The Blue Jays may have finished their season on a high note, with heartwarming emotional displays from George Springer and Max Scherzer, but the story of 2026 was frustration and disappointment more than anything else.
uncertain
story → finish → anything
I have been canvassing the Jays clubhouse at season’s end for the past quarter-century or so, talking to everyone in uniform and several members of the support staff to see who they recognize as the team MVP, the pitcher and the rookie of the year and the most pleasant surprise, which has evolved into the Jays’ unsung hero.
asserted
which → canvass → hero
There was near-complete participation in the anonymous poll, with one player declining.
asserted
player → be → poll
Most people were thoughtful about who they chose, with Scherzer pulling out his phone and going to Fangraphs to compare the season stats of the two players he was considering for MVP.
asserted
he → choose → MVP
Players were allowed to vote for themselves, though no one did, and were also allowed to split their votes.
asserted
one → allow → votes
Interviews with all the winners will air on “Deep Left Field,” the Star’s baseball podcast, throughout October.
asserted
Interviews → air → October
(Votes: Cease, 24; Kazuma Okamoto, 13; Louis Varland, 13; Alejandro Kirk, 6; Nathan Lukes, 1; Spencer Miles, 1)
Top pitcher: Cease
(Votes: Cease, 36; Varland, 20; Miles, 2)
The Jays finished last in the majors in runs scored so it should be no surprise that a pitcher was the pick for MVP.
asserted
pitcher → finish → MVP
In the first season of a seven-year, $210-million (U.S.) contract, Cease established himself as the team’s clear ace.
asserted
Cease → establish → ace
The right-hander posted a 2.40 ERA over 29 starts, striking out a career-high 239, the fourth-highest total in Jays history.
asserted
hander → post → history
He led the American League in strikeouts per nine innings and fewest hits and home runs per nine innings.
asserted
He → lead → innings
Cease made his first all-star appearance, getting the start and striking out the side around a two-out walk.
asserted
Cease → make → walk
He was a slam-dunk for pitcher of the year, notching almost twice as many votes as Varland, who was near-perfect after taking the closer’s role from Jeff Hoffman, but the case for MVP was tougher.
asserted
case → notch → MVP
Several respondents agonized over whether to choose a pitcher over a position player for MVP and many went back and forth between Cease and Varland, though Varland asserted that anyone who gave him an MVP vote was “delusional.”
asserted
who → agonize → vote
One voter even said “we didn’t have an MVP this year” before ultimately deciding to cast a vote (for Okamoto).
“There were a lot of really good performances,” said Cease, who took a no-hitter into the ninth inning in San Francisco on July and tossed a complete-game, one-hit shutout at Fenway Park two starts later.
asserted
who → say → Park
“I think, just in the way that I’m wired, I look at it in the areas that I’m a little more disappointed in, and obviously finishing not the strongest is disappointing.
asserted
finishing → think → that
With his shoulder barking, Cease posted a 4.26 ERA over his last three starts, walking 13 in 12 2/3 innings.
asserted
Cease → bark → innings
The 30-year-old, who had his first two career stints on the injured list this year, is hoping for a better future than the last Blue Jay recognized as the MVP and the pitcher of the year in the same season, Alek Manoah, who did it in 2022.
asserted
who → have → 2022
(Votes: Okamoto, 36; Miles, 20; Brandon Valenzuela, 2)
Many voters had to be reminded that Okamoto, 30, was a rookie, given his long career in Japan’s top professional league.
asserted
Okamoto → have → league
On a team virtually bereft of power, Okamoto blasted 33 home runs, more than twice as many as the next-best hitter (Springer) and he was the only Jay with at least 60 RBIs, driving in 92.
asserted
he → blast → 92
“I definitely feel honoured and happy that my teammates recognized me,” Okamoto said, through translator Yusuke Oshima.
asserted
Okamoto → feel → Oshima
“If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did, for sure.
asserted
I → do → what
They welcomed me with open arms.
asserted
They → welcome → arms
(Votes: Miles, 19; Lukes, 9 1/2; Brett Bateman, 6; Mason Fluharty, 5; Kirk, 4; Andrés Giménez, 3; Tyler Rogers, 3; Okamoto, 2; Valenzuela, 2; Myles Straw, 1 1/2; Braydon Fisher 1; John Schneider, 1; Springer, 1)
Miles accomplished a great many unexpected things in his rookie season.
asserted
Miles → accomplish → season
The Rule 5 pick, who had thrown just 23 1/3 innings as a pro since being drafted in 2022, played every role on the Jays’ pitching staff: starter, long reliever, late-inning leverage pitcher and even closer.
asserted
who → throw → staff
He posted a sensational 2.63 ERA and 1.1 WHIP over 95 2/3 innings, picking up six wins and two saves.
asserted
He → post → wins
The 26-year-old also became the first player in memory to receive at least one vote in all four award categories.
asserted
old → become → categories
“It’s awesome,” Miles said of that achievement.
asserted
Miles → ’ → achievement
“I think it shows that they value what happened this year and they’re in my corner and they root me on just as I root them on. ”
asserted
I → think → them
The Aporia
