Former Toronto Blue Jays player Russell Martin waves to the crowd during a retirement tribute ceremony against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Center.
(Toronto) Russell Martin’s favorite Rogers Center memory is the same as many Blue Jays fans: Jose Bautista’s famous ‘bat flip’ in the first round of the 2015 playoff.
“Just the electricity from the crowd, you could feel the ground shaking and the energy was incredible,” Martin said. It really is a moment that stands out more than any other. »
Martin added another memorable moment on Friday, doing the commemorative field in Toronto on Canada Day, with the Rays as visitors.
Retired since May 28, he was able to thank and say goodbye to Jays fans.
Martin expected “some cheers and some laughter” from the packed house when the bid came in. Instead, he received a warm standing ovation and a video tribute, where the narrator was Bautista. The latter concluded the video with a “Congratulations” in French.
Popular former manager John Gibbons gave a video testimonial, as did several of Martin’s former teammates.
We saw the very emotional former receiver on the floor with his wife Elisabeth and their two daughters, Emmy and Eva.
During the game, Vladimir Guerrero made three runs and the Blue Jays defeated Tampa Bay 9-2.
Guerrero hit a two-run double that went 4-1 in the third inning. He also pushed a runner home with an optional.
George Springer and Bo Bichette each led in two runs, while Lourdes Gurriel hit a fifth homer.
Jose Berrios (6-4) allowed two runs and eight hits in five innings. He was 0-2 in his three previous matches.
Corey Kluber (3-5) had five runs and seven hits in three innings.
Martin made the honorary bid for Gabriel Moreno of the Blue Jays, who wears the number 55 in honor of Martin.
Mustafa Hassan, the Jays’ locker room manager, told Martin last season that Moreno would port his number, putting the two in contact by phone.
“It’s fabulous,” Martin said. He called me and I just told him there were too many hits left with that number. I wish you the best. »
Born in Toronto but raised in Montreal, Martin hit .225 with the Blue Jays. In four seasons with them, he had 66 homers and 211 RBIs, appearing once in the All-Star Game.
Martin said playing in Toronto on Canada Day has a special flavor.
“You feel the energy of the crowd,” Martin said. It’s very special with all the red shirts. The crowd makes you feel like you’re in the playoffs, even though it’s a regular season. »
Martin began his career with the Dodgers before moving to the Yankees and Pirates, before playing for the Jays. He then played one last with Los Angeles.
A member of four all-star teams, he finished his career averaging .248, hitting 191 home runs and 771 RBIs.
At the end of the game, a very audible portion of the 49,445 fans sang O Canada. The spontaneous gesture touched Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo.
“It’s one of those things that reminds you how good it is to play for an entire country,” said Montoyo.
The Blue Jays were home on Canada Day for the first time since 2019. They spent most of 2020 and 2021 in Dunedin or Buffalo due to the pandemic.
“We really miss this place,” said Cavan Biggio, who scored four times and scored two points.
There will be a double round on Saturday (12:07 and 18:07).
Featured in connection with the first game, a bobblehead of Guerrero and his father will be given to the first 15,000 fans.
Hi, my name is Jayden James. I am a writer at Sportish, and I mostly cover sports news. I have been writing since high school and have been published in various magazines and newspapers. I also write book reviews for a website. In my free time, I enjoy playing soccer and basketball.
(New York) Utility player Amed Rosario signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the New York Yankees on Tuesday.
Rosario was acquired by the Yankees from the Washington Nationals on July 26 for right-handed pitcher Clayton Beeter and minor league outfielder Browm Martinez.
Rosario had a .303 batting average with one home run and five RBIs in 16 games with New York. He became a free agent after the most recent World Series.
Rosário played shortstop, second base, third base and right fielder last campaign. Manager Aaron Boone could move him to third base along with Ryan McMahon, acquired from the Colorado Rockies on July 25.
