MLB teams celebrate everything like NHL players celebrate Stanley Cup
The Toronto Blue Jays clinched a playoff berth this weekend, so you know what that means. Champagne, and lots of it. It’s an MLB tradition.
No, they didn’t win their division. In fact, they finished third in the American League East, behind Baltimore and Tampa Bay. They’re not even guaranteed a home playoff date.
Think that was going to stop them?
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Major League Baseball teams celebrate making the playoffs like most other sports celebrate winning a championship, and the Blue Jays are no exception.
Merry Clinchmas to all 💙
And to all a good night 🤗 pic.twitter.com/u7Q4jsEkTX
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) October 2, 2023
Jordan Romano is having an okay time. pic.twitter.com/9nO2KxXVR9
— Ian Hunter (@BlueJayHunter) October 1, 2023
Whit Merrifield also having an okay time. pic.twitter.com/DEkgAgMJbk
— Ian Hunter (@BlueJayHunter) October 1, 2023
The tradition started when you had to win your division to make the postseason, meaning that just four MLB teams would play playoff games after a gruelling 162-game season. When MLB added a wild card entry for each league in 1995, the team that won the wild card also celebrated with champagne.
Today, there are three wild card entries in each league, meaning that 12 out of 30 MLB clubs now make the postseason. But wild card teams are only guaranteed an additional two playoff games.
The Blue Jays backed into the playoffs this year, losing both of their games over the weekend, but clinched the third wild-card spot on Saturday night when the Seattle Mariners lost to the Texas Rangers.
A day later, following a loss in a meaningless Sunday afternoon game to the Tampa Bay Rays, the Blue Jays celebrated hard.
It’s an odd sight to see for hockey fans, who only see NHL teams celebrate like this when they win the Stanley Cup.
Forget spraying champagne in the dressing room, half the time NHL teams won’t even touch the conference championship trophy. That’s an accomplishment that only two teams get every year and comes after an 82-game regular season and three rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And yet, NHL teams are so afraid of being seen as celebrating something other than the Stanley Cup that they often don’t touch it.
So much so, that when teams do simply touch the conference championship trophy, it’s a big deal.
The defending champs DID touch the Prince of Wales Trophy. #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/RGDq0b319C
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) June 26, 2021
THIS IS WHAT WE NEEDED‼️
A full lip-read of the Avalanche “will they, won’t they” touch the trophy moment 🏆
(via @Nathan__Rudolph) pic.twitter.com/E8yfAcxinm
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 7, 2022
I’m not here to tell you which approach is right or wrong. It’s just funny to see how different they are.
Also funny? Consider how many champagne celebrations the Blue Jays will have if they win the World Series this year. They could be spraying champagne again as soon as Wednesday if they beat the Minnesota Twins in their best-of-three wild-card series. Champagne would also be called for if they win the best-of-five ALDS, and of course for the best-of-seven ALCS and World Series.
Count it up, and the Blue Jays could be celebrating with champagne five times in just over one month.
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