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Vancouver's weird baseball conflict thrust into spotlight with Blue Jays vs. Mariners in ALCS

Trevor Beggs
Trevor Beggs
|
Oct 11 2025, 2:56 pm
Vancouver's weird baseball conflict thrust into spotlight with Blue Jays vs. Mariners in ALCS
Dan Hamilton/Imagn Images

It’s a decision that baseball fans in Vancouver have had to grapple with since 1977.

Nearly 50 years later, there’s no concrete answer on which MLB team Vancouver residents should cheer for: the Toronto Blue Jays or the Seattle Mariners.

And, for the first time since both teams entered the league nearly 50 years ago, they will battle each other for a spot in the World Series.

The Seattle Mariners defeated the Detroit Tigers in a marathon, 15-inning Game 5 on Friday night at T-Mobile Park. They will now face the Blue Jays in the playoffs for the second time ever, after sweeping them in two games during the AL Wild Card round in 2022.

The series will begin in Toronto on Sunday.

Based on Blue Jays fan presence at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, support for Toronto on the West Coast has been overwhelming compared to local love for the Mariners.

However, heightened political tensions between Canada and the U.S. diminished the amount of Blue Jays support at T-Mobile Park in 2025.

“We definitely felt the support… not quite as full as it’s been in the past, and understandably so,” Jays manager John Schneider told The Athletic back in May.

While Blue Jays fan attendance at Mariners games has declined recently, there has been an overall increase in Jays fans since 2015.

From about 2010 through 2014, the average attendance at T-Mobile Park ranged from 20,000 fans to 32,000 fans per contest between the Marines and Jays

Since 2015, however, attendance at these games has regularly surpassed the 40,000 mark. The Blue Jays’ playoff run in 2015 seemingly reinvigorated support for Canada’s lone MLB team.

The decision whether to cheer for the Jays or the Mariners has long been a tough and contentious decision for those living in B.C.

Some clearly support the West Coast over a team from Toronto.

However, there are Vancouver baseball fans who couldn’t fathom cheering for an American team.

Even those in Vancouver sports media can’t agree on who to cheer for.

One thing about Mariners fans in Vancouver, however, is that they tend to be more of the diehard variety.

One thing is clear: the baseball conflict on the West Coast will have higher stakes than ever before.

Both teams will be looking to bring their fans a long-awaited spot in the World Series. The Blue Jays haven’t been there since winning it all in 1993. Seattle has never made it to the World Series in their 48 years of existence.

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