Old beef between Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners is resurfacing ahead of playoff series
As if the AL Conference title matchup between the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners needed any extra ammunition.
Both teams will be looking to snap long droughts without World Series baseball. The Blue Jays haven’t made it there since 1993, when they won their second of back-to-back titles, while the Mariners are the only team in all of baseball that has never played in a World Series.
If that wasn’t enough, old clips of the simmering hatred between Toronto and Seattle are starting to resurface prior to the finals.
Back in April of 2023, John Schneider made some eye-catching comments about Cal Raleigh after the Mariners catcher had a two-homer game against the Jays.
There's some beef going into the ALCS.
This sound bite was from April 2023, after Raleigh hit a three-run home run in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series.pic.twitter.com/vjbFsuJYY8 https://t.co/0LL5EZJ6NR
— Ryley Delaneyđłď¸ââ§ď¸ (@Ryley__Delaney) October 11, 2025
“He’s not very tough to pitch to when you execute your pitches,” Schneider said at the time. “He’s obviously got big damage potential; he’s got a lot of strikeout potential, too. When you execute your pitches, you usually get the job done.”
While the comments were seen as fair at the time, Raleigh has ironically played some of his best baseball against the Jays. His .274 career batting average against Toronto is the second-best mark he’s posted against any AL team, having only batted better against the lowly Chicago White Sox. He’s also recorded 20 RBI’s while hitting 10 homers against Toronto in 24 games.
A year after Schneider’s comments, Raleigh fired back with comments of his own when he was asked about the Jays’ manager.
“I know a lot of guys have beef with him in the league,” Raleigh said in April of 2024. “His comments aren’t surprising. I don’t have much to say. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all, if you don’t want it to come back on you.”
Raleigh has continued his beef with the Blue Jays as recently as this season.
On April 19 of this season, during an 8-4 Mariners win over Toronto, Jays’ pitcher JosĂŠ BerrĂos accused Raleigh of stealing signs while he was standing at second base.
The 28-year-old catcher denied the accusation. However, the confrontation caused both benches to clear.
The rivalry between these two 1977 expansion cousins hadn’t been much throughout their history, but the tensions have increased over the last couple of seasons.
Aside from the Raleigh clashing with multiple members of the Jays, this rivalry really began back in 2022, in a series Jays fans know all too well.
Toronto had home-field advantage against Seattle in the 2022 AL Wild Card series, but got swept 2-0. The Jays were up 8-1 after five innings in Game 2, but lost 10-9 in one of the most shocking collapses in MLB playoff history.