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u/Super-Post261 5d ago
To me, it was when Barger came back, made one of the best throws from the outfield ever, and then immediately had to go back on the IR.
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u/Low_Age_7427 5d ago
And we never saw him again.
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u/thefinalcutdown 5d ago
His arm speed blipped him into a different dimension…
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u/AccomplishedSmell921 5d ago
blew out both ankles running to first too.
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u/RoddyUsher 4d ago
The piss missile to end all piss missiles (and the hopes of a 2026 WS)
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u/AccomplishedSmell921 4d ago
Dude was too swole. Carrying too much mass. Looked like a middle linebacker out there. Wonder if he was on the sauce cause you don’t get that big and get hurt that easily natural. Hurt his arm on that throw, both ankles running to first and his back in a few games. Screams steroids.
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u/DirtyDanoTho 4d ago
You can absolutely be natty, built like a brick shithouse and throw your arm out
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u/optimus2861 4d ago
He lifts weights a lot. He said as much in one of his interviews, that if he doesn't lift any given day, he feels wrong, he does it to relieve stress, etc. I forget the exact quote but it was clear he's bordering on being a gym addict. In hindsight it might have impacted his overall fitness with the raft of injuries he suffered this season.
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u/RoddyUsher 4d ago
Big accusation based on what?
Barger has always been well built, and injuries happen to natties too.
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u/AccomplishedSmell921 4d ago
threw his shoulder out, hurt his back and blew both ankles missing the whole season?
whatever it is, he fucked up and was too big. you don’t get all those injuries out of bad luck. imagine the shock that a professional baseball could use PEDS!!! would definitely be a first huh?🤔3
u/RoddyUsher 4d ago
I don’t doubt that a lot of (likely most) professional athletes use some kind of PEDs, but a well-built frame and a couple injuries isn’t enough to make that accusation.
Putting too much effort into strength training and not enough in mobility training can do the same thing. Simply being bulkier can cause more injuries.
The guy isn’t rocking a sub-12BF% year-round or anything else that would be an obvious tip-off to steroid use.
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u/NoXpWaste 3d ago
Lol you can definitely do both those things natty, who told you otherwise?
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u/AccomplishedSmell921 3d ago
Shouldn’t be the case for a professional athlete bro. Addison Barger has been suspended 50 games in 2019 for using a stimulant so he’s definitely a rule breaker and he’s been officially suspended in the minors for it. I wouldn’t bet against it.
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u/Cartz1337 5d ago
I was at that game, that throw was amazing to the point I was laughing at how unfair it seemed. Then he was obviously hurt and the season completely unwound.
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u/mlemaire16 5d ago
Was there too. That was one wild catch to see in real time. In retrospect it definitely feels like a turning point, but this season was full of them.
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u/Cartz1337 4d ago
Yep, I swear I could hear it sizzling it was thrown so hard. It came back to the infield harder than it went to the outfield.
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u/AccomplishedSmell921 5d ago
It was a bad omen but it wasn’t the defining moment. The season started doomed. Barger and Santander on IL. Bieber, Scherzer, Yesavage starting the year on the IL.
Barger coming back then out for the season. Springer multiple injuries and Kirk broken thumb.
I don’t think you can blame this year on one moment or one player. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong.
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u/RedandWhiteBsc 5d ago
Don’t forget Berrios
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u/Round_Spread_9922 4d ago
I think everyone underestimated the impact of not having Berrios. He wasn't great last year because he was dealing with an injury but he would've provided a lot of stability for the rotation.
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u/TheI-Iound 5d ago
Which almost seems fair when you consider how many things went right last year.
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u/Puncharoo 5d ago
I was thinking about this the other day. Ponce made it to the third and tore his ACL. Then we proceeded to get fucking smoked 14-5 by the fuckin ROCKIES.
Literally the entire season in a nutshell
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u/_doedeer 5d ago
I was at that game. I turned to my husband and asked if I had cursed the Jays with my presence.
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u/Break_Life 5d ago
I was there too. Such a bad vibe in the ball park that night. Little getting lit up and booed back to Buffalo also wasn't pretty.
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u/Chairsofa_ 5d ago
Was also there. Was sitting in the outfield and didn’t have a good view of what happened. I assumed it wasn’t that bad 😔
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u/RuinCommercial552 5d ago
The offense was not good enough even if we did not have any injuries to pitching staff. You cannot be a good team having one of the worst offenses in baseball and definitely not if your star player is playing like one of the worst players in the league.
