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Game Reports Game of the Year -- Open Vote
It's the most... wonderful time... of the year...

Well, not really.



At least, not if you're a baseball fan waiting impatiently for the crack of bats and the popping of leather mitts to begin again. All of us here also clearly worship the altar of baseball by checking in on the Blue Jays frequently in the middle of December.

And indeed, it has been an interesting offseason so far for the ballclub. The additions of Russell Martin (somewhat surprising) and Josh Donaldson (profoundly surprising) have added two legitimate stars at their respective positions, while other smaller adds have helped fill various outgoing holes. There's some work left to do, certainly (that bullpen is looking rather shallow, like a kiddie pool) but unlike the 2013 offseason at least there has been the attempt to drastically improve the team.

Anyhow, I'm not here to talk about that. I'm here because, as 2014 is winding down, it's time to decide on a Game of The Year. And I want your help! Or rather, your input/feedback. The 2014 Blue Jays played a lot of interesting games. Which one was the most exciting? Which one was your favourite?

(For helpful reference and shameless self-promotion, here are the five Game of the Month articles for 2014)

April: http://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20140503131155538
May: http://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20140527000721323
June: http://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20140630150104180
July: http://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20140807015038459
August: http://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=2014090312182121

Posted by Eephus on Tuesday, December 23 2014 @ 10:36 AM EST.
Game of the Year -- Open Vote | 15 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Mike Green - Tuesday, December 23 2014 @ 11:20 AM EST (#296743) #
The game of the year for me was the June 20 comeback.  I loved the line from your recap "Francisco jetered a pitch deep down the left field line".  Better that Jeter should be remembered for his ability to hit opposite field home runs than his leadership or fielding ability or whatever.

The play of the year was the Gose bunt/Pillar dive walk-off from the May game.

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Magpie - Tuesday, December 23 2014 @ 11:54 AM EST (#296744) #
I'm with Mike on the Play of the Year, and just to be difficult I'm going with the August Marathon for Game of the Year. (Of course, I didn't see the June game, it was same night as the St Vincent show downtown.)
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China fan - Tuesday, December 23 2014 @ 12:03 PM EST (#296745) #
Since there's a mention of Josh Donaldson at the beginning of this thread, it gives me an excuse to mention Shi Davidi's new day-by-day insider account of how the Donaldson trade took shape and eventually happened:   http://www.sportsnet.ca/legacy/analytics/how-the-donaldson-deal-went-down/

One of the most interesting takeaways from this article is that the Jays had already virtually decided that Brett Lawrie would be shifted to 2B in 2015.  Beeston:  "I really wanted to keep Brett Lawrie to play at second base."  Davidi:  "The Jays didn’t want to part with Lawrie, preferring to shift the sparkplug third baseman over to second."

Keep in mind that this was AFTER the acquisition of Devon Travis.  My conclusion from this?  The Jays weren't planning to open the 2015 season with 2B in the hands of Travis, Izturis, Goins and/or Kawasaki.  This must imply that they are still definitely planning to acquire a new 2B -- whether it is Toritani or someone else.  I could be wrong, but that's the conclusion that I'm drawing from this.
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China fan - Tuesday, December 23 2014 @ 12:17 PM EST (#296746) #
And for the record, I agree with Magpie: the 19-inning marathon was the game of the year.
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Michael - Tuesday, December 23 2014 @ 08:26 PM EST (#296760) #
The August game has to be the game of the year. I enjoyed watching that one, and watching that one, and watching that one. :)

The June game was the game of the year, not counting the August game.
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greenfrog - Tuesday, December 23 2014 @ 10:41 PM EST (#296762) #
I'm going with May 28, a 3-2 win (the Jays' ninth straight) in which the Jays completed a sweep of the Rays at home. Hendriks walked a tightrope for six innings, giving up a bunch of loud fly balls (Gose loped back and scaled the wall near dead centre to catch one), but managed to finish with a very good 6 3 2 2 0 5 line. Gose's perfect bunt in the ninth, leading to Oviedo's throwing error, won it, with Pillar scoring the winning run and beating the relay throw on a possibly-showy-yet-effective dive toward home plate.

