By Ty B
The Buffalo Blue Jays are back!
The Toronto Blue Jays announced today that the team would begin hosting their home games in Buffalo at Sahlen Field starting on June 1st. This will be their second stint in Buffalo as there are still issues with border crossings.
Players were leary of the amenities at Sahlen Field in 2020, but the organization quickly made adjustments to make it MLB worthy. Most of those improvements have become permanent along with moving the bullpens beyond the outfield walls and relocating the batting cages and weight room that was in the concourse last season.
Those changes were made with the Bisons in mind, but also to be able to accomodate fans if the Jays returned to town. That is indeed the case as the Jays announced that they will be allowing 24% capacity crowds at Sahlen Field with tickets going on sale May 13th at 10 A.M.
Baseball fans across Buffalo are excited to be able to actually attend the games this year and Jays players have to be excited that they are making a return trip.
Last season, the Jays were middling until they came to Buffalo on August 11th in which they had a walk-off win over the Marlins. The team then went on to finish 17-9 at Sahlen Field as opposed to just 15-19 at every other ballpark.
The most apparent difference between the Jays’ home and away performance was in their batting. At Sahlen field the team hit .276 while batting just .239 everywhere else. In fact, the Blue Jays scored 16 more runs at home in eight less games than on the road.
A lot of that damage was done with the long ball. Toronto hit for 43 home runs in Buffalo for an average of 1.65 dingers per game as opposed to 1.32 on the road. The team was able to increase their OPS+ by 26 points while at home.
While the Jays excelled with the long ball in Buffalo, their opponents struggled with just 24. Teams hit .002 points higher in Buffalo, but their slugging percentages dropped from .467 to .396. For some reason Jays pitchers were able to keep the ball in the park when opponents could not.
That could be attributed to the fact that many of the players on the current Toronto roster have spent time in Buffalo coming up through the minor league system. Guys like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and Rowdy Tellez had just spent time in Buffalo within the two previous seasons and their comfortability was on display throught the Jays’ run in Buffalo.
Toronto fans will hope that the team can find the same spark this season when the team returns to Buffalo. The Jays sit fourth in the AL East at 14-14, just three games behind the Boston Red Sox, however the bats have been very inconsistent this year. The team is hitting just .239 overall and could use a boost to help their pitching staff which has the eighth best ERA in the MLB.
Time will tell how the Blue Jays will fare this time around in Buffalo, but the buzz in Buffalo is palpable! Fans of every team are excited for the chance to witness the MLB in Buffalo for real this time and I cannot wait to follow along! Get me to Sahlen Field for a Friday Night Bash, then over to the Seneca One x Other Half Beer Garden after!
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