The Canadian National Newspaper: Toronto Blue Jays don't Respect their Tradition

The Toronto Blue Jays are noted as being the first team Outside the United States to win the Priced World Series. The Blue Jays are the only team based in Canada after the relocation of the Montreal Expos. The Toronto Blue Jays was founded in 1977 as an expansion of the American League. The home ballpark for the Blue Jays is the SkyDome, renamed the Rogers Centre. It's capacity is 50,516 and has been home to the Blue Jays since 1989.It was the first retractable-roof stadium built in the major leagues, and became an immediate landmark in Toronto. The former Blue jays Home ballpark from 1977-1989 was Exhibition Stadium.

The Toronto Blue Jays have won five Division Championships in, 1985, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993. The American League Pennants won were in, 1992 and 1993, the Blue Jays went on to win in, 1992 and 1993. The franchise was originally owned by Labatt Breweries, Imperial Trust and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The team played its first game in April, 1977 against the Chicago White Sox, winning the game 9-5. The team rose to prominence soon after joining the American League. The team line up consisted of some of the top players including Jesse Barfield, George Bell, Joe Carter, and Tony Fernandez. Roy Hartsfield was the team's manager and he was taken over by Bobby Mattick in 1980.

The following was the strike season, and the Blue Jays improved their winning

percentage but still finished in last place in the American League East. The team's best first solid season came in 1982 when they managed to finish 78-84. In September 1982 the team set a new club mark for road attendance, exceeding the previous mark of 1,285,409. Barfield topped the American League with 40 home runs in 1986. Bell was named American League most valuable player (MVP) in 1987 after driving in an AL-best 134 runs.

Cito Gaston replaced Bobby Cox as manager in 1989 and it was under his guidance that the club won four East Division titles between 1989 and 1993 and in 1992 became the first Canadian franchise to win the World Series. At the end of 1991 season the team acquired pitcher Jack Morris, who had led the Twins by pitching a 10-inning complete game shutout in game 7 of the previous World Series. The Blue Jays started 1997 with high hopes, and some good action when they signed former Boston Red Sox ace Roger Clemens to a $24,750,000 contract.

Buck Martinez, a former catcher for the Blue Jays, took over as manager before the 2001 season. Stars in the re-branded 'Jays' have included Roy Halladay, Eric Hinske, Orlando, Ted Lilly, Alexis Rios, Vernon Wells and Carlos Delgado.

The Blue Jays as a team and organization have had a pride in being 'Canada's team', as expressed in the Maple Leaf in its original very stylish logo. This logo had been with the organization from its inception in 1977, into to their exciting World Series wins.

The change of this logo, including the eventually total removal of the Maple Leaf from its logo, to a bleak grey and black colour, strewn with the name 'Jays' shows a total lack of respect for the tradition that the Blue Jays had developed inspired in part, by the critical leadership of Cito Gaston and his charismatic players, and the Canadian fans who established attendance records at the Skydome. Both the Blue Jays and Skydome name were chosen by fans, to be ignore by corporate decisions to change the teams trade name to 'Jays' and their stadium 'Rogers Centre'.

Changing the logo, and other trappings of New York Yankee success would be unthinkable to that organization, and most other sports franchises.

It is unfortunate that the proud tradition of the Blue Jays, including the tradition respect that organization has had for the Canadianess of that organization, has been apparently sacrificed to cynical corporate "re-branding" techniques, and apparent executive megalomania.