Blue Jays: 5 ways the Royals will push Toronto in the ALCS

Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

History and the Baseball Gods

Just because something happened 30 years ago doesn’t mean it isn’t fun to talk about it. These two teams have playoff history, back in 1985 when they played in the ALCS against each other. This 1985 series was a true heartbreaker for the Jays. The 1985 Jays won a franchise-record 99 games and they were making the playoffs for the first time since their expansion. The Blue Jays would take a commanding 3-1 series lead, scoring 3 runs in the top of the ninth to win game four and be one win away from going to their first World Series.

Led by George Brett and the rest of the 1985 Royals team, the Royals would go onto win the next 3 games and take the series 4-3. It would take the Blue Jays 4 more seasons to get back into the playoffs, while the Royals would go onto beat the Cardinals in seven games, in the “I-70 series”, for their first and only World Series. The Royals were a dominant team during the late 70’s and early 80’s, and they seem to be that same dominate team of the American League now.

I know these teams two teams probably don’t care too much about history (I know the Cubs certainly don’t entering the NLCS) but it is fun to look back at the battle these teams once had. Will history repeat itself, or can Toronto turn the tables?

Next: Will home field advantage haunt the Jays?