AS I SEE IT COLUMN: Even in defeat, Jays unite and inspire a nation

In the end, after the shock, the heartbreak and the tears, one thing was perfectly clear: even though the Toronto Blue Jays came oh so close to winning the World Series, ultimately succumbing to a star-studded team with more than double the Jays’ team salary — the Jays managed to lift the hearts of Canadians.

Living in a time when a deranged American president takes childlike glee hurting Canada with punishing tariffs and threatens to annex our beautiful country, the Jays unified the nation and gave us joy, suspense and thrills.

I bet all of you know people who aren’t sports fans at all that got caught up in the Jays’ magic.

The staggering TV ratings prove how the tightly the Jays gripped the nation: Nearly half of the country watched game 7.

I suppose it was inevitable; that talent would ultimately defeat resiliency. And sadly, that’s what happened.

Three of our best pitchers gave up home runs in game 7, including the game-tying homer to the Dodgers worst hitter.

Toronto had so many chances to bring home their first World Series title in 32 years. In game 7, they left 14 runners on base, going 3 -for-17 with runners in scoring position. In game 6 the Jays had runners on second and third in the 9th inning with no outs, and the game ended in three pitches. Despite the home field advantage for the last two games, the Jays went a combined 4 for 26 with runners in scoring position in games 6 and 7.

For a team that put the ball into play better than any team in the playoffs, the Jays bats went silent at the most critical times while the Dodgers’ offense somehow found a way to come-from-behind and steal the World Series away from Toronto.

And then there was the Jays’ atrocious base-running. They continually made boneheaded plays on the base-paths that cost them dearly. The most painful happened in the bottom of the 9th in game 7. The Jays had the bases loaded. Instead of taking an average lead the Jays runner on third was practically standing on the bag. Had his lead been a mere four inches longer, the Jays would have won the World Series. Instead, the runner was forced out at home by a few centimetres.

There are no words to adequately describe the gut-wrenching sadness of the improbable Jays getting so close – they could taste it and the millions of Canadians watching at home could taste it.

The Jays gave us something to hope for in a time of gloom and doom. They went from last place last season to nearly winning it all, with a roster made up mostly of minor-leaguers, cast offs from other teams and only three or four recognizable names. And their opponent was a star-studded team filled with Hall of Famers and superstars.

The World Series went from being a pre-ordained coronation of a Dodgers team with a half a billion-dollar team salary, to being highly unlikely (with L.A. heading back to Toronto and needing to win both game 6 and 7 in what was described as the loudest stadium in all of baseball).

How unlikely?

In the history of baseball, teams trailing by a run entering the 9th inning of a deciding World Series game have a collective record of 3 wins-33 losses, yet the high-priced Dodgers did what history suggested was nearly impossible to do, to the shock and dismay of Jays fans from coast to coast to coast.

The Toronto Blue Jays captured the nation’s heart and took us all on a wonderful, magical journey we won’t forget for a very long time. That’s why their loss is so indescribably painful.

It wasn’t just a team from the ‘centre of the universe.’ It was Canada’s team. The collective pride they made Canadians feel throughout the playoffs was palpable. You could see it.

And almost all of us felt it.