In a case of turnabout is fair play, the next night would produce a crushing defeat for the Jays. Reyes botched a routine throw to first with two out in the ninth, Jarrod Dyson on second, and the Jays ahead 6-5. KC went on to win in extras and instead of logging their tenth straight win, the Jays' impressive streak was over. I wonder whether this game caused Reyes to start doubting himself a bit on defense, as he seemed to flounder on D at times over the course of the rest of the season.
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Richard S.S. - Tuesday, December 23 2014 @ 10:57 PM EST (#296763) #
My game of the year was the turning point of the Season, where it became apparent the Bullpen was a disaster: Game Two: April 17th vs KC. From the 8th of the month the Jays were in 1st Place or tied for 1st Place in 6 of the 8 previous games. Despite the collapse of the Bullpen on the 17th, the Jays were tied for 1st Place on April 19th. Winning just 3 of the next 12 games, might have cost the Jays a Post-Season berth, because when they went back into a tie for 1st Place on 21 May, they were only 3 games above .500.
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ISLAND BOY - Wednesday, December 24 2014 @ 07:10 AM EST (#296768) #
I'll go with the 19 inning game in August. I watched over a regular game's length and into the first few extra innings, went to a wake, and then was astonished that it was still going when I got back. It was a bonus that the Jays won,too.I'd like to wish my fellow bauxites a great Christmas and all the best in 2015. I read this site every day but seldom post, and I'd like to thank everyone for their contibutions during the past year, especially on the minor leagues. Let's hope the Jays have a big year in 2015 !
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CeeBee - Wednesday, December 24 2014 @ 07:25 AM EST (#296769) #
The August 19 inning affair for me too. Probably never see one like that again in my lifetime.
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Paul D - Wednesday, December 24 2014 @ 07:41 AM EST (#296770) #
The insane September game against Boston - they were in, they were out, Mayberry scores from 2nd on a sac fly, and then they lose in the 10th. Not a fun memory, but it seemed to pretty much be the final nail.
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BlueMonday - Wednesday, December 24 2014 @ 10:48 PM EST (#296794) #
Another vote for the 19 inning August game.  The baseball equivalent of a never ending buffet.  As the Jays won, dessert was tasty, capped off with dark roast coffee from the Dominican Republic.

Thanks to all the posters on this site.  It's something I look forward to reading each day.  And special thoughts to John Northey at this time.

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CeeBee - Thursday, December 25 2014 @ 08:24 AM EST (#296797) #
Merry Christmas all :) Hope you all have a great time no matter how you view the holidays. Also I want to add a special "Thinking of you" to John.
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#2JBrumfield - Friday, December 26 2014 @ 10:46 PM EST (#296818) #
I have to go with June 20 because that's my birthday. The August game took too much out of the team because they had to go to Seattle where they got swept.
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John Northey - Saturday, December 27 2014 @ 12:25 AM EST (#296821) #
I'd go for the 19 inning game, as that was one of the few I saw a chunk of and it was just so much fun.  Interesting to see the Jays were in the middle of a winning streak when Katrina was born (September 3rd) and lost the day my wife died (the 5th) in extras.  Appropriate I guess.

Thanks for the thinking of you's.  I wrote a bit in the 'Santa' thread about how things are going (felt that was the right spot).
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rpriske - Tuesday, December 30 2014 @ 02:06 PM EST (#296859) #
That 19 inning game was the only time I have EVER left a ball game before it was over.

In my defense, I literally had no choice. I was in town for a performance and I could hardly miss my own feature because I was at a ball game.

I saw 10 innings. I kept getting updates after I left until the word finally came down. Huzzah!

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Game of the Year -- Open Vote | 15 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.