The curiosity of Michael Kay about the Blue Jays’ turnaround performance against the Yankees during their recent three-game series in Toronto has stoked controversy. The YES Network announcer expressed surprise at the contrasting performances of the Toronto team during their two recent series against the New York Yankees and he stopped short of accusing them of cheating.
“You know what’s curious to me though?” the long-time Yankees voice told via Awful Announcing. “We just saw the Blue Jays in the Bronx, and what we watched was a completely different team than the one we’ve seen here in Toronto. The one in New York did not foul off the amount of pitches that this team does. It’s like it’s a different team in this ballpark.”
“Now, home-field advantage, there is something to that. But why would it manifest itself in the ability to foul off tough pitches?”
The series, split 3-3, provided a curious narrative. From April 5th to 7th at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees emerged triumphant in two out of three games, outscoring the Blue Jays 17-14. However, the tables turned upon returning to Toronto for games played from Monday onwards. This time, the Blue Jays took two out of three, edging out the Yankees 12-11.
A surface-level analysis might suggest these results paint a picture of evenly matched teams. However, Kay believes there’s more to the story than meets the eye.
Kay questions Jays’ game against Yankees
During the third game in Toronto, Kay, alongside analyst John Flaherty, noticed a significant shift in the Blue Jays’ approach at the plate, particularly in their ability to handle the Yankees‘ pitching staff.
As reported by Awful Announcing, Kay was intrigued at the stark difference in the Blue Jays’ performance. He noted that the Blue Jays’ hitters seemed far more adept at fouling off tough pitches in Toronto compared to their struggles in New York. This disparity, according to Kay, almost made it seem like they were two completely different teams depending on the location.
While the home-field advantage undoubtedly plays a role, Kay found it puzzling that the most noticeable difference lay in the Blue Jays’ ability to handle challenging pitches from the Yankees’ hurlers.
“You can understand it if the next time you see them, after you saw them in The Bronx, is a month and a half later, but this is a week later, and it’s a completely different approach and a completely different team,” he said.
Interestingly, the statistics from both series reveal minimal discrepancies. In the first series, both teams recorded an identical number of hits (24) and strikeouts (24 for the Yankees, 25 for the Blue Jays). The second series followed a similar pattern, with both teams recording 21 hits. However, the Yankees saw a slight increase in strikeouts (27) compared to the Blue Jays (22).
One possible explanation lies in the natural progression of scouting reports. Having faced the Yankees’ pitching for the sixth time, the Blue Jays may have gained a deeper understanding of their opponent’s tactics. As is common in baseball, each game played provides valuable scouting data that can be used to adjust strategies for subsequent encounters.
The Yankees and Blue Jays series offers a fascinating glimpse into the nuanced factors that can influence a team’s performance. While statistics play a crucial role, factors like location and adjustments based on scouting reports can also significantly impact the outcome of a game.
Kay faces Toronto fans’ ire
Toronto fans were quick to train their guns at Kay.
“Never in my life have I seen a team go 4-31 with RISP and get accused of cheating,” one wrote.
“Imagine being such a moron that you can look at a team with Bo Bichette (perennial top 3 in foul balls), George Springer (known to be able to take a long at bat), Justin Turner (decade-long career of having long ABs) and thinking – yeah, these guys are cheating because they can suddenly hit lots of fouls,” a fan commented.
God forbid highly paid professional baseball players make adjustments at the plate for their next series against a team they just played. This has to be the dumbest take I’ve seen in a while,” a third fan mentioned.
“Michael Kay thinks the Blue Jays were cheating,” soon became a thread on Reddit.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
It’s Hilarious to hear the handwringing & crying from the eminently Hypocritical Blue Jays fans.
It wasn’t that long ago that Toronto fans, including their manager, were convinced & Complained LOUDLY about Judge cheating with ZERO-point-ZERO EVIDENCE to back up their absurd & whiny accusation, other than the fact that Judge glanced (OMG!) into his dugout before hitting a Home Run.
Yes, Aaron Judge hit 62 Home Runs by glancing into the Yankees dugout in about 15-18 different ball parks, You Moronic Whiny Little Bird Brains!
Yet, you have the nerve to freak out over Kay questioning how 27 pitches could be fouled off, which is, statistically, HIGHLY UNUSUAL & A BIT DUBIOUS – in a newly refurbished stadium, no less – just one week after looking quite inept in NYC. No, nothing worth questioning there, right?
Yes, the unusually high number of foul offs could be one of those anomalies that happen, now & then – like Donald Trump saying something that isn’t totally insane – but that unusually high number of foul-offs was worthy of comment by Kay, as a professional announcer Who Has Literally Watched HUNDREDS of More Games In Person, than any of us.
So, yea, Kay had the right to question that rather curious anomaly. BUT, unlike you Jays’ fans, Kay didn’t outright accuse your guys of cheating, as you folks did when One of the Greatest HR Hitters in the past decade went deep on you because he glanced in at his rowdy teammates, who were getting on the ump for making so many bad calls, you nitwits.
So, Dear Whiny Jays’ Fans, please come down in droves to the Bronx for the next Toronto series, so New Yorkers can give you something Real to cry about.