Question Time: How did you become a Blue Jays fan?

There isn’t all that much to talk about today. We’ve had a fair bit on the Okamoto signing, and I’m out of the house for most of today, so let’s ask a question:

How did you become a Blue Jay fan?

I’m always curious about how people come to baseball as their sport to watch, especially in this country, where hockey is more than a sport. And, of course, how did you come upon the Jays as your team after choosing baseball?

My story is, I’ve liked baseball for as long as I can remember. Maybe part of it was the math. I always like numbers. But most of it, I think, was the situation. The anticipation. Runner on first: Will he steal? Will they bunt (please no)? Bases loaded, how are we going to get out of this?

Then there was my Expos. I owe much of my love of the game to Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Tim Raines, Steve Rogers, Al Oliver, and the TV people, Dave Van Horne, Duke Snider, and Ken Singleton. I liked Duke Snider as the analyst. He had an excellent way of explaining the game to those of us just learning. I’m sure if I could go back and listen now, I’d complain about all the wrong information he gave out, but at the time, he seemed great. I didn’t know he was a Hall of Fame center fielder until much later. And Dave Van Horne had a nice way of calling the games. It was easy to become a fan.

The Expos taught me the fun of watching prospects come up to the majors and grow as players. They also taught me how baseball could be the saddest game on earth. Steve Rogers giving up the home run in the top of the 9th, in game 5 of the 1981 National League Championship, was the worst moment of my baseball life.

Then Bill James started writing his Baseball Abstracts, which made me a more devoted baseball fan. It is hard to explain how much of a game-changer Bill James was. Back then, all the stats you got were batting average, home runs, and RBI. For pitchers, it was wins/losses, ERA, and saves. Bill James showed us things that were never considered, even as simple as on-base percentage. The first time I (or anyone) saw batting splits against left-handed and right-handed hitters was in the Bill James Baseball Abstract. It was a big deal, at least to me. I learned so much more about the game. And he made you think you were part of a special club that understood baseball in a way that most people didn’t.

Around the same time, the Blue Jays were finally starting to put together a good, young team. You could watch young players with potential. In the early 80s, they had the best outfield in baseball, with George Bell, Lloyd Moseby, and Jesse Barfield. Tony Fernandez was a young and flashy shortstop. I don’t think I ever liked to watch a pitcher more than Dave Stieb. I was a big fan of Ernie Whitt and Rance Mulliniks.

Watching young players develop has always been my favourite part of following baseball.

I’ve had moments when I was an ‘anyone but the Yankees fan’. And there was an encounter with a Red Sox reporter, which turned me into an ‘anyone but the Red Sox fan.’ I’m happy anytime anyone beats them. And, as much as MLB tried to kill off my love for the Expos, I continued to be a fan until MLB finally killed them.

Through the good and bad, I’ve been a Blue Jays fan, even when I couldn’t understand what Gord Ash/JP Ricciardi was trying to do with the team.

Your turn, tell us how you became a Jays fan.