The 2023 Toronto Blue Jays had 5 all-star representatives in the 2023 MLB All-Star Game in Seattle: Whit Merrifield and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (3rd appearance), Kevin Gausman and Bo Bichette (2nd appearance). This was the first appearance for Merrifield and Gausman in a Toronto uniform.
Jordan Romano was a late add to the American League squad, his second All-Star appearance. Romano checks the boxes for Canadian players and Blue Jays players. Guerrero was also born in Canada.
Former Blue Jays player Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was on the National League team from Arizona. Former Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman made the squad from the Chicago Cubs. Former Toronto 2nd baseman Marcus Semien was the starter from Texas.
Freddie Freeman (Canadian) was the starting 1st baseman from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Gausman wasn't able to pitch in the All-Star Game since he pitched on Saturday in Detroit.
Guerrero Jr. went 0-for-2. Bichette added a sacrifice fly, going 0-for-1. Romano only threw 5 pitches before withdrawing to back tightness, going ⅓ of an inning. Merrifield had a single, 1 of 7 hits by the American League. The National League got its first All-Star win since 2012 with a 3-2 victory in Seattle.
Four years later, he came back for the title 💥 #HRDerby pic.twitter.com/QuHVKofk2I
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 11, 2023
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit 26, 21, and 25 home runs to get through 3 rounds to a victory in the 2023 MLB Home Run Derby. After hitting 91 home runs in 2019 and losing in that format, his time in the derby seemed done.
Guerrero and his father, Vladimir Guerrero Sr., are now the first father-son to win the derby. The senior player won the 2007 Home Run Derby in San Francisco.
Guerrero defeated Mookie Betts (LA Dodgers), Julio Rodríguez (Seattle), and Randy Arozarena (Tampa Bay) for the win.
We would guess that the ESPN graphic about where Guerrero was born was meant for Arozarena. The graphic said Guerrero was born in Cuba. Not even close. Guerrero is of Dominican heritage and was born in Montréal in Canada.
Omg @tenilletownes 😍 pic.twitter.com/VzhtJyBWp9
— Tricia (@tricia_nh) July 12, 2023
Canadian country star Tenille Townes sang O Canada before the 2023 All-Star Game in Seattle. We searched for vocal proof but settled for visual proof. Once again, MLB (aka Rob Manfred) and MLB on Fox refused to air the Canadian national anthem.
We do want to thank Buffalo country station 106.5 WYRK for labeling this "Massive Mistake? Baseball Fans Blasting FOX Sports' Anthem Debacle."
While WYRK is new to this phenomem, MLB has been this rude to Canada for well over a decade now.
A bit insulting to play only the U.S. national anthem before the Home Run Derby, even with a Toronto player in the mix, who won the derby.
MLB, Rob Manfred, MLB on Fox need to stop disrespecting Canada
The Toronto Blue Jays went into the All-Star Game break with a 50-41 record. The Blue Jays are 7 games out behind Tampa Bay in the American League East Division. Toronto would qualify as a wild card team at the moment. The Blue Jays are 23-18 at home and 27-23 on the road, which also means more home games in the second half of the season. The division is so tight that the Blue Jays are only 2 games ahead of the last place Boston Red Sox.
The last no-hitter (before today) against the @BlueJays was Justin Verlander on September 1, 2019. This is the second no-hitter by the @Tigers of the #BlueJays, also by Verlander. @MLB
— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) July 8, 2023
Matt Manning (6⅔), Jason Foley (1⅓), and Alex Lange (1) pitched the first combined no-hitter in Detroit history and the first one against the Blue Jays on July 8. The other Detroit no-hitter against the Blue Jays came from Justin Verlander, who has no-hit Toronto twice in his career.
2023 Canada Day notebook
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The Toronto Blue Jays start the second half of the 2023 season with a homestand with the surprising Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabriel Moreno come back home to Rogers Centre.
Arizona is in July 14-16 (7:07 pm, 3:07 pm, and 1:37 pm) while San Diego is in July 18-20 (7:07 pm, 7:07 pm, and 1:07 pm) before the Jays go west to see Teoscar Hernandez in Seattle and visit the Los Angeles Dodgers.
MLB Extra Innings might run a free preview after the All-Star Game break. Check your local listings.
photos credit: @BlueJays
Twitter captures: @BlueJays; @tricia_nh; @canadian_xing
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