FanSided

Blue Jays 2015 Year End Awards: Best Social Media Presence

By Ryan Andrews |
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Social media has allowed fans to interact with their favorite players in ways they never could before. Some have proven to be witty and entertaining. Others, well, they probably shouldn’t take to Twitter. Either way, social media has also allowed players to express emotions and thoughts that the previous generation could only imagine when hearing about pitchers swapping wives. So which Blue Jays player was the best at manipulating the various iterations of media? This was almost another unanimous decision, but someone did break-up the monopoly that one particular player had on this category…

Runner Up: Jose Bautista

The lone dissenting vote in this category came from Jays Journal co-editor Keegan Matheson, who adamantly voted for Jose Bautista on the strength of this tweet alone:

That tweet was in response to Toronto Sun columnist and stalker of hot dog carts Steve Simmons after Simmons posited that Kansas City eliminated Oakland in the playoffs last year on the strength of the zero deadline deals made by the Royals, directly referencing Bautista’s supposed funk because the Blue Jays failed to make any deals in a playoff push. Matheson did not yield from his position despite this tweet coming last year, stating “I will answer with Jose Bautista until the end of time.”

Bautista had a solid contributing year on Twitter, alternating between inspirational quotes from sports legends and emoji filled praise of fan and player alike. His biggest piece though was his article on the Players’ Tribune, going inside his mindset during his Play of the Year-Worthy home run against Texas. It was insightful, addressed the emotion of the situation, and the growing shift in baseball culture with the influx of Latino players in the majors.

Next: 2015 Social Media Award Winner: Well, What Else Was He Going To Do?

2015 Social Media Award Winner: Marcus Stroman

When Marcus Stroman went down to a torn ACL on March 9th, there was a sense of shock and utter despair that coursed through the baseball world. One of the brightest young talents in the game had been cut down on a bunt drill, the equivalent of Adele breaking her vocal cords while singing a Nickelback song. He felt the pain and he shared it with the nation:

Expected to miss the entire season, he went back to Duke University to complete his degree and begin the long rehab process. However his mind was always on the Blue Jays. On June 22nd, a tweet from Blue Jays radio broadcaster Mike Wilner unexpectedly gave the fan base a shot in the arm:

Fans were excited now, and Stroman was just as excited with them. When the Blue Jays acquired David Price, Stroman found out the same way this writer found out about the Vernon Wells trade: On his phone while sitting in class:

As August rolled on, not only were Blue Jays fans excited by the play on the field, but the news off the field. Finally when Stroman posted this photo, just five and a half months after the ACL tear, it was as if the trade deadline was occurring all over again:

Two weeks later, six months after it was universally declared that he would be seeing us in 2016, Stroman stepped onto the field against the New York Yankees. Two weeks after that, the playoff drought was over. #Squadgoals were met:

Stroman’s off-season has continued his whirlwind path to stardom, as he was a prominent guest on FOX Sports’ coverage of the World Series. Even now, he continues to train to rebuild the strength in his knee, offering the same kind of words of wisdom he has been for the past three years.

Words to live by. Congrats Marcus Stroman on winning the 2015 Social Media Award, an award that’s probably going to be named for him in another year or two.

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