From Last to First: The One Year That Changed Everything for the Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays didn't get quite the storybook ending to their 2025 Cinderella run. While that is a heartbreaker for the organization, it is hard to forget how far they have come in one single offseason. There will always be plenty of 'what ifs' surrounding this postseason. This loss will be a bitter pill to swallow for probably their lives, but this was a fun team to watch grow from game to game.
If you had told anybody back in May when the team sat under .500 and had just been shut out 13-0 by the Tampa Bay Rays that the Blue Jays would make it to their first World Series in over three decades, they would have laughed in your face. It didn't seem like the ballclub had fully developed to their potential quite yet, but boy did they prove everyone wrong.
2024 vs. 2025
This is nearly the exact same roster as the 2024 AL East last-place team (at least those who swing a bat), but the performance shift is undeniable. The only difference in the hitting lineup from then to now was the No. 9 hitter Andrés Giménez, who joined the ballclub around this time last year.
2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
Record | 74-88 | 94-68 |
Division Ranking | Last | First |
Playoffs | N/A | Lost World Series (4-3) |
Runs Scored | 671 | 798 |
Total Hits | 1306 | 1461 |
Doubles | 280 | 294 |
Triples | 26 | 13 |
Home Runs | 156 | 191 |
RBI | 640 | 771 |
Drawn Walks | 510 | 520 |
Strikeouts | 1233 | 1099 |
Batting Average | .241 | .265 |
On-Base Percentage | .313 | .333 |
Slugging Percentage | .389 | .427 |
OPS | .703 | .761 |
There were some key players who had arguably the best season of their careers, or in George Springer's case, the best since joining the organization. The Jays' offense led this team to their first division title in a decade and then into their first World Series since 1993.
Toronto finally saw Springer do what they signed him to do back in November of 2021, which is lead. The organization sought him out for his success at the plate, especially during the postseason. This was easily his best year since joining the Blue Jays, which is why he is up for a pair of Silver Slugger awards, as he finished with a .560 slugging percentage and a .959 OPS.
Bo Bichette just unleashed one of the coldest bat flips ever 🥶 pic.twitter.com/cF2V2pzdZP
— MLB (@MLB) November 2, 2025
Shortstop Bo Bichette had a breakout season as he was on track to finishing the year with 100 RBI, but missed nearly the last full month of the year. In 2024, he played in less than half of the season as he dealt with a recurring calf strain, but now he is going to be looking at a huge contract in free agency. Everyone hopes that contract will come from the Blue Jays, as his all-around offensive performance helped lead the team to the best record in the AL.
Catcher Alejandro Kirk has spent his entire major league career side by side with Bichette. After failing to break the .700 OPS threshold the past two seasons, he broke free. The 26-year-old finished the year with the most long balls and RBI in his young career.
This Blue Jays' core is strong, and if management can lock down Bichette during free agency, it isn't hard to believe they will be right back in the World Series in 2026.
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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.