Best Toronto Blue Jays Quotes From 2021
The 2021 Toronto Blue Jays reached some emotional highs and crushing lows, and with those peaks and valleys came raw emotion and post-game reactions.
As the year comes to a close, we're looking back on those best quips and comments. There are surely some one-liners that missed the cut, but here are five of the best Toronto Blue Jays player and coach quotes from 2021:
1. Planning Vacations or Making a Push
“It’s the time where we’re either planning vacations or making that push. And I think the guys want to make a push" — Alek Manoah
Alek Manoah dropped this line after an extra-inning win over the Detroit Tigers on August 28th. Manoah delivered 6.1 innings of two-run ball and a Corey Dickerson single sealed the win in the 10th, but the power of his quote lies in what came next.
That Toronto win brought the Jays to 67-61, sitting far outside the playoff picture as September approached. But, after Manoah predicted a push, Toronto delivered. The Jays won 15 of the next 17 games, pulling up to 18 games over .500 and into the first Wild-Card spot.
2. Holding Back Tears in Toronto
"Everybody's looking at each other like, 'Man, I've got chills. I'm holding back tears'" — Bo Bichette
The Blue Jays return to Toronto and the Rogers Centre on July 30th was an emotional day for all involved. After 670 days away from the city, players were fighting tears before the 6-4 win over Kansas City. Charlie Montoyo and Bo Bichette both talked about the emotional weight of the day in their post-game press conferences.
"It's hard to explain the feeling. We've just kind of been trying to pretend like we had a home and it's difficult to do for two years," Bichette said. "So when we finally came back here, it feels like definitely a big weight off our shoulders."
3. Diffusing Tensions in Tampa
"Agua under the bridge" — Charlie Montoyo
There was a point in mid-September where the potential for a high-stakes ALDS between the Tampa Bay Rays and Jays was very real. Kevin Kiermaier scooped and stashed Alejandro Kirk's scouting report card at home plate, the Rays "scoffed" when Toronto asked for it back, and the dramatic ordeal lingered into the rest of the series. Montoyo met with Tampa manager Kevin Cash before the following game, and told the media it was "agua under the bridge." It wasn't.
A day later, reliever Ryan Borucki was ejected in the eighth inning of the series' final game for hitting Kiermaier with a pitch. Borucki was suspended, Kiermaier called it a "weak move," and the teams haven't played since. We'll see where the agua sits when the AL East teams first match up in 2022.
4. Staying Calm, Carrying On
"This is fine, everything is fine, it's fine" — Charlie Montoyo's Shirt
Nice subtle shirt choice today from Charlie Montoyo after a few heartbreaking #BlueJays losses the last few days:
— Mitch Bannon (@MitchBannon) May 24, 2021
"This is fine, everything is fine, it's fine" pic.twitter.com/eNikGYVoXM
With this not-so-subtle message during Toronto's mid-summer bullpen struggles, Montoyo donned the message he regularly preached on his chest. Despite regular late-game issues and bullpen blowups in May and June, Toronto's manager continually preached a full-season view, avoiding daily emotional fluctuations.
The shirt's message came a day after Travis Bergen issued three straight walks in the top of the ninth to blow a save and earn a loss against the Rays, one of the worst losses of the Jays' season. Toronto continued to struggle in late-game situations for the next month, leading to some other memorable quotes and a few rare Montoyo profanities, before Adam Cimber and Trevor Richards came in to right the ship.
5. Dreaming of Walk-Offs
“This is what we dream of doing. I wouldn’t be playing baseball if it wasn’t for moments like this” — Bo Bichette
A Clay Holmes fastball cut towards the inside of the plate but Bichette was there to meet it. In the eighth inning, Bichette lashed at the ball with his signature chaotic swing, crushing the Yankee pitch towards right-center field. He bounced out of the box, watching the bomb sail over the wall to keep the Blue Jays' playoff aspirations alive.
Toronto's shortstop got a curtain call and the Blue Jays won the late-September game, pulling the team within a win of a playoff spot. Bichette called it the most exciting moment of his career.
"This is why I work hard," he said. "Why I do what I do."
Mitch Bannon is a baseball reporter for Sports Illustrated covering the Toronto Blue Jays and their minor league affiliates.Twitter: @MitchBannon