The Toronto Blue Jays will be competing in the playoffs for the first time since 1993 when they defeated the Philadelphia Phillies to win the World Series in historic fashion. The probable AL East champions are destined to make a deep playoff run, if not make it back to the World Series. A bulk of the credit has to go to GM Alex Anthopoulos, who made some blockbuster trades at the deadline.
Before July 30, Toronto was seven games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East and two games behind the Minnesota Twins for the second Wild Card spot. Since the additions of David Price, LaTroy Hawkins, Troy Tulowitzki and Ben Revere the Blue Jays have been unstoppable posting a 45–19 record, and have outscored opponents by 140 runs.
However the Blue Jays faithful saw their historic season take a turn for the worse on September 12 when Tulowitzki went down after colliding with center fielder Kevin Pillar. The diagnosis was a cracked shoulder blade and bruised back muscles — two very crucial body parts for a baseball player. In just 39 games played with the Jays, Tulo posted 17 RBI and a .682 OPS.
As of late, the five-time All Star has been easing back into the swing of things by predominantly focusing on his defensive skills, but on Monday he started hitting for the first time.
“I think I am getting close,” he said, via the star.com. “I have been cautious because I hadn’t took those swings yet, but that was the last step and taking BP and coming out of it fine tells me that I’m definitely getting real close.”
Tulowitzki didn’t just take some light swings off a tee, he really pushed himself Monday afternoon by taking a good amount of live cuts.
Troy Tulowitzki took 30-40 swings, most indoor after rain interrupted BP, felt good, hopes to play soon, expects to be ready for post-season
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) September 28, 2015
The Blue Jays have been holding their own since Sept. 12, compiling a run differential of +222, which is the best in baseball (the St. Louis Cardinals are second at +127). With a star-studded lineup and an absolutely dominating starting pitching staff, the Blue Jays are the favorite to win the World Series with just seven regular season games remaining.
Could Tulowitzki be the 2015 version of Joe Carter for the Blue Jays? Only time will tell, but his return will certainly give Toronto more momentum heading into the playoffs.