Lethbridge baseball community stoked by Jays’ big win

By Lethbridge Herald on October 22, 2025.

Nathan Reiter
Lethbridge Herald
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

For the first time in a generation, the Toronto Blue Jays have won the American League pennant and will play in the World Series beginning Friday.

Toronto rallied from a two run deficit in the seventh inning to defeat the Seattle Mariners 4-3 in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night.

A leadoff walk from Addison Barger and a single to centre field from Isiah Kiner-Falefa put the Blue Jays in business in the bottom of the seventh inning. Following a successful sacrifice by Andres Gimenez, the stage was set for Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer. 

Facing Mariner reliever Eduard Bazardo, Springer would deliver one of the biggest hits in Blue Jay franchise history, depositing a 1-0 fastball into the left field bleachers to give Toronto a lead they would never relinquish.  

Todd Hubka, the head coach of the Prairie Baseball Academy, was watching the game intently. In an interview with the Herald on Tuesday, Hubka said the home run by Springer will be looked back on for years to come. 

“That was special. Next to Joe Carter’s home run, that’s probably the biggest moment in Blue Jay history in my opinion. That was just electric. The crowd was down, down 3-1, nothing going their way. Seattle was really pitching them hard. You make a mistake to Mr. October, and that’s what happens. It was pretty epic. That’s for sure.”

After the Blue Jays made the playoffs in 2015 and 2016, registration numbers for minor baseball across the country saw a rise. With Toronto back in the World Series for the first time since Kim Campbell was prime minister, that trend will look to continue heading into 2026 and beyond.

Kevin Kvame, the president and CEO of Little League Alberta, says there is plenty of excitement around the sport across Canada. 

“I think it’s going to have a huge impact again on baseball. I can go back to ‘92 and ‘93 when the Blue Jays won the World Series and it was an incredible time for amateur baseball in the country. The numbers went up and kids were excited about the game again. Whether we as organizations took advantage of that and we didn’t find ways to keep them excited. This should give a really big boost to the sport for the 2026 season and we need to be ready for it.”

Within the city of Lethbridge, Kvame says the excitement of the Blue Jays playoff run can be felt by all members of the baseball community. 

“I think that baseball in the city at all levels whether you’re talking about the Lethbridge Bulls or right down to a t-baller. It should be a friendly, fun game to play and open to anybody. Whether you’re just a fan or whether you’re a parent with a kid in baseball or an umpire, a coach or a player. Enjoy the ride with the Blue Jays and then let’s get to work on making your experience in the game on the field or enjoying the game from the stands special next year as well.”

Throughout the playoffs, the Blue Jays have been led offensively by their superstar first basemen Vladimir Guerrero Jr. who has 19 hits including six home runs in 11 postseason games this year.

Hubka says there has been plenty of buzz around Guerrero since he was in the minor leagues and he is a big reason why baseball will grow in Canada for years to come.

“When Guerrero first came up, there was a huge spike in numbers throughout Canada. The amount of kids playing baseball and this is only going to benefit Little League and Baseball Alberta to keep growing. Everyone’s going to have to wait a few years to see what the impact is but there’s a lot of young kids out there right now that are probably staying up too late watching what the Blue Jays are doing right now. It falls on the Blue Jays with the growth of this game and it shows. Every time the Blue Jays do well, it continues to grow in this country. They promote the game across the country, they go across the country every winter and put on camps and just grow the game in this county. Hats off to them for what they do.”

While the Blue Jays have plenty of star power on paper, one of the major stories for the team all season long has been the role players. Hubka says the way the Blue Jays play mirrors a lot of successful college baseball teams that he has had the chance to be a part of. 

“What’s fun about the Blue Jays this year is you have your Guerrero, Springer and too bad Bichette is hurt, but it’s just those blue collar guys. Ernie Clement, (Davis) Schneider and (Nathan) Lukes. Those are the guys, they all have a story behind how they got there which is incredible and not to give up and keep fighting for what you want. That’s kind of what college baseball is. You don’t want someone to come up to you and say it’s over and take your jersey off. That to me is the Toronto Blue Jays this year.” 

The Blue Jays will match up with the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. Game 1 will be at Roger’s Centre in Toronto on Friday night.