Despite a late night on Monday, Blue Jays fans in Newfoundland and Labrador were filled with excitement.
The dramatic Game 7 of the American League Championship Series saw the Toronto Blue Jays sweep the Seattle Mariners off their feet in a late comeback.
The win sent the Jays to the World Series for the first time since 1993. That’s when Premier Sports Academy owner Ryan Sweeney says he first started playing the sport.
“Those are actually some of my first memories,” said Sweeney. “I do remember my family watching the games and I was having to go to bed … and I remember the excitement and the buzz and the noise in the house.”
Sweeney said he’s played baseball his whole life, and he opened the academy in Paradise, N.L, “to provide an opportunity that [he] didn’t have as a youth.”
Now with Canada’s only Major League Baseball team making it to the World Series, Sweeney anticipates more kids will be taking up interest in the sport.
“This is what drives the growth of baseball in this country,” said Sweeney. “There are parents who are going to register their kids for baseball next year for the first time they’ve ever played it … and in 10 or 15 years, you might hear their name called in the [Major League Baseball] draft.”
WATCH | These Jays fans are hyped for Game 1 of the World Series:
These Jays fans in N.L. are hyped for Game 1 of the World Series
Blue Jays fans are gearing up for an exciting game Friday night when the club takes on the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series. The CBC’s Abby Cole went to a baseball practice in Paradise to talk to fans of all ages about the hype.
Baseball coach Keith Ball said the 1993 win was also a significant early memory for him.
Over 30 years later, he says it’s good to see Canada’s only team back in the World Series.
“It just brings the country together,” he said.
Young players inspired
Brody Moore is a player with the Paradise Phantoms. He said he’s a major Blue Jays fan – and he’s thrilled about them making it to the World Series.
Player for the Paradise Phantoms, Brody Moore, and player for the St. John’s Capitals, Kinsley Haynes, say they are inspired by the Blue Jays’ success, and hope to one day make it to the big leagues. (John Pike/CBC)
“Nobody expected them to do this after losing 70-odd games last season. It’s unbelievable that we have a chance to go to the World Series against the Dodgers,” he said.
Moore said he’s been a fan of baseball his whole life. He just recently started playing, but he said watching the Jays has inspired him to try to play for that team one day.
“It’s a very low possibility — we’re an island in the middle of nowhere — but, you know, you always have your hope,” he said.
And player for the St. John’s Capitals, Kinsley Haynes, said watching Monday’s game was one of her happiest moments of the year.
“George Springer’s home run — it was so clutch. It was exactly what the Jays needed to get to the World Series,” she said.
Haynes said watching the Jays has been inspiring, and she hopes to one day join the newly-formed Women’s Professional Baseball League.
“I hope to go far one day,” she said.
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