“Ah! The rites of Spring begin anew….”
--John
Robertson, Toronto Sun, February 23, 1983
When I was nine years old, in
the Spring of 1985 (yes, I realize that makes me 40 now), I got a book from the
school library. It was entitled “Ok Ok Blue Jays: The story of the 1983 season.”
It was a collection of articles journalist John Robertson wrote for the Toronto Sun
detailing the adventures of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1983, from Spring Training
right through to their final game. It was a book I read over and over again. I
must have signed it out from the library about half a dozen times before my
teacher finally told me I needed to get something else.
We moved a year later, to a new town and a new school that didn't have a copy of that book in their library. It was gone forever. Fast forward to the fall of 1989 and I was with my
family at the Norfolk County Fair in Simcoe, Ontario. We were walking along,
looking at some of the booths when I noticed a stack of those “Ok Ok Blue Jays”
books on a table. They were selling for two dollars. Needless to say, I bought
one. I still have it and have read it time and time again. While there was
something special about that 1983 season (it was the first time Toronto didn’t
finish in the basement), it was the first line in the first article that I think
about every year when Spring Training rolls around again: the rites of Spring
being anew…
I always get excited when the
baseballers gather in either Florida or Arizona to start their exhibition
schedule but for 2016, I’m a little bit more excited than usual this year. 2016 will be
the first season that I will be writing this blog for an entire baseball season
(I didn’t get going last year until the middle of July). Coincidentally, 2016
also happens to be the 40th season of the Toronto Blue Jays—my favourite
team if you hadn’t noticed yet.
And after spending four months
wracking my brain to write stories about College Football, the NFL, the World
Junior Hockey Championship and the NHL, I can breathe easier now as my first
love—baseball—will now come to the fore. But before we take the deep plunge
into the baseball season, I thought I would update you on what “Top Of The
Third” has in store for you this year.
As mentioned, with 2016 being
the Blue Jays’ 40th—and with me being a fan—the blog is going to be
Blue Jay-heavy this year. And while I understand that not everyone who reads the blog is
a fan of the team, I think you will find some fun in everything that will be
published over the course of the year. As we look at the previous 39 seasons of
Blue Jays’ baseball, here’s what we will offer:
--a Top 40 list featuring the 40 best Blue Jays’ players
ever
--a Top 25 list featuring the 25 most important games in
team history
--a “This Day in Blue Jays’ history” feature
--a YouTube page that will contain complete Blue Jays’ games
from over the years
(mostly from the 80s and early 90s, and 2015)
As for the Top 40 players, it is
my hope to have them all done before the All-Star break. Then the Top 25 games
will begin after the break. And, besides the Jays, we have much else planned as
well.
--our “This Day in Baseball history” feature will continue
--Hall of Fame week will feature profiles on this year’s
inductees:
Mike Piazza and Ken Griffey Jr.
--Hall of Fame week will also feature a Top Five list of
Players
who aren’t in the Hall, but should be
--During the All-Star break, we will look back at some
memorable All-Star games from the 70s and 80s
--a tribute to the 1981 Montreal Expos, 35 years after
the
only postseason appearance in team history
--for the 100th Anniversary of Wrigley Field in
Chicago, we will look at some
great Cubs’ players who played within the great
ivy walls
--there will also be a section entitled “Recommended Reading”
which will feature baseball book reviews
For the month of October, we
will take the entire month to take a look back in MLB postseason history. For
each day of the month, we will examine a big game from that particular date (no
Blue Jays here as most of their big games will have already been covered in the
Top 25 list.)
And due to request, at times in
April and May, we will step away from baseball and look at some memorable
series from the Stanley Cup playoffs. These will happen once a week from the
start of the playoffs to the Cup being raised, and most likely will look at series
from the 80s and 90s.
All-in-all, I’m excited to bring
the 2016 baseball season—from a fan’s perspective—to you. Please like our
Facebook page and sign-up for all posts to be delivered right to your email’s
inbox. For all those who sign up for email, there will be a draw for prizes at
the end of the season.
It all gets underway on March 1st,
when we will begin our season previews of all 30 MLB teams.
Follow us on Twitter at @topofthethird
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