Rosario, which celebrated its 30thand birthday in November, is a nine-year veteran of Major League Baseball. He owns a .273 batting average with 69 home runs and 389 RBIs with the New York Mets (2017-2020), Cleveland Guardians (2021-2023), Los Angeles Dodgers (2023-2024), Tampa Bay Rays (2024), Cincinnati Reds (2024), Nationals (2025) and Yankees.
Yankees starting shortstop Anthony Volpe will begin the season on the injured list as he recovers from arthroscopic left shoulder surgery on Oct. 14. José Caballero, who arrived from the Rays on July 31, is expected to play regularly at shortstop until Volpe returns, probably not before May.
Ralph Bean is a writer for Sportish. Ralph has written about sports news for the last two years, and is currently an author on the site. He enjoys writing about sports, and hopes to cover more stories in the future.
(New York) Utility player Amed Rosario signed a one-year contract worth US$2.5 million (C$3.4 million) with the New York Yankees on Tuesday.
Rosario was acquired by the Yankees from the Washington Nationals on July 26 for right-handed pitcher Clayton Beeter and minor league outfielder Browm Martinez.
Rosario had a .303 batting average with one home run and five RBIs in 16 games with New York. He became a free agent after the most recent World Series.
Rosário played shortstop, second base, third base and right fielder last campaign. Manager Aaron Boone could move him to third base along with Ryan McMahon, acquired from the Colorado Rockies on July 25.
Rosario, which celebrated its 30thand birthday in November, is a nine-year veteran of Major League Baseball. He owns a .273 batting average with 69 home runs and 389 RBIs with the New York Mets (2017-2020), Cleveland Guardians (2021-2023), Los Angeles Dodgers (2023-2024), Tampa Bay Rays (2024), Cincinnati Reds (2024), Nationals (2025) and Yankees.
Yankees starting shortstop Anthony Volpe will begin the season on the injured list as he recovers from arthroscopic left shoulder surgery on Oct. 14. José Caballero, who arrived from the Rays on July 31, is expected to play regularly at shortstop until Volpe returns, probably not before May.
Ralph Bean is a writer for Sportish. Ralph has written about sports news for the last two years, and is currently an author on the site. He enjoys writing about sports, and hopes to cover more stories in the future.
(Montreal) After a 32-year drought, the Toronto Blue Jays found themselves in the World Series and it’s safe to say that they thrilled baseball fans across the country, and even more: the Queen City team became, during the two weeks of the Major Baseball final series, a topic of discussion beyond the scope of the sport.
Here’s a look at last season in MLB.
Jays just short
On April 29, the Blue Jays had just suffered a 10-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox, their eighth loss in nine games, falling to 13-16, in fourth place in the American League East. Coach John Schneider’s name was one of the favorites among those who were likely to lose their jobs at the various sports betting sites. The same Schneider, with practically the same cast, changed the game.
The Jays won 81 of their next 133 games to finish the season at an American-best 94-68, atop the East, defeating the New York Yankees in a tiebreaker.
Led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – imperial in the playoffs, with offensive averages of .397/.494/.795, five doubles, eight home runs, 15 RBIs and 20 walks, including six intentional ones, after signing a 14-season contract worth US$500 million – the Jays eliminated the Yankees in the division series and the Seattle Mariners in the championship series, where Vlad was also named the player par excellence.
PHOTO JON BLACKER, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
But in the World Series, against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team fell short. Up 3-2 in the series and with the final two games played in Toronto, the Jays were unable to take the Commissioner’s Trophy north of the border.
It remains to be seen whether the team can have the same success in 2026, especially since, at the time of this writing, Bo Bichette and veteran Max Scherzer are free agents. The team, however, secured the services of starter Dylan Cease for the next seven years for 210 million and right-hander Cody Ponce, MVP of the Korean Baseball Organization, South Korea’s top league, for three years.
Title defense
The Dodgers successfully defended their title as World Series champions, becoming the first team since the Yankees dynasty at the end of the last century to achieve the feat.
