Although the Blue Jays have made the playoffs in four of the last six years, it’s wild to think they have not hosted a non-Wild Card home playoff game in Toronto since October 19, 2016. There was that ever-so brief Wild Card series in Toronto in 2022, but other than that, it’s been road series in Tampa Bay and Minnesota.

Along with all the obvious benefits of advancing further in the postseason come the sweeteners for hosting playoff games in Toronto. One of those is having former alumni or celebrities throw out the ceremonial first pitch for postseason games.

While some teams might tap into their “famous people Rolodex” to maximize exposure, for the most part, the Blue Jays have tabbed former postseason heroes for these celebratory moments. Back in 2015 and 2016, the Blue Jays had Cito Gaston, George Bell, Carlos Delgado, Duane Ward, Jimmy Key, Pat Hentgen, Devon White, Vernon Wells and Juan Guzman throw out first pitches.

The Blue Jays could go back to the well for some of those guys, but it’s more likely a new crop of legends gets the call. These are the top candidates you might see temporarily toe the rubber to get the action started in the ALDS series (and beyond, potentially).

This is going for the final boss of Blue Jays legends out of the gate, but why would it not be Jose Bautista? The organization honoured Joey Bats in 2023 by adding his name to the Level of Excellence, so he’s still fresh in the minds of many.

After all, it was Bautista who helped the Blue Jays win the ALDS over the Texas Rangers back in 2015, so maybe it would be good luck to have Bautista back at the Rogers Centre for either Game 1 or 2 of the ALDS.

Depending on who you talk to, he is either the 1A or 1B of best starting pitchers in Blue Jays history, but Dave Stieb was one of the most unheralded starters of the 80s, but not to the Blue Jays fan base. He always gets the kudos he deserves from the home crowd.

Stieb’s public appearances are so few and far between that it might be tough to track him down and convince him to come to Toronto, but most would agree, it would be special if the Blue Jays could somehow get him to be part of the 2025 playoff festivities.

Edwin Encarcacion is already a special assistant to the Blue Jays organization, and he’s around most of the time, but wouldn’t it be neat to see him throw out the first pitch of a home playoff game in Toronto? He had the second-most important home run of that 2015-2016 Blue Jays playoff era.

It’s been seven years since Marco Estrada last pitched for the Blue Jays, and somehow it feels like an eternity. All this time later, he’s still a fan favourite in Toronto and he authored some of the best postseason performances by a Blue Jays starter in franchise history.

Let’s not forget, Estrada owned a 2.16 ERA in six starts across the 2015 ALDS and ALCS series. He faced 153 batters across those four series and walked only two of them and struck out 34. I can’t even remember the last time Estrada was in Toronto, but surely, fans would love to see him back in a Blue Jays uniform again.

I’m not sure how or why John Olerud wasn’t tapped to throw a ceremonial pitch for one of the Blue Jays’ home playoff games in 2015 or 2016 (he may have respectfully declined), but he absolutely deserves to be honoured by the home crowd at Rogers Centre. His 1993 batting title still stands as the highest single-season batting average in Blue Jays history.

David Price wasn’t in Toronto for a long time, but he was here for a good time. Not only was he one of the most impactful trade deadline acquisitions in 2015, but he was also one of the biggest fish the Blue Jays have ever landed in trade, even if it was only for nine regular-season starts and four in the postseason in 2015.

There may have been a little ill will from the Blue Jays fan base once Price signed a seven-year, $217 million contract, but the memories of his stretch run are still fond in the minds of many.

The timing for an ALDS ceremonial first pitch may not quite be right, considering the New York Mets are still licking their wounds from missing out on the postseason, but there isn’t a more beloved manager in recent memory than John Gibbons.

Gibby received a thunderous pop from Blue Jays fans during Bautista’s Level of Excellence ceremony a few years ago. One could only imagine how the fan base would react to see him throw out a ceremonial first pitch in Toronto.

As the current bench coach for the Mets, Gibbons has strong ties to that organization, but during his 11 seasons as manager with the Blue Jays, fans adopted Gibby as one of their own.

Oddly enough, it was Tom Henke who caught the ceremonial first pitch thrown by Jerry Howarth during the Blue Jays’ 20th anniversary celebration of their 1992 World Series title. Might Henke return to the mound to offer up the first pitch during one of these 2025 playoff home games?

Henke holds the franchise record of 217 saves during his eight years with the Blue Jays, a record that’s likely never to be broken again. The Terminator was a dominant force at the back end of Toronto’s bullpen from the mid-80s to the early 90s. If anything, his body of work as a Blue Jay only looks better with age.

“RUSSELL! RUSSELL! RUSSELL!”

You can probably still hear Rodger Brulotte’s voice vividly in your head as Russell Martin rounded the bases at Rogers Centre after a clutch hit to fend off the New York Yankees. As the lone Canadian on this list, Martin holds a special place in Blue Jays lore as a homegrown talent and an elite catcher who was instrumental to Toronto’s success in 2015 and 2016.

Joe Carter is always fairly visible in the Blue Jays community (he showed up during the team’s series in Kansas City, where Carter lives). Not that it makes it any less noteworthy when Touch ’em All Joe makes an appearance, but it feels like the Blue Jays might save him for bigger playoff series down the road, if they advance beyond the ALDS.