Blue Jays 2015 Year End Awards: Play of the Year

Blue Jays fans had to be impressed with the play they saw from the team this year. After watching too many instances of Jose Reyes wave at balls he would have gotten to before, Marco Scutaro getting eaten up by grounders or Juan Francisco throwing a ball over the head of Adam Lind, followers were craving plays that could be cheered. Plays that would remind them why they enjoyed baseball. 2015 provided them.

From Kevin Pillar and his diving catches, to Troy Tulowitzki and his spatula glove’s quick flips and Munenori Kawasaki‘s promise of a good old fashioned Canadian bush party, many Blue Jays contributed to the memories that will be treasured as new fans grow old and bandwagon fans have found a new team to root for (early money is on the Mariners).

The Jays Journal writers have parsed through the season that was and chosen their three favorite plays made on the field by Blue Jays this season. All manner of play were considered, be it hitting, fielding or throwing, and in the end, one of each were chosen for this top 3. Let’s relive some of the best plays of 2015…

Next: Honorable Mention: A Play From a Player Not Seen Often Enough

Runner-Up: 06/24 – Josh Donaldson‘s MVP Campaign Takes Flight

Marco Estrada, as per usual during the 2015 season, was pitching a gem against the Tampa Bay Rays. This particular one was of the perfect game variety through seven innings, and although the Blue Jays hadn’t come up with any offense to support Estrada, it felt like there was a chance the Rays would fall victim to yet another perfect performance.

With cleanup hitter David DeJesus leading off the 8th, and that phrase alone telling exactly why the Rays were so comically bad at the plate, Estrada pitched to a full count before DeJesus fouled off a changeup that looked like it would extend the at bat. Josh Donaldson had other plans.

Aiming for a friendly pocket of Blue Jays fans along the foul line, Donaldson tracked the slicing ball and dove into the stands. Using a sunglasses-sporting larger fellow as a landing pad, the Bringer of Rain hauled in the catch to the delight of his teammates. At the time, it seemed to be the equivalent of the Dewayne Wise catch in Mark Buehrle‘s perfect game. Of course Logan Forsythe would break up the bid in the next at bat with an infield single, but the play remained etched in the minds of Blue Jays fans and stood out as the play of the regular season.

Next: 2015 Winner Best Play: The Reason 'Regular' Is In That Last Sentence

2015 Play of the Year: 10/14 – Jose Bautista Flips Off the Rangers

After waiting so long for regular season success, the postseason was proving to be every bit the roller coaster that older Blue Jays fans remembered. The brink of elimination was too close for comfort after two games, but Toronto battled back to force a deciding match in Canada.

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The Blue Jays held a slim one-run lead heading into the 7th inning, which was later described with the same adjectives previously reserved for Ben Carson’s campaign platform. Patrons in the RogerSkydome were upset with the correct ruling after Russell Martin threw a ball that Shin-Soo Choo could hit, scoring the go-ahead run and introducing a whole new world of neurosi into fans’ minds. It was a grim time.

The offense appeared to have solved Cole Hamels in the bottom of the inning. Or at least Elvis Andrus was giving them the cheat sheet. The shortstop’s three errors loaded the bases for Toronto with none out, but it looked like the Blue Jays were going to do very little with it. They only managed a force out at home and an RBI bloop out to tie the game. It looked like the ghost from Toronto’s 2010 draft, former 4th rounder Sam Dyson was going to help Texas escape from the situation Andrus had put them in. In stepped Jose Bautista, and the third pitch that Joey Bats saw was sent into history…

The ginger beards would even the home run karma in Kansas City, denying a trip to the World Series. For a fan base starved for any shred of post-season action, Bautista provided the whole beautiful tapestry. He released 11 years of personal frustration and 22 years of a city’s frustration, and the bat flip at the end served as the epic punctuation. He’s still explaining why he tossed the stick like it owed him money, but it encapsulated the unbridled joy and regained swagger that this team had in 2015. It serves as a fitting choice for this season’s Play of the Year.

Next: Did Jose Bautista's Home Run Win Him the Jays Journal Best Hitter Award?