The Blue Jays' time in Buffalo

Apologies to any Maple Leafs fans, but my favourite NHL team is the Buffalo Sabres. As the team continues their first playoff run since 2011, I thought I would use the opportunity to reminice on the time the Toronto Blue Jays spent playing in the city of Buffalo.

Some artifacts displayed at Rogers Centre from the Blue Jays' stint in Buffalo

Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic brought significant change to the world, and baseball was no exception. The 2020 MLB season was shortened to only 60 games, but one franchise faced a much more significant problem than any other. Due to the Canadian border being completely closed to prevent the spread of COVID, the Blue Jays were stranded. There was no feasable way for the team to play their home games in Toronto, so the team was forced to explore other options.

One of the first options discussed was the potential of sharing a ballpark with another team. Originally, the Blue Jays were hoping to play the 2020 season at PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the stadium already had facilities that were up to major league standards. However, after being rejected by the Pennsylvania government the day before the season was set to begin, the club was forced to keep searching for a temporary home.

Eventually, the Blue Jays settled on Sahlen Field, home of their AAA affiliate Buffalo Bisons. The venue made sense, still being in close proximity to Toronto and other division rivals, especially because the 2020 season only consisted of matchups against divisional opponents and the same division in the opposite league (AL East vs NL East). While a solid venue by minor league standards, certain aspects of the stadium — such as lighting, replay/Statcast tracking systems, and player facilities — had to be upgraded for the Blue Jays' arrival. Ironically, Sahlen Field was built and designed to be expanded in the hopes of Buffalo landing an MLB expansion team, before ultimately losing out to Denver/Miami in 1993 and Phoenix/Tampa in 1998.

The Blue Jays after clinching a spot in the 2020 Postseason at Sahlen Field

The Blue Jays would play the entirety of the 2020 season in Buffalo, surprisingly reaching the (expanded) postseason for the first time since 2016 before falling to the AL champion Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card Series. With the Canadian border still being closed, the Blue Jays would begin their 2021 season by remaining at TD Ballpark — their spring training home in Dunedin, FL — to take advantage of the spring weather in Florida and the pre-existing MLB-quality amenities. The Blue Jays would head back to Buffalo in June, where they would remain until the Canadian government allowed for a return to Rogers Centre in late July.

Outside of the Blue Jays' venue changes, the pandemic's impact on the organization would extend further. The Buffalo Bisons, who had been displaced by the Blue Jays, played their home games in Trenton, NJ for most of the 2021 MiLB season. As you may recall, the 2021 Blue Jays would miss the postseason by a single game with a 91-71 record, with Marcus Semien setting the record for home runs by a second baseman and Robbie Ray becoming one of the most shocking winners of the Cy Young Award in MLB history. If the Blue Jays had played the entire 2021 season at their home ballpark, maybe that talented roster could have snuck into the postseason and had a deep October run. We will never know, but it is something to think about.

A picture from my trip to Sahlen Field last August (my seats were with my brother and dad, right beside the 1B dugout in the picture)

If you have never been to Sahlen Field, I would highly recommend a visit. Watching a minor league game is great, and you can often get great seats for incredibly cheap! I went for the first time last August, lucking into a doubleheader and seeing Trey Yesavage on the mound before making his MLB debut. If you aren't on the Sabres' bandwagon for the NHL playoffs, there's always room!

Go Sabres, and go Jays!