{"id":413305,"date":"2026-01-17T17:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T17:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/413305\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T17:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T17:04:09","slug":"blue-jays-coach-sends-crash-alejandro-kirk-message-after-heartbreaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/413305\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Jays Coach Sends \u2018Crash\u2019 Alejandro Kirk Message After Heartbreaker"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Arizona<\/p>\n

TORONTO, ON – JULY 15: Alejandro Kirk #30 of Toronto Blue Jays looks on from the dugout before playing the Arizona Diamondbacks in their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on July 15, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Toronto Blue Jays might have missed out on Kyle Tucker, but they have done a great job of moving on from their loss in the World Series with some significant additions.<\/p>\n

The team has landed frontline starter Dylan Cease, star reliever Tyler Rogers and Japanese slugger Kazuma Okamoto in a free agent spending spree that has already exceeded $300 million. That kind of spending should help fans get over Tucker\u2019s decision to join the Los Angeles Dodgers and their disappointment over losing the Fall Classic in extra innings.<\/p>\n

But even though the future is bright in Toronto, there are some moments from last season that fans, players and coaches won\u2019t ever be able to forget. <\/p>\n

ForbesCubs\u2019 New Star Offers 2-Word Response On Nico Hoerner Trade UpdateBy Peter Chawaga<\/a>Toronto Blue Jays\u2019 Former Bench Coach Don Mattingly Opens Up On \u2018Crash Landing\u2019<\/p>\n

That\u2019s clearly the case for Don Mattingly, a standout New York Yankees infielder who was a bench coach for the Blue Jays last season before joining the Philadelphia Phillies for next season. <\/p>\n

As he discussed his new role with the Phillies, Mattingly spoke about reaching the World Series and coming up short against the Dodgers.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be able to win a few rounds and get to the World Series, incredible feeling, obviously I\u2019ve never experienced that before… exhilarating,\u201d Mattingly told WFIE\u2019s Max Parker<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite Mattingly\u2019s delight at reaching the Fall Classic with the Blue Jays, the coach did highlight that the final heartbreaking moment \u2014 when Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk came up short in the team\u2019s last at bat in extra innings in Game 7 \u2014 still sticks with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour season comes to a crash landing, because even up to the last at-bat, Kirk is up, we\u2019re down a run, one out,\u201d Mattingly recalled. \u201cKirk is going to get this run in. It\u2019s going to happen. Then a pitch later, the season is over.\u201d<\/p>\n

ForbesPhillies\u2019 New Outfielder Sends 6-Word Message After Record ContractBy Peter Chawaga<\/a>Toronto Blue Jays\u2019 Alejandro Kirk Was Heroic, But Came Up Short In World Series Game 7<\/p>\n

Mattingly was likely echoing the heartbreak felt by many Blue Jays\u2019 fans, who had good reason to believe Kirk could still change the outcome even while just one out away from defeat.<\/p>\n

The team repeatedly mounted comebacks throughout its Cinderella postseason run last year and the catcher had already emerged as a playoff star. In Game 1 of the World Series, Kirk hit a home run in the sixth inning that made him the first Mexican-born player to hit a Fall Classic homer in Major League Baseball history. And his slugging heroics just continued from there.<\/p>\n

\u201cKirk then added his two-RBI homer to cap off a nine-run inning that marked one of the highest-scoring frames in World Series history,\u201d Julia Stumbaugh noted for Bleacher Report<\/a>. \u201cThat isn\u2019t the only time Kirk has put a hit over the wall during the 2025 Fall Classic. He also erased an early two-run deficit in Game 3 with a three-run homer in the top of the fourth inning on Oct. 27.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for Mattingly, the Blue Jays and their fans, though, Kirk was unable to go yard or change the outcome in his final chance in the World Series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO, ON – JULY 15: Alejandro Kirk #30 of Toronto Blue Jays looks on from the dugout before…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":413306,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,99,12378,364],"class_list":{"0":"post-413305","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-mlb","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-toronto","11":"tag-toronto-blue-jays"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/413306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}