Spring may have arrived last week according to the calendar, but for rabid baseball fans today marks the real end of winter.
The Major League Baseball (MLB) season is now underway and for Canadian baseball fans, the Toronto Blue Jays begin their quest for the playoffs — and possibly a World Series crown — today at 4:10 p.m. in St. Louis against the Cardinals.
The Jays' home-opener at the revamped Rogers Centre is set for Tuesday, April 11 when the Detroit Tigers come to town. The stadium in downtown Toronto will be sporting a whole new look inside with a more open-air ballpark feel to it.
A lot of hype has been made about the Blue Jays coming into this season, with many of their core players back and off-season tinkering adding a few new names, too. The pundits are predicting a playoff appearance for the boys of summer.
Last year’s 92-win regular season propelled Toronto into a best-of-three, first-round match-up with the Seattle Mariners, but everything fell apart and the Jays were swept in the series, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of hopeful fans.
But that's hopefully water under the bridge.
Las Vegas odds-makers have the Jays with the seventh-best chances of winning the World Series in the fall and some baseball insiders are predicting a 100-win season.
BarrieToday spoke with former Barrie Baycats outfielder and fan favourite Ryan Spataro about the new season and the excitement level for players and fans alike heading into a new campaign.
Spataro, 40, retired in 2021 after 15 years in the Intercounty Baseball League (IBL), where he left as the all-time league leader in stolen bases. He also won seven championships with the Baycats, in 2005 and then six in a row from 2014 to 2019.
Coming off that many consecutive IBL titles in the glory years of the Barrie team, Spataro has baseball in his blood and admits it gets exciting as the snow begins to melt away.
“It's definitely a great time of year if you're a baseball fan," he says. "I played for most of my life and it was a hard thing to shake, not getting ready for spring training.
"But knowing that the grind of winter is winding down and then watching the commentary on TV during a game, it really takes you back,” Spataro adds. “The start of the baseball season is a sure sign that summer is near, which is nice, and a bit of a mix of hockey playoffs in there is good, too.”
These days, Spataro says he's playing a lot of golf and some beach volleyball while also doing things with his family now that he isn’t getting ready for a season on the diamond.
While Spataro cheers for the Jays, he also followed the Minnesota Twins for a long time, being that the club drafted him out of high school in the 41st round in 2001.
“I got up to 'A' ball and got three or four spring trainings in and got that feel for what it is like,” he says. “I’ve always been a Jays fan. I still follow them, but when I was released from the Twins, I kept up to date with them just because of all the guys I played with and wanting to see how they were doing.”
The new MLB season also comes with a few rules changes that fans will want to keep an eye on.
A pitch clock will be implemented, forcing a quicker pace of play. Bigger bases and limited pick-off attempts, or step-offs, per plate appearance are also expected to make the game go faster.
Defensive shift limits will be in place where the defensive team must have a minimum of four players on the infield, with at least two infielders completely on either side of second base.
Spataro says that life has been busy and he hasn’t seen too many of the rule changes in spring training games yet, but is sure players will adapt.
“I've heard about guys working on the whole switching the shift. I heard that Minnesota threw to the left-fielder then to shallow right centre and then the third-baseman goes into left field and that's their way around it, so we’ll see," he says.
As for the upcoming season and how the Blue Jays will fare, Spataro is optimistic.
“Last year was unfortunate with what happened in the playoffs, but they seem to have filled some holes in the lineup," he says. "They had what it took to get there and now they may have a little more to go with it.
“I don’t know how their rotation will be, but it all comes down to pitching, that's typically what gets you deep in the playoffs.”
The Lockeroom on Cundles Road East will be sure to have crowds to take in the games on their 33 TVs, which owner Dana Parris says will soon expand to 35 screens.
Parris says she's excited for baseball's return and is looking forward to the 2023 Blue Jays.
“The fan base for the Jays over the last few years has grown larger than ever," she says. "They have always had such amazing support, but there is something about the energy and camaraderie that is so magnetic you can’t help but be captivated. The bar is busy and electric when they are doing well.
"I’m excited for baseball and the first true sign that warmer weather is, hopefully, in the near future.”