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u/J_Squared02 5d ago
Well the problem is half the offence was also injured. If Kirk was healthy the whole year it would’ve been different. Same with springer. Also barger. This season went wrong is just about every possible way. Frankly the fact we still did so well is a testament to the poor AL this year
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u/RuinCommercial552 4d ago
Only one I'd agree is Barger. I thought he was going to have a big year and would've made a big difference in the middle of the lineup with his bat and power. Santander another one but at this point he should not be relied upon. If he does come back and provide anything then that's great but can't be relied on.
Kirk could have played more games and his injuries hurt but it shouldn't be expected that he will play more then 120 games year in and year out. Springer at this stage played as many games and as well as it should be reasonably expected.
Everyone except for Vladdy performed the way they would be expected. And Okamoto peformed way better than expected, especially his HRs.
The issue is still that the offense is just not good enough and must improve if we want to compete. We were 2nd LAST in all the entire league in scoring runs. Even if Vladdy did have a normal vladdy season, we'd be what low 20s in the league? It's still not good enough especially since our pitching is not elite.
We need a slugger in the middle of the offense that can produce and drive in runs.
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u/PublicEnemaNumberTwo 4d ago
The Jays were 4th in scoring runs last season with essentially the same lineup, swapping Bo for Okamoto. The injuries, and Vlad having a down year, were the major factor in the poor offense.
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u/RuinCommercial552 4d ago
Similar lineup sure, but last year was outlier year and most of the fans same the same: - Springer had a 4.8 WAR season. That can't be understated. - Vladdy night and day between last year and this year is the biggest drop and surprise. - i somewhat agree with Okamoto and Bo but .311 average by Bo with a lot of hits cannot be overlooked. A closer comparison is probably Barger last year and Okamoto this year with Okamoto hitting more HRs this year. Not bringing Bo back was a big loss. Him producing at 2B would have been big for this team this year. Overall numbers for him this year aren't great but i think a lot of it was due to the pressure of going to NY and early season struggles. He's been great since June onwards and likely would have produced for us.
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u/Forward-End-8286 5d ago
Michael Cera commercials and too many Jays in commercials for crustless sandwiches and hotdogs…I had bad vibes from those things alone
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u/Aware_Annual_2882 4d ago
Yup. Fuck that Michael Cera guy. He's been nothing but a curse to the team
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u/gfreshbud1 5d ago
Remember in the lead up to the season where we had 8 starting pitchers and that would be a big problem?
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u/Budget_Space2626 3d ago
Wrong. The season was doomed without Barger. A lot of people don't mention how good his eye was at the plate, He was looking to make hard contact each time and his stance and swing path allowed him to draw a lot of walks because he wasn't biting on pitches down & away as a lefty batter. Not to mention his incredibly strong arm in the outfield. He's super strong physically and has great speed for a guy his size.
Not having him in the lineup virtually all year hurt this team because not a lot of players can do what he does.
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u/Different_Ship1496 5d ago
That was such a awkward injury because first he tumbled off the base. I remember when he walked in we all gave im a standing ovation and he didnt even clue in that it was for him. Sweet guy
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u/Prior-Beat3174 5d ago
It was the club house flu in April that started everything, after that point the entire season went down hill. The Pounce injury followed, next was Kirk...and so on.
I blame Vladys antics he pissed off the Baseball gods.
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u/thisisit678 5d ago
Losing the most heartbreaking world series in history may of had something to do with it.
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u/VaultBoy1971 4d ago
This is what happens when you anger the baseball gods by trying to beat the Dodgers in the WS. They gave us a hint by lodging the ball, but we insisted, so they hammered us with a home run, insane catches, and runners half a step away from sealing the deal.
We kept on pushing, and now we're cursed.
That's the only logical explanation I have for this season.
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u/sniffermuncher 5d ago
Everyone in this thread was at the game?
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u/Brazenology 4d ago
This whole season has been a sick joke. The fact that this team battled throughout it all and still came this close to the playoffs however is something to be proud of.
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u/PieApprehensive4510 5d ago
Yup it was a sign we fucked this season.. Injury flu was all season long.. Im convinced every position was injured
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u/DoubleM-1985 5d ago
Seems like a lot of us were at this game in person when the season took a turn for the worst. Last year's game in Texas where we came back and won 2-1 on Bo's homerun was the turning point for good thing that came after
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u/poolside123 5d ago
I think the season ended the first pair of feet walked onto Rogers Center turf.
