(Toronto) Mark Shapiro, president and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays, has signed a five-year contract renewal, Rogers Communications announced Friday.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

This extension follows the Blue Jays’ first World Series appearance since 1993.

The Blue Jays defeated the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series and the Seattle Mariners in the American League Championship Series before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

Shapiro, 58, was named president and CEO of the Blue Jays after the 2015 season, succeeding Paul Beeston, who was retiring.

Shapiro spent 24 seasons with the Cleveland Guardians, including the last five as team president.

Ross Atkins, who worked with Shapiro in Cleveland, was hired as the Blue Jays’ general manager in December 2015. Atkins signed a contract through the 2026 season.

“The opportunity to lead the Blue Jays organization for the past ten years has been incredibly rewarding,” Shapiro said in a statement.

“Together, we have built an organization of people who care deeply about baseball and are incredibly proud to be part of Team Canada. I am grateful and honored to be able to continue this work.”

Shapiro and Atkins led the Blue Jays to an American League Championship Series appearance in 2016. Toronto struggled the following year and hit rock bottom in 2018 and 2019 as the team began to rebuild around young players like Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The process began to pay dividends during the 2020 season, which was shortened due to the pandemic. The Blue Jays returned to the postseason that year, but were defeated in the first round.

Shapiro signed a five-year contract extension in January 2021. The Blue Jays narrowly missed the playoffs that year and were eliminated in the first round in 2022, and again in 2023.

The Blue Jays finished last in the East Division standings in 2024 before rebounding with a 94-win campaign in 2025. Toronto won the East Division title and enjoyed home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

“Mark’s exceptional leadership has been a driving force behind the Blue Jays’ success, and we are excited for him to continue to lead our team and build on his incredible momentum,” said Edward Rogers, president of the Toronto Blue Jays and executive chairman of Rogers Communications.

“As the proud owners of Team Canada, we are excited to work with Mark and his team to provide them with the tools and resources needed to bring World Series championships back to Canada. »

This extension comes during a very active off-season for the Blue Jays, who this week signed right-handed pitcher Cody Ponce to a three-year, $30 million contract. They also signed ace pitcher Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $200 million contract.

Off the field, Shapiro helped lead the Rogers Center renovation, a $300 million, multi-year project. Changes to the stadium include raising the pitchers’ bullpens, upgrading the seating, a new outfield wall and more bars and restaurants.

He also oversaw a major renovation of the Blue Jays’ spring training facility in Dunedin, Florida. This center is now considered one of the best in the Major Leagues.

The Guardians (then called the Indians) reached the playoffs eight times during Shapiro’s reign, including two World Series appearances.

Following the 2005 and 2007 seasons, Shapiro was named Sporting News General Manager of the Year.

Shapiro began his career in Cleveland in 1992 as a baseball operations assistant. Originally from Baltimore, he graduated in history from Princeton University in 1989.

(Toronto) The Toronto Blue Jays have signed right-handed pitcher Cody Ponce to a three-year contract.

The Ontario team specified that the pact is worth a total of 30 million US dollars.

The 31-year-old pitcher went 17-1 last season with the Hanwha Eagles of the South Korean KBO League.

Ponce, who won the KBO MVP, posted a 1.89 ERA with 252 strikeouts.

Ponce played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2020 and 2021.

He went 1-7 with a 5.86 ERA in two seasons with the Pirates before spending the next three years in Japan.

This year, again, the doors of the Baseball Hall of Fame closed in front of Jacques Doucet.

The legendary Expos radio announcer once again saw the Ford C. Frick award slip away from him on Wednesday.

Instead, it’s Joe Buck, chief baseball game describer on the Fox Sports Network, who is the 2026 winner. The award, presented by the Cooperstown institution since 1978, is given to a commentator to highlight their “excellence in baseball broadcasting.”

Doucet was nominated for this honor for the tenth time. Accompanied by The Press Shortly after the winner was revealed, his daughter Martine confided that although the family was obviously disappointed, the main interested party received the news with “a lot of philosophy”.

“He told me, ‘I’m not waiting for this anymore,’” she says. I think it’s us, the family and the fans, who are the most disappointed. »

“This in no way harms his work, his talent and the love that Quebec has for him,” adds Martine Doucet. And this is already a great success. »

From writing to the microphone

After beginning his media career at La Presse Canadienne in 1959, Doucet joined The Press in 1962, where he wrote for the Sports section for a decade. In this role, he became the first journalist assigned to cover the Expos when Montreal awarded the club major baseball in 1968.

He stayed behind the microphone during the second half of the 1969 season, working as a game analyst once a week on CKLM. He then moved to CKAC in 1972 as a describer.

Until 1983, he worked alongside former pitcher Claude Raymond. Then, in 1986, he formed a duo that became iconic with Rodger Brulotte.

On the phone, Claude Raymond describes his former teammate as someone “very conscientious” and who was “very rigorous” in his pre-game preparation.

“When we went to foreign cities, we tried to hear what the commentators there were saying,” he says. We learn our craft together on the job. »

“If we don’t agree on something, later, over a good whiskey…”, he says, laughing, without finishing the sentence.

French language pioneer

Over the years, Doucet has been noted for his efforts to Frenchize baseball terminology. And it is this contribution that, for many, constitutes the essence of his legacy to sport and explains why he left such an impact on Quebec.

“He remade the vocabulary of sports. His voice resonated from east to west and from south to north. I don’t know if anyone has ever had so many evaluations in baseball”, highlights Alain Usereau, baseball match describer at RDS.

Ironically, in the opinion of all stakeholders interviewed by The PressIt is largely because Doucet worked in a French-speaking market – and has been without a team for more than 20 years – that he continues to be overlooked in the Ford C. Frick Award.

“In addition to the high quality of candidates this year, there is, on the part of voters, a lack of understanding of the impact Jacques had on Quebec,” laments Usereau.

“Jacques was part of Quebecers’ daily lives. […] His voice was synonymous with baseball. It is inseparable from the character”, he argues, adding that all Francophone describers today are “spiritual children” of Jacques Doucet.

Sooner or later

Doucet provided the radio description of Expos games until his departure in 2004. He was the voice of the team for 33 of its 36 seasons of existence.

In 2006, Doucet returned to duty when he was called to describe the Quebec Capitales matches in the Can-Am League, which he did until 2011. He then went on television, on RDS and then on TVA Sports, where he met his accomplice Rodger Brulotte for the Toronto Blue Jays matches. He will hold this position until his retirement in 2022.

In total, Doucet described more than 5,500 baseball games. His work allowed him to be inducted into the Quebec and Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Now 85, Doucet suffers from cognitive problems that affect his memory. The daughter, however, guarantees that her health is good, given the circumstances.

It won’t be 2026, but those close to him continue to hope that one day he will get the call from Cooperstown. While there’s still time.

“We’re still waiting for him to be inaugurated. It’s a shame, because the longer we wait, the more likely it is that it will be posthumous,” says Martine Doucet.