If we expected Shohei Ohtani – far from disappointing with three home runs and five RBIs – it was another Japanese who stole the show, Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
PHOTO FRANK GUNN, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
The Los Angeles Dodgers were crowned World Series champions for the second consecutive season.
The right-hander mystified the Jays’ attack by recording three wins in two games in this World Series. He first pitched his second consecutive complete game in the playoffs before pitching six innings in Game No.the 6 and two and two thirds innings in relief in game nthe 7 to get victory.
Yamamoto was deservedly named World Series MVP, becoming only the second Japanese man to win the title, after Hideki Matsui of the Yankees in 2009.
However, the Jays led 4-2 with five outs left in this final meeting. Solo homers by Max Muncy, in the eighth, against young sensation Trey Yesavage, and by Miguel Rojas, after a strikeout in the ninth, against Jeff Hoffman, however, forced overtime.
At 11andWill Smith even gave the Rogers Center a cold shower, pushing the offer of Shane Bieber, a beautiful acquisition at the trade deadline, just to the left of the field to give the Californians the victory.
Ohtani and Judge
For the second year in a row, Ohtani and Aaron Judge were named the National and All-American MVPs – a third consecutive title for Ohtani and a third in four seasons for Judge.
PHOTO BRYNN ANDERSON, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Shohei Ohtani
Both players put up statistics that left no doubt about their selection, although the race in the American was tighter with the 60 home runs of Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh.
Ohtani maintained .282/.392/.622 averages with 55 home runs (second-highest total in the Nationals) and 102 RBIs. Judge, in turn, had the best slashline in the Majors at .331/.457/.688. His adjusted attendance/power average (OPS+) of 215 was the fourth-best in major league history for a right-handed hitter, after hitting his best (225) last season.
In Ohtani’s case, it’s his fourth MVP award: two with the Dodgers, two with the Los Angeles Angels. All four were obtained unanimously.
Mixed season for Quebecers
The last campaign was not easy for the Quebecers in Major Baseball, where only Otto Lopez, from the Miami Marlins, still holds a regular position.
And Lopez doesn’t appear to be about to lose his job after a breakout sophomore campaign with the Marlins. Used mainly as a shortstop in the 143 games he played, he maintained averages of .246/.305/.368. He also set personal bests in hits (134), home runs (15), RBIs (77) and runs scored (66) while maintaining a .977 save percentage.
On the other hand, both Édouard Julien, from Minnesota, and Abraham Toro, from Boston, failed to establish themselves definitively in the big leagues this season.
Julien was used in just 64 games for the Twins, and even though he has increased his averages (.220/.309/.324) from last year, it is questionable whether that will be enough for him to maintain his place on the 40-man Massachusetts team at the start of training camp.
Toro had a great training camp and when the Red Sox struggled with injuries, he was one of the first called up in early May. After a promising start, his production dropped and he ended his MLB stint in August with .239/.289/.371 averages in 77 games.
Women’s time!
Baseball followed in the footsteps of other major sports with the creation of the first professional women’s league, the Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL), where Quebecers are already in the spotlight.
The first four teams on the new circuit – Boston, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco – recently held their first draft session, consisting of six rounds, during which each club drafted five players, totaling 20 per round and 120 overall.
Of that number, five are from Quebec, including the first Quebecer called up, first baseman Andréanne Leblanc, from Mont-Saint-Hilaire, 32 in total, for the San Francisco club. The others are Maïka Dumais (Boston), Ela Day-Bédard (San Francisco), Élodie Ciamarro (New York) and Sarah Beaulieu (New York).
Of the 30 players called up by the four clubs, 15 will get a contract to play in the inaugural season, which will be held over seven weeks, including playoffs, on a neutral field, at Robin-Roberts Stadium, in Springfield, Illinois. The season will begin in August 2026.
Ralph Bean is a writer for Sportish. Ralph has written about sports news for the last two years, and is currently an author on the site. He enjoys writing about sports, and hopes to cover more stories in the future.
