TORONTO, ON – JULY 15: Alejandro Kirk #30 of the Toronto Blue Jays watches from the dugout before playing against the Arizona Diamondbacks in an MLB game at Rogers Center on July 15, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Brinch/Getty Images)
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The Toronto Blue Jays may not have acquired Kyle Tucker, but they did a great job of bouncing back from their World Series loss with some key additions.
The team has already spent more than $300 million in free agency to acquire front-line starter Dylan Cease, star reliever Tyler Rodgers and Japanese slugger Kazuma Okamoto. Such spending should help fans overcome their disappointment over Tucker’s decision to join the Los Angeles Dodgers and their overtime loss in the Fall Classic.
But while Toronto’s future looks bright, there are some memorable moments from last season for fans, players and coaches.
Former Toronto Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly talks about ‘crash landing’
That’s clearly the case with Don Mattingly, the New York Yankees’ standout infielder who served as the Blue Jays’ bench coach last season and will join the Philadelphia Phillies next season.
While discussing his new role with the Phillies, Mattingly talked about reaching the World Series and falling short against the Dodgers.
“It’s an incredible feeling to win a few rounds and be in the World Series, obviously something I’ve never experienced before…it’s exhilarating,” Mattingly said. He told WFIE’s Max Parker..
Despite Mattingly’s joy at leading the Blue Jays to the Fall Classic, he emphasized that he is still haunted by the final heartbreaking moment, when Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk narrowly missed his team’s final at-bat in overtime of Game 7.
“Your season crash-landed because Kirk was standing until his last at-bat and we were down by one run and one out,” Mattingly said. “Kirk is going to make this RBI. It’s going to happen. And with the pitch after that, the season is over.”
Toronto Blue Jays’ Alejandro Kirk was heroic but fell short in Game 7 of the World Series
Coach Mattingly likely echoed the heartbreak felt by many Blue Jays fans who had every reason to believe that Kirk could still change the outcome even though he was one out away from defeat.
The team had many upsets throughout last year’s postseason Cinderella run, and the catcher had already emerged as a playoff star. In Game 1 of the World Series, Kirk hit a home run in the sixth inning, becoming the first Mexican-born player in Major League history to hit a fall classic home run. And his slugging heroics continued from there.
“Kirk then added a two-RBI home run to cap off one of the highest-scoring innings in World Series history,” Julia Stambaugh said. Featured on Bleacher Report. “This wasn’t the only off-the-wall hit Kirk made in the 2025 Fall Classic. He also hit a three-run home run in the top of the fourth inning in Game 3 on October 27th, erasing an early two-run deficit.”
Unfortunately for Mattingly, the Blue Jays, and the fans, Kirk was unable to score any yards or change the outcome in his final chance at the World Series.