Former Blue Jays fan favorite's note after AL East clinch meant everything.

It may have taken the Toronto Blue Jays all162 games on the MLB schedule to do it. But on Sunday, they put the finishing touches on a spectacular 2025 bounce back season by capturing the American League East division title in a win over their long-time nemesis the Tampa Bay Rays. In doing so, the Blue Jays managed to secure the ever important home-field advantage right through to the American League Championship Series as a result.

However, that wasn’t the only significant thing of note for Toronto in locking down the AL East. In fact, former fan favourite Kevin Pillar had the exact words that every Blue Jays fan would want to hear for quite the long time coming.

Former Blue Jays fan favourite says exactly what every Toronto fan has wanted to hear for so long

Yes! You sure got that spot on Kevin, “the AL East is back where it belongs”. After all, it’s been 10 years since Pillar and the Jays last captured the elusive division title when the likes of José Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and company were leading the way for Toronto. And of course, that was back during the time when they had Pillar earning his nickname “Superman” on the field, making highlight reel catches on a daily basis. 

In addition, even though Pillar isn’t a Canadian himself, the fact that he put his entire heart and soul in playing for Canada’s team sure made him feel like an honourary Canadian. As a result, his heart-felt remarks stating “keep making Canada proud” definitely resonates with all of the Jays fans in Canada.

The now-retired Pillar will always be remembered for his stellar defense during his tenure with the Jays, along with the two prominent postseason runs that he was a part of during the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Toronto may not have won it all, falling in the ALCS on both occasions which has left some unfinished business for the current Blue Jays team to finally complete this year one decade later.