My name is Ian and I’m addicted to baseball.

“The Blue Jay Hunter” is all about Canada’s baseball team, the Toronto Blue Jays. It’s a place where Toronto’s beloved baseball team and baseball in Canada gets put under the microscope.

I can’t exactly pinpoint where the name “The Blue Jay Hunter” stemmed from, but I think I was trying to capitalize on the fame of “The Crocodile Hunter” back in 2007 and have a similar namesake. It wasn’t the most clever name for a blog, but we’ve come this far already, so I guess I’ll just stick with it.

I’m currently a contributor for Blue Jays Nation. You may have also read by work in the past with bylines at Daily Hive, The Athletic, Toronto Life, Sporting News, Sportsnet and Buzzfeed. I also make regular radio appearances on Sportsnet 590 The Fan, and have appeared as a panellist at Pitch Talks events.

The earliest memory I have of going to a Blue Jays game was October 3, 1992. At the time, I didn’t realize the significance of the game, but it was the day the Blue Jays clinched their fourth American League East pennant.

To make the game even more memorable, Joe Carter (my favourite player at the time) hit his 34th home run of the season that day, which was the the eventual game-winning run over the Detroit Tigers. This was also back when they set off fireworks after every Blue Jays home run and when they won, so it was a memorable game on all accounts for me.

I had a brief hiatus from Blue Jays fandom after the 1994 baseball strike until around 2005. Unfortunately, I missed the Carlos Delgado golden years, but rekindled my love for the Blue Jays at the tail end of the Roy Halladay era.