Happy Back2Back Reunion Day!

It was a time that brings great memories flooding back for Blue Jays fans. It was a time that evokes a cavalcade of emotions associated with victory, triumph, and perseverance. Today, we will get the opportunity to experience those feelings all over again.

The 1992 and 1993 Toronto Blue Jays rosters reunite in Toronto today for the highly touted Back2Back weekend. In actually, it marks nearly 16 since since the Blue Jays last made the playoffs, but that’s neither here nor there. This weekend is a chance to catch up with all our favourite players from the glory days of the early 90’s.

After perusing some of the stats from the ’92-’93 teams, there were a few things that really stood out. Although the 1993 World Series could have easily gone to seven games if not for Joe Carter, it’s the 1992 World Series that was much closer than people remember. Each of the four wins by the Blue Jays were one run victories. Also, after having a second look at the statistics, I finally realized why Pat Borders was the World Series MVP; his .450 AVG and 1.250 OPS against the Atlanta Braves. Borders wasn’t the glamorous choice, but he got the job done in the ’92 World Series.

It’s widely known that the Blue Jays rounded out the top three in batting average in 1993 with John Olerud, Paul Molitor and Roberto Alomar. Even more incredible than having three players in the top three is that Olerud was actually hitting over .400 into August. For 58 games in 1993, Olerud had a batting average over .400, which is unheard of today.

While most folks will be decked out in their Powder Blues since it’s a Flashback Friday, I will be donning my retro navy blue Jays jersey circa 1994. Sad but true story about my old school jersey; my mom bought it for me in 1994 at the age of 10. I’ll admit that the baseball strike of ’94 caused a falling out between myself and baseball, so the jersey sat in my closet untouched for years. It wasn’t until 2006 that I brought the jersey out once again, and luckily to this day it still fits.

Although it might be a distraction from this year’s team, the Toronto Blue Jays would not be where they are today if not for the accomplishments of the ’92-’93 World Series Champions. They proved that baseball could be successful north of the border not only financially, but that they could field a winning team as well. They also helped create awareness and a love of the game here in Canada for many young baseball fans such as myself, which has only grown stronger.

There might be a large nostalgia factor working here, be we have a lot to be thankful for due in part to the 1992 and 1993 Toronto Blue Jays. And when you see images like the one below, you can’t help but
remember how great those times really were.