It was an up-and-down day for many Toronto Blue Jays fans after seeing the team beat the The New York Yankees earned a 3-1 series victory after losing in the race to score home game berths for the next round.
It was a brutal scene on Ticketmaster Thursday morning after tens of thousands of people lined up for a chance to see the team play in the stadium. Toronto’s home games of the American League Championship Series (ALCS).
Tickets sold out in moments and are now being resold at much higher prices. — some even cost over $1,000 per seat.
With music blaring and champagne spraying from all directions in a tarp-covered room, the Blue Jays celebrated their American League Division Series victory in New York after ousting the Yankees 5-2 in Game 4.
Drenched in champagne, Blue Jays slugger George Springer said he was proud of the way the team has played so far.
“This is why you play this game. It’s amazing. So happy for our city, our fans. It’s awesome,” he told CBC News on Wednesday.
The Blue Jays knocked the New York Yankees out of the playoffs and return to Toronto to host the American League Championship Series. CBC’s Greg Ross reports on the team’s reaction from the locker room following the 5-2 victory at Yankee Stadium.
Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. told CBC News the team must continue to do “the job [they] what we have done” to continue this success story.
“The year is not over. We have eight more [games] leave,” he said.
In a now-viral interview with FOX Sports, Guerrero Jr. celebrated his victory against the Yankees on their home field with Red Sox legend David Ortiz by repeatedly chanting, “Daaa, the Yankees are losing!”
The spirit of victory was in the air at Scotiabank Arena as fans cheered the Blue Jays’ victory on the big screen, following the Maple Leafs’ 5-2 victory at home against the Montreal Canadiens.
Toronto now advances to the ALCS against the Detroit Tigers or Seattle Mariners.
The four home games taking place in Toronto will be Game 1 on October 12, Game 2 on October 13, a possible Game 6 on October 19 and a possible Game 7 on October 20 at Rogers Centre.
The winner of the seven-game series will receive the American League pennant and move on to the World Series.
Fans still have the chance to join in the Blue Jays fever
Toronto to host free viewing parties for remainder of playoffsn with ALCS games hosted at David Pecaut Square, the City of Toronto said in an emailed statement Thursday.
If the Blue Jays advance to the World Series, the city says it will host viewing parties at Nathan Phillips Square. This year, the World Series is scheduled to take place from October 21 to November 1.
The city said the screening parties will not have a ticketing system and will be open to everyone.
Last week, Blue Jays owner Rogers announced he would be giving away 500 free tickets to every home game “throughout the MLB playoffs.”
For the ALDS round, Rogers announced the contest location on social media the morning of each game, with hundreds of fans rushing to get in line.
“Details for the next round [of giveaways] will be available soon,” Rogers said Thursday in an emailed statement.
The Toronto Blue Jays are in the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2016 after eliminating the New York Yankees. CBC’s Greg Ross recaps the post-victory celebrations.
Fans can also score last-minute general admission standing tickets by registering with District Drops, which will put tickets on sale at an unspecified time.
Fan Dave Turliuk says “it was a long morning” trying to get tickets to the ALCS, but he finally managed to get some.
“I logged on at 9:30 and I think I yelled yippee at 10:45,” he said while grabbing the newest ALCS product at the Toronto Blue Jays store.
Turliuk says he hopes to see Detroit advance to the next round since “Seattle has just been a tough putt” for the Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays last reached the ALCS in 2016, where they were defeated by Cleveland, a team that went on to lose the World Series to the Chicago Cubs.
The Jays last appeared in the World Series when they won back-to-back championships in 1992 and 1993.
