Another team has asked Blue Jays about taking their home-run jacket tradition: report
Another team may be taking over the Toronto Blue Jays’ home-run jacket tradition this season.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have contacted members of the Blue Jays, according to Sportsnet’s Jamie Campbell, asking if they can take over the home-run jacket tradition Toronto made famous in recent years.
I've been told the Pittsburgh Pirates contacted members of the Blue Jays asking to take over the "home run jacket" tradition.
— Jamie Campbell (@SNETCampbell) March 20, 2023
We learned back in March that the Blue Jays were ditching the popular tradition, with the players focusing on bigger goals.
“It’s time to go from a talented, fun team to a talented, fun team that’s going to scrap and claw and find ways to win games,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider told the Toronto Star about retiring the jacket.
“I love having fun. You’ve got to have fun. It’s a long season, and it’s a game. As long as you’re prepared and attentive, then winning becomes fun. The most fun to have in baseball is winning.”
The Blue Jays finished well ahead of the Pirates last season and had more reasons to wear the home run jacket as well before their 2022 playoff disappointment. Toronto finished 2022 with a record of 92-70, while Pittsburgh sat at 62-100 and had 42 fewer home runs than the Blue Jays.
The team’s bilingual player interpreter, Hector Lebron, whose nickname is “Tito,” introduced the jacket in 2021, giving the young Jays something to strive for at the plate.
Originally, the jacket had “the blue jacket” adorned across the left sleeve, with “La Gente Del Barrio,” which translates to “the people of the neighbourhood,” across the back. As well, the names of each players’ nation were printed on the jacket.
“This whole thing is for the city; it is for the country,” Lebron told Daily Hive in 2022. “We are all the Barrio.”
While Toronto looks to take the next step towards a World Series title this season, the Pirates may be in just the perfect position for a tradition like the home-run jacket.
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