There’s a feeling in the Rogers Centre air, one that would make any Phil Collins fan break out some nickels at the jukebox. It might be the Rowdy Tellez grand slam in extra innings that is making Jays fans feel unwell, but there’s also a change in tune on the third base side of the diamond, and it dates back to when the club was in Dunedin over a month ago.

From a team that finished a dismal fifth place in the AL East last season to one that is finding innovative ways to win early in 2025, players continue to note that this season feels different out of the gate, and manager John Schneider touched on the subject before today’s game.

“I think that everyone in there is in a different point in their career compared to last year, for the guys that have been here,” said Schneider. “Adding the people, not just the players, that we did helped with that a lot. There was a very deliberate effort from myself and the staff to lay out what’s important. It takes a lot of conversations and communication and time together when things are either good or bad, giving them the why. Being deliberate with those conversations.”

The same words were echoed by Bowden Francis last night after the Blue Jays’ victory over Seattle: “The boys are juiced. We’re super connected. From the coaching staff and everyone down, it’s a different feel.”

George Springer was humming a similar tune following last night’s close game as well, “Everybody’s kind of bought in that you’ve got to be selfless in this game and the most important thing at the end of the day is a win or a loss, whether you hit five homers in a game or none… The selflessness, you’re seeing guys if they move somebody over, they’re clapping. It’s not, oh, shoot, I flew out. It’s I got a guy to third base because I have confidence in the guy behind me. Over the span of time, that’s going to do a lot of good.”

While today’s game didn’t go in the Blue Jays’ favour, words like that speak volumes in a clubhouse, whether it’s from a veteran guy or someone who is just getting their big league career started, especially when results don’t go your way.

Looking back on last season, it was a narrative that didn’t come up too often. Right-hander and straight shooter Chris Bassitt noted the divide towards the end of the campaign and he even led the charge on implementing some changes to start the year to ensure it didn’t happen again.

There were quite a few different names in the clubhouse to start the 2024 season after the front office fell short on the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes, with the likes of Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Kevin Kiermaier, and Justin Turner highlighting the biggest additions. All three, plus Danny Jansen, Trevor Richards, Nate Pearson, Yimi Garcia (who has since returned), and Yusei Kikuchi were shipped away at the deadline to recoup some value from the expiring veteran deals, and the younger players that remained were given more runway to show what they can do at the big league level, an audition of sorts for playing time in 2025.

It could be related to how the team was faring, as losing games like Toronto did last season is bound to cause some tension, especially when you wave the white flag at the trade deadline. But Schneider also noted that this team is built differently compared to last year and that he and the staff established roles the expectations early and right from the start this spring. It might seem easy to say from the outside looking in, but the Blue Jays manager noted that it was established right from the get-go.

“It’s easy for me to sit here and talk about the type of player and what the expectations are,” said Schneider. “What I have gotten better is making that more clear to the players and getting buy-in from them, and that’s not just from me, that’s everyone coming into that spot together.”

There’s a level of trust in the clubhouse that is flowing both ways and across different avenues, whether it’s decision making on the field or the use of analytics in certain situations, both from the player and coach perspective.

It’s the reason Schneider felt confident to take Francis out of the game yesterday night after just 77 pitches and why Davis Schneider understood the scenario when he was optioned to the minor leagues earlier this week. Some of that energy even spilled over into today’s game, when a usually calm and cool Jose Berrios had some words for Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, a thorn in the side for Toronto for most of his playing career, and both dugouts spilled onto the field to calm the situation.

“Knowing that he was getting my sign and trying to give it to the hitters, after that inning was over, I wanted to let him know that I knew what he was doing,” said Berrios, speaking on the incident. “And I didn’t think the bench was going to come out, but between the hitter and I, it is a war… we are competing and I care about feeding my family… We are a family here, and we go out together.”

Results speak for themselves, and winning will do a lot of the heavy lifting for both the internal workings of the clubhouse and the franchise from the outside perspective, but a clubhouse that is vibing well and meshing together is going to help reap those results.

While the Blue Jays have found success off the field versus on more times than not, considering the team hasn’t won a postseason game since 2016 despite multiple Wild Card appearences, things feel different with this club out of the gate. It’s a noticeable energy shift from those who were here last season to bear witness to it.

For the Blue Jays’ sake, it’s one that hopefully sticks the rest of the way, as Toronto sits at a pivotal point when it comes to the crossroads of trying to find success in the postseason and simply talking about it to start the year.

To talk about being competitive versus actually winning on the field is two different ball games, and so far, the Blue Jays are finding success on the field to start the 2025 season versus just talking about it. A welcome change of scenery after falling short of expectations last season.