Blue Jays' latest travel drama could either build chemistry or be another roadblock

Not even the Toronto Blue Jays plane is immune to the injury bug. The Blue Jays 2026 season so far has been defined by the amount of players currently on the Injured List and it seems like that unlucky streak has extended beyond the clubhouse and is affect other aspects of the Blue Jays lives.

On Sunday, after their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks ended, the Blue Jays' plane was experiencing mechanical issues. Rather than waiting around, manager John Schneider gave the players the choice between taking a bus from Phoenix to Anaheim, or to wait for another plane to arrive. The democratic system resulted in the players piling onto a bus for the five and a half hour bus ride to get them to their destination ahead of their series against the LA Angels.

Not everyone was a fan of the decision. Future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer reprimanded Schneider, according to Shi Davedi of Sportsnet. He told Schneider that this decision is going to send him to Kangaroo Court, and Schneider will be put on trial to defend his actions.

Schneider also said, "I was like, 'Max, why don't you just buy a plane? You've got plenty of cash. Most players that were playing today wanted to get out of there." We'll see if that holds up in court or not. It will be a fascinating dissection of the order of law to see the results of this trial and what punishment may fit the crime.

In all seriousness, this has all the makings of being a turning point for the Blue Jays. A lighthearted moment in a season that's already had so many negatives. It worked last year for the Boston Red Sox, why not in 2026 for the Toronto Blue Jays?

Blue Jays could owe their season turn around to a plane mishap, like their rivals did a year ago

Last season, the Red Sox faced some issues with a flight as well. In July the Red Sox were heading to Minnesota for a series against the Twins. They left Boston at 7:30 p.m. but encountered severe air turbulence that left multiple players dealing with motion sickness. The plane made a stop in Detroit before continuing on to Minnesota and the Red Sox finally arrived around 1 a.m.

But the Red Sox used that bumpy ride as a rallying cry and started doing an airplane celebration on the field, and even made t-shirts that memorialized the event. The Red Sox on the field got locked in and after losing the first game in Minnesota, they rattled off seven straight wins, and finished the year by going 32-22 after that game and ended up clinching a Wild Card spot.

After the Blue Jays long bus ride, the team put together a 5-2 victory over the Angels which felt like the most Blue Jays type win of the season yet. It was a close game, but the Blue Jays capitalized on multiple chances in multiple innings and rode a wave a good pitching right to the end.

A plane debacle and subsequent five+ hour bus ride has the potential to bring out the worst in people, let alone people who are used to getting first class treatment every where they go. And yet, it seems like the Blue Jays, for now, have used it as a moment to bond and overcome a little bit of adversity. Maybe in a few weeks we'll get a Blue Jays bus t-shirt giveaway to remember this occasion.

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