February 5, 2015
Believe it or not, the Toronto Blue Jays have the longest playoff drought in baseball. Toronto’s last playoff appearance culminated with a World Series championship, but fans are eagerly anticipating October baseball after a 22-year layoff. Toronto’s front office is one of the most aggressive in baseball. During the offseason, Toronto traded for third baseman Josh Donaldson and signed free agent catcher Russell Martin. Outfielders Melky Cabrera and Colby Rasmus left via free agency, so Michael Saunders and Dalton Pompey will need to step up to fill the void. Despite the departures of Cabrera and Rasmus, Toronto still boasts one of the best collections of home run hitters in baseball. Toronto clubbed 177 home runs last season, which ranked third in baseball. The foursome of Donaldson, Martin, Jose Bautista, and Edwin Encarnacion will hit plenty of home runs at the Rogers Centre. Leadoff hitter Jose Reyes will have a lot of opportunities to score runs. There are serious questions surrounding Toronto’s starting rotation. Toronto is hoping R.A. Dickey can regain his Cy Young form while hoping a closer can emerge from its bullpen.
[embedit cf="HTML1"]
On TicketIQ, the average price for secondary market Blue Jays Opening Day tickets is $165.46 while the get-in price is $27. Ticket prices for Opening Day 2015 are the second highest over the last five Opening Days at the Rogers Centre.
| Year |
Opponent |
Avg Price |
Get-in Price |
| 2015 |
TB |
$165.46 |
$27.00 |
| 2014 |
NYY |
$124.31 |
$28.00 |
| 2013 |
CLE |
$176.91 |
$40.00 |
| 2012 |
BOS |
$111.01 |
$37.00 |
| 2011 |
MIN |
$123.00 |
$35.00 |
| 2010 |
CWS |
$122.21 |
$35.00 |
Toronto’s Opening Day will not occur until the second week of the season. A matchup against the new-look Tampa Bay Rays should be very interesting. Tampa Bay no longer has David Price, James Shields, Wil Myers, or Ben Zobrist, but will be led by Evan Longoria. Longoria is still one of the best players in the American League and has the ability to take over games with his bat. Toronto went 5-4 at home against Tampa Bay last season and will need early success to compete in arguably the most competitive division in baseball.
[embedit cf="HTML2"]
