Toronto Blue Jays wild card banner at Rogers Centre called out as 'shameless'
If you head down to the Rogers Centre this season to take in a Toronto Blue Jays game, you'll likely take a peek at the banners located in the outfield.
There's one recognizing Roy Halladay's Hall of Fame Induction, one for former team executive Pat Gillick, and a pair of banners each representing the 1992 and 1993 World Series wins.
There are four banners for American League East wins in 1985, 1989, 1991, and 2015… and then there are two other banners that have been getting quite a bit of recognition this week with fans getting back to the new-look ballpark.
That Wild Card Series pennant is new, right? pic.twitter.com/A92cXFZC8Q
— Minor Leaguer (@Minor_Leaguer) April 10, 2024
The Blue Jays also have a banner recognizing winning the 2016 American League wild-card game against the Baltimore Orioles, which included an epic extra innings walk-off homer from Edwin Encarnacion, and then another new banner recognizing Toronto's three appearances in the wild-card round in 2020, 2022, and 2023.
As Jays fans know, the wild-card rounds haven't exactly been kind to Toronto over the last few years. Toronto hasn't won a playoff game since the 2016 ALCS (where they lost 4-1 to Cleveland), and have been swept out of each of the last three wild-card rounds they appeared in.
The past two series losses have been particularly painful for Toronto, highlighted by blowing an 8-1 lead to Seattle in Game 2 of the 2022 Wild Card Series, while they scored just one run in two games against Minnesota in 2023.
Social media reaction to the banners, was, well, not all that positive.
I first thought this was a joke but the blue jays have put up potentially the most shameless banner in all of sports. pic.twitter.com/i96Mnf5a6H
— Samsonov enjoyer (@Kikuchi2Biggio) April 9, 2024
While the team originally hung a 2020 wild-card banner, it appears they never hung one for 2022 before it was replaced by the three-in-one banner.
Love putting up banners to commemorate all the times I got swept in a wildcard series pic.twitter.com/SWwfPXkhyt
— Charlie O'Connor-Clarke (@charliejclarke) April 8, 2024
However, the practice isn't all that unusual around the major leagues, with other teams such as the Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Philadelphia Phillies, and Arizona Diamondbacks all having recognized wild-card berths in their respective stadiums.
Still, it does seem a little odd to be celebrating a series that pretty much every Jays fan would rather forget.
The Blue Jays declined a request for comment for this story.
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