There are two types of baseball fans in this province: those who root for the Toronto Blue Jays and those who root for the Seattle Mariners.
They'll go head-to-head on Sunday as the Mariners come to Toronto for Game 1 of the best-of-seven American League Championship Series. The first team to win four times advances to the World Series.
Game 2 is Monday and Game 3 is Wednesday at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. Games 4 and 5, if necessary, will be played in Seattle on Thursday and Friday. Tickets available through the team's website or various brokers. And, as expected, tickets are selling fast, with only 10 per cent of Game 3 inventory listed on StubHub Canada as of Saturday morning. The cheapest ticket they had at the time was $291.
Who should you root for? Here is our story about the film for the series.
PITCHING
We'll see how the teams finalize their lineups and, in particular, who Toronto will hire as their fourth starting pitcher for the set. They will have to use another starter as the playoff series will move from a five-game series to a seven-game series this round. The bullpen game that ended the series with the New York Yankees seems like a risky situation worth trying to replicate.
Seattle recovered quickly Friday's 3-2 win over the Detroit Tigers (15 innings) and they needed to use seven pitchers to get through the game, but we're still giving them the nod here. We like their weapons better.
For what it's worth, Seattle was 13th in the tournament in earned run average (3.87) during the regular season. Toronto was 19th (4.19), Toronto was 6th in strikeouts (1,430), and Seattle was 7th (1,426).
Edge: Sailors
GOOD LUCK
We're going with Toronto here without even knowing whether shortstop Bo Bichette (knee) – who was second in the majors in batting average (.311) during the regular season – will be active or not.
Toronto's lineup from positions 1 to 9 puts the ball in play. The Blue Jays led the majors in batting average (.265) during the regular season and were fourth in runs batted in (798). Against the Yankees, Toronto hit .338 as a team. They lead the playoffs in points (34) despite playing four games compared to seven or eight games for some teams.
Seattle's middle, led by Cal Raley, is impressive, but the rest of the lineup doesn't measure up to Toronto.
Edge: Blue Jays
COMPOSITION RELATED TO BC
Toronto is taking this in stride. The Vancouver Canadians have been the Blue Jays' farm team since 2011. The current Blue Jays roster features right-hander Trey Yesavage. The 22-year-old who played for the C team earlier this summer.
Manager John Schneider also held the job for two-plus seasons with the C's, and no one is excited about Vancouver as a minor league town and Nat Bailey vibe The stadium is very similar to Schneider.
His first report of the game against the C's and Blue Jays began with how loud the fans were at The Nat.
“You deal with big crowds of people, you learn to win where there is an expectation of winning,” Schneider said back in 2020. “It's an important place for our players and their development. It's where they first learn that with the Blue Jays you're not just playing for a city, but for an entire country. You see the people at The Nat and how much it means to them.”
Seattle center back Julio Rodriguez is reportedly dating Jordyn Huitema, a Canadian international from Chilliwack who is also a member of Seattle Reign FC. Larry, the father of J.P. Crawford of Seattle, was also a defensive end for the BC Lions.
Seattle has brought this category closer in the past, such as when they Ladner left-hander James Paxton business for them from the mound. The late Wayne Nortonwho was from Port Moody and played for the Vancouver Mounties during his minor league career, was also one of Seattle's all-time most successful scouts.
John Schneider, manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, argues with umpire Gabe Morales during the game's break against the Boston Red Sox during the seventh inning of their MLB game at Rogers Center on Sept. 24.
Edge: Blue Jays
CONNECTION OF THE CITY WITH THE BC
Football and, to a lesser extent, hockey have a rivalry with Seattle. But Seattle is our neighbors. Most of us find Seattle attractive, even during these difficult times between the US and Canada.
For a lot of people, Toronto is stuck in the throat. TORONTO — Maple Leafs games in Vancouver are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
You hear it here: Toronto is the center of the universe, and that's not a compliment.
There is a large contingent of Mariners fans in British Columbia, and you really wonder how many of them simply vote against Toronto more than they vote for the Mariners.
The Seattle Mariners pose for a photo after their 3-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers in Game 5 of the American League Division Series at T-Mobile Park on October 10, 2025 in Seattle.
Edge: Sailors
NATIONAL PRIDE
With everything going on in the world today, can you vote against the only Canadian team in the major leagues? Toronto, going to win the World Series, is sure to get some comments from the White House.
Edge: Blue Jays
FRANCHISE HISTORY
The Mariners and Blue Jays were expansion cousins, joining the major leagues together in 1977.
Toronto made the playoffs for the first time in 1985. They won the World Series in 1992 and 1993. This year marks their sixth playoff appearance since 2015.
Seattle is the only team in the major leagues to never appear in the World Series. They made the playoffs for the first time in 1995. They set an MLB record with 116 wins in 2001, but lost to the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. In 2022, they made the playoffs for the first time since that year and beat the Blue Jays in the Wild Card Series before losing to the Houston Astros.
Being that lonely team that never even makes it to the biggest dance events in baseball tugs at the heartstrings.
(Fun fact: Five of 30 MLB teams have never won a World Series, while 12 of 32 NFL teams, 10 of 32 NHL teams, and 10 of 30 NBA teams have never won their league's top prize.)
Fans cheer during the fourth inning of Game 5 of the American League Division Series between the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers at T-Mobile Park on October 10, 2025.
EDGE: Sailors
FAVORITE MAIN PERSON
Raleigh has the best nickname in all of sports right now. You can't beat the Big Dump Truck. And his home runs combined with his defense could make him the American League's MVP this season.
However, there is something special about Vladdy Guerrero Jr. with his big grin and all that chatter with TV analyst David Ortiz and their “YAAAH, the Yankees are losing!”
Edge: Blue Jays
FAVORITE SECOND CHARACTER
Seattle's Josh Naylor has one of the slowest sprint rates in the majors this season, but he's so smart and brave that his interception attempts were 30 of 32. And the first baseman is from Mississauga, so this series is something of a homecoming for him.
Toronto catcher Alejandro Kirk is another guy at the bottom of the sprint speed rankings, another guy who doesn't fit your stereotype of an elite athlete. He just keeps hitting the ball, hitting .282 in the regular season. He is also a top-notch defender.
Naylor wins for us because of his Ontario roots. But it's cramped.
Alejandro Kirk #30 of the Toronto Blue Jays reacts as he rounds the bases on a grand slam to hit Davis Schneider #36, Daulton Varsho #5 and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #27 in the first inning of their MLB game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Center on Sept. 28.
Edge: Sailors
UNIFORM
Check out the various uniform rankings online: The Blue Jays and Mariners are usually in the top 10. Both logos are solid. The same goes for fonts on T-shirts. This is probably the Blue Jays' best blues, but it comes close in every way.
EDGE: Tie
STADIUM
The Blue Jays have spent a lot of money renovating Rogers Center, but it still has the same basic look. T-Mobile is much more unique. The Rogers Center—if you're of a certain age, you'll always call it the SkyDome—opened in 1989, and T-Mobile debuted in 1999, so that decade probably matters.
Whatever it takes USA today Back in March, the MLB stadium rankings had T-Mobile at No. 9 and Rogers at No. 21.
EDGE: Sailors
When it comes to who to root for, we have the Mariners winning 5-4-1, although you wonder if this national pride should be considered a double.
