Blue Jays Morning Brew: In MVP, the V is for Viking

As the Blue Jays approach another season on the field, they continue to hit home runs off of it. Enjoy that and more in another cup of the Morning Brew

Blue Jays MVP third-baseman Josh Donaldson filmed his much-discussed appearance on the show “Vikings” Monday, and as you might have guessed, it looks fantastic. 


He also brought along some Blue Jays gear for Canadian actor Alexander Ludwig, who plays the character of Bjorn Lothbrok on the show. Notice how Donaldson refers to Ludwig as a “fellow” Canadian. Canadian citizenship: granted.

Have the Blue Jays improved?  –  Here’s some good reading from MjwW over at Blue Bird Banter which asks the question “Are the Jays better off than they were three months ago?” It’s useful to line up the rosters of then and now side-by-side, especially with the money involved. This big picture doesn’t bring as optimistic a conclusion as many think, though. (So far).

Catching up with Kevin  –  Also at Blue Bird Banter, Eric Elliot had a chance to speak with outfielder Kevin Pillar in this great piece. Pillar had a great answer when asked about the Gold Glove award in 2016 and what he needs to do to steal it away.

“Save more runs I guess, I guess that’s the key. I don’t know how that’s done but I’m going to do my research and figure out how to get them because, wow Kiermaier saved a lot more runs than I did so I really have to improve on that area.”

More from Toronto Blue Jays News

• Matt Chapman has been exactly what the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: The goalposts are moving in the right direction
• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
• Blue Jays: Comparisons for Alek Manoah’s Second Season
• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King

“Get it together, it’s baseball!”  –  Over at Blue Jay Hunter, Ian Hunter found this great piece of audio from the Texas Rangers radio broadcast team during Game 5 of the ALDS, which MLB Network has declared the top game of 2015. “Get it together, it’s baseball” has quickly become one of my favourite sound bytes from the season that was.

Gibby in a tuxedo and ball player emotions  –  That may be my favourite Morning Brew sub-heading of all time, but you can also find the goodness at Blue Jay Hunter.

Not only was ‘The People’s Champion’ John Gibbons dressed to the nines, but after presenting Marcus Stroman with the “You Gotta Have Heart Award”, Stroman gave an excellent and emotional speech thanking his parents.

Checking in on Pompey  –  Over at The Canadian Baseball Network, Melissa Verge catches up with the young Canadian Dalton Pompey to chat about his work with kids in baseball and the season ahead. It’s well worth a few minutes of your day.

On the field, Pompey is hoping to learn from his 2015 lessons. “My goal is to earn a starting role or a spot on my team and keep it. That wasn’t what I did last year, I earned the role but I didn’t keep it. I think it’s a lot harder to stay in the major leagues then to just make it.”