May 29, 2024

Canadian Baseball Network

Blue Jays fans gasped when they saw the famous home run jacket return last week when Bo Bichette hit a two-run home run in the 9-2 win over the Chicago White Sox.

It was the first time the jacket had been seen since the end of the 2022 season. Too much frivolity or so management and some fans thought. And the bosses were right when someone would go deep to cut the Jays deficit to 9-2 as everyone in the dugout was pranced and danced.

Yet, another jacket was on display in the GTA since opening day in Central Ontario Association play. The night after Bichette homered -- centre fielder Jayden (The Jet) Felipe-Abug hit an inside-the-park home run as the Mississauga North Tigers beat the Mississauga Southwest Twins 14-6 at Meadowvale Park. As Felipe-Abug slid into home plate the third base dugout reacted as if someone had hit a fire alarm.

Coach Adam Johnston’s jacket of many colors has also been donned after each 1-2-3 inning as well, by pitchers like Liam Celemen, Isa Hoda, Eric Johnston, Ethan Leonard and Amrit Nimako to name a few.

Yet, Felipe-Abug was the first to hit a home run. The Tigers jacket hangs inside a protective suit bag at one end of the dugout, waiting for a pitcher to set down the side in order or a gapper. All the names of the players are listed on the back of the jacket.

Were the Blue Jays sensing the trend and trying to catch up to the Tigers? Or were the Jays struggling and trying for a return of the salad days of Teoscar Hernandez when they finished the 2022 season with 200 homers?

Vlad Guerrero led with 32 homers. He was followed by Matt Chapman (27), George Springer and Hernandez (25 each), Bo Bichette (24), Danny Jansen (15), Alejandro Kirk (14), Raimel Tapia and Santiago Espinal (seven each), Cavan Biggio (six), Whit Merrifield and Lourdes Gurriel (five each), Zack Collins (four), Bradley Zimmer (two) plus Gabriel Moreno and Jackie Bradley (one each).

With the jacket, the Jays finished seventh in the majors in home runs, five back of the Philadelphia Phillies. The leaders were the New York Yankees with 254. Next came the Atlanta Braves (243), Milwaukee Brewers (219), Houston Astros (214) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (212).

This year, the Jays have 49 homers in 54 games -- 27th in the majors -- one behind the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Jays have more homers than the Arizona Diamondbacks, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Detroit Tigers. Daulton Varsho leads the Jays with 10 homers, four more than Davis Schneider.