Cleveland Guardians. That said, there wasn’t the same magic in that team as the year before, perhaps because there were no huge moves at the deadline. After the 2016 season, the core aged out of their window of contention,  and eventually, the Jays entered a rebuild.
There was only a two-season span, 2018 and 2019, where you knew the Jays weren’t making the playoffs. In 2020, there was a global pandemic, and the Jays got into the playoffs thanks to the expanded format. They lost, of course, dropping both games to the Tampa Bay Rays with no fans in the stands.
Although there was a special aura surrounding the 2021 team as well, the lingering effects of the pandemic impacted the magic of the team, with just over 29,000 fans attending the final game of the season, a must-win game in an attempt to force a Game 163.
In 2022, the team was still fun, but even though they made the playoffs, it didn’t have that magic to it. The Blue Jays weren’t able to get that magic in the postseason either,  as they blew an 8-1 lead in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series, making it over six years since their last postseason victory.
A defensive error in that game shifted the Jays to a defensive focus, and oh boy, were they ever boring in 2023. They made the playoffs and lost both games, but then came the disastrous 2024 season when they finished 74-88. Coming into the 2025 season, there wasn’t much optimism, especially after they were walked off by the Angels on May 7 to drop four games below .500.
Fast forward nearly two months, and this team has a special aura that hasn’t been felt since the 2015 season. No matter how far they fall behind in a game, it feels like there’s always a chance to get back in it as they are among the league leaders with 24 comeback victories. They’re scoring runs, even though two key bats (Anthony Santander and Daulton Varsho) haven’t been in the lineup much. Just imagine if they get going once activated from the Injured List.
Just like Chris Collabello in 2015, Blue Jays’ role players are stepping up, as Ernie Clement and Nathan Lukes have become vital to the team in their own way.
The truth is, I’ve been sitting and waiting for the perfect moment to write this article. That perfect moment came on Canada Day. With a 2-1 count, one out,  and in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded, George Springer hit his second grand slam in a week, catapulting the Jays to a win over the Yankees to move to one game back for the division lead.
There’s just a different feel to this team, similar to the 2015 team. Maybe it’s because general manager Ross Atkins is in the final season of his contract, much like how Anthopoulos’ contract was set to expire after the 2015 season. Maybe it’s because the team is winning and playing in front of sold-out crowds, something that hasn’t really happened since the Jose Bautista days.
Either way, the Jays need to capitalize on the aura around the team, and with the farm system being in a strong position, it’s time to make some big deals ahead of the trade deadline. If we’ve learned anything, this magic only comes around once a decade.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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