Blue Jays Slugger Breaks Franchise Record for Leadoff Home Runs
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There is a new man at No.1 when it comes to lead-off home runs for the Toronto Blue Jays in its franchise history — George Springer.
The Blue Jays were in need of a spark to start the second game of their series with the Cincinnati Reds after dropping the opener and Springer started the game by sending a pitch 388 feet off of veteran pitcher Scott Barlow to take a 1-0 lead.
This latest leadoff homer marked the 23rd of his career with Toronto to officially take the top spot for the franchise. Toronto's offense has been led all season by a few different stars like Springer, Bo Bichette, and Vladimir Guererro Jr. The team needs Springer's explosiveness to make a deep run into October especially if they want to win the World Series for the first time since 1993.
Springer's Season
The 35-year-old is on track to have the best season of his career, with only his 2021 season coming close to the offensive production he's put together this campaign. His OPS of .937 is the best of his career and only the second time he's been better than .900. Springer had a slash line of .304/.394/.543 entering the game, which the best batting average and bese on-base percentage of his career.
In his last 15 games before Tuesday's contest he posted a slash line of .386/.462/.789 with almost as many home runs (seven) as strikeouts (nine). Pitchers are throwing around him as he's drawn five walks and stolen four bases in that span.
This season Springer has been one of the best that Toronto has had across the board. He leads the team in homers as well as one of two players with more than 20 home runs. He might "only" be third on the roster in RBI, he has done it in significantly fewer at-bats than both Bichette and Guerrero. Their designated hitter is one of the best that baseball has to offer this year as he continues to make strides in what could be the best season of his career.
Leadoff George Springer Dinger 💪 pic.twitter.com/pZmbxemDzq
— MLB (@MLB) September 2, 2025
The Blue Jays are in a fight to keep the top spot of their division (AL East) from the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees who are refusing to go down. They will need every member down the stretch to perform at their best if they hope to walk away with the title and make a deep run in the postseason.
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Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.