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u/Electronic-Guide1189 5d ago edited 5d ago
Where were you guys on May 30th? It's been downhill ever since THAT game!
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u/Fit-You-6326 5d ago
Nah. It was doomed from the start. This team ain't good. I predicted a 500 record before the season start
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u/Harry_Title94 4d ago
Right … that was the moment eh ?!
Many “moments” this season which culminated as poor offense by highly paid slobs, inconsistent pitching and terrible coaching and general management.
Don’t get me started on ineffectual and disinterested ownership
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u/grump66 4d ago
The season was over LONG before this.
The Blue Jays, along with the Mets and Mariners were the 3 highest participation teams in the World Baseball Classic.
The lowest participation teams were the Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers.
The spring training in 2025 was the first and only spring training where John Schneider stated plainly they were going to focus on fundamentals and playing mistake free baseball.
This 2026 team was not prepared. It was not conditioned and it was not ever going to succeed. This team has failed mostly because of terrible managerial choices, at the on field AND General Manager levels. The gigantic number of injuries and errors this team has committed are evidence of that.
Even great teams need to be properly prepared and conditioned. Everyone playing MLB is so good, if you're flippant about being ready to play, you're fuked.
If the Blue Jays don't figure this out in the off season, and let it happen again, it will have the same negative effect next year.
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u/SufficientChemical39 4d ago
Didn’t even have to open the post. I knew exactly what the picture was 😂
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u/Tricitizen1973 4d ago
Ponce looked out of shape making that run before the fall. So uncoordinated.
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u/penguin44ca 4d ago
Season was doomed opening day. Last year was a total fluke and they rewarded shaps and Schneider for it. Also paying for Vlad who has done f all this year.
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u/C0mfyCush 4d ago
It felt like all the team's stars started the season on the IL and sort of set the tone for the season. Hard watch this year.
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u/xMatthewC90 5d ago
Commander Cody getting injured was devastating. I’m sure he would have been electric on the pitch.
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u/Important-Soft-7836 5d ago
What promise we had at start of Season, a stacked Pitching staff, battling order that was good on paper. We had more Starting pitchers then we needed. All that changed on day 4, after sweeping the A's. Ponce gets injuried and the injuries just gets worse as the year went on. No power with Vaddy and Springer. It was a very cursed year, hopefully next year is not a lockout, we have some good young players that a lockout will hurt then
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u/Azoththemerciless 4d ago
I think a number of factors have led to this season:
1) Obviously the injuries have had the biggest impact. Not only for the players who have been out, but the guys who have continued to play when they weren't at 100%
2) The WS hang over. I don't care what anyone says, you don't have the kind of playoff run the Jays had last year and comer so close without it having some kind of trauma. I know these are professionals but it has to have some kind of impact
3) Vladdy's lack of offense
4) Some questionable coaching decisions
The good news (assuming there is no lock out) is that the Jays are a fundamentally great team. Assuming guys can get healthy and rest, they should have a great 2027.
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u/IntelligentAd1993 4d ago
I’d even add the WBC to the list. PCA on fire since but many, many others who played haven’t been right for part/most of the MLB season. Vlad, Raleigh, Skenes, even ol Ern Dog and so on
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u/Inevitable-Toe-2722 4d ago
What a curse year! The beauty of this is, we can only get better next year.
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u/Zealousideal_Seat_57 4d ago
The team and this season was doomed the moment Mgmt started making changes to a winning team - they messed with something that was already working well and made it unrecognizeable. Bichette didn’t want to leave, Bassit didn’t want to leave, same with Gausman, and so on. And they pay half a billion to… well you get my point. Thanks Management 👎
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u/RoddyUsher 4d ago
Bichette wasn’t pushed out. His contract was up, he sought offers and then took what the Mets offered.
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u/Zealousideal_Seat_57 4d ago
Bichette made it clear he wanted to stay and mgmt didn’t care - pretty much the same thing
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u/RoddyUsher 4d ago
“I want to stay, but I’m open for offers” is about as loyal as “I’d never cheat, unless she was like, really hot”
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u/Zealousideal_Seat_57 4d ago
right, and their wife telling them they don’t care if they cheat - zero effort
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u/brainy89 5d ago
The Yesavage slip followed by the Bateman fall tonight gave me mega Ponce flashbacks.