Eight months ago, when hopeful º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøsports fans thought Shohei Ohtani was on a plane to Toronto, the future of the Blue Jays looked irrepressibly bright.
Today, the outlook feels dramatically different.
That’s because the Blue Jays — once touted as the new face of baseball, a group of mega-prospects ready to bring º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøbaseball back to the golden age — just finished the 2024 season 74-88. That’s last place in the American League East and 12 games back of a playoff spot. Ending the season being swept by the 100-loss Miami Marlins didn’t help.
But outside of feeling dismal to many fans, where did this season actually stack up? Here’s what the numbers say.
By wins
The 2024 Blue Jays finished with a .457 winning percentage. That’s 11th-worst in franchise history and the lowest mark since 2019, when the team finished 67-95 (.414).
This season was the sixth time this century the Blue Jays finished with a winning percentage of .457 or worse.
By the standings
This season was Toronto’s first since 2013 finishing last in the AL East.
Excluding the first five years of franchise history, when the team finished last every season, the Blue Jays had only been the bottom team on four occasions: 1995, 1997, 2004 and 2013. The 2024 season was the fifth.
But the AL East was also closer than it had ever been before with the Jays as a last-place team. The Blue Jays ended 2024 sitting 20 games back of the first-place Yankees. By comparison, the 1979 Blue Jays — who lost 109 games, the most in club history — were 50.5 games back of first.
The previous closest last-place team was the 1997 Jays, who were 22 games back of first.
By hitting
Offensive struggles weren’t unique to the Blue Jays this year. Leaguewide — and even in the minor leagues — batting average dropped as pitch velocities climbed.
That reality was reflected in Toronto’s offence. The team averaged 4.14 runs per game, the fewest since 1997 and eighth-lowest in franchise history. It landed the Blue Jays 23rd in baseball.
By pitching
The Blue Jays finished 22nd in baseball in runs allowed per game with 4.59.
But it’s far from the worst figures in club history. That distinction belongs to the 2000 Blue Jays, who gave up 5.6 runs per game — and had a staff ERA of 5.14.
The 2024 Jays gave up the 24th-most runs per game in club history, roughly average in the team’s 48-year history. But it’s a tough drop compared to the previous three seasons, which featured strong pitching staffs and a heavy emphasis on defence.
What lies ahead
The Blue Jays have still not won a post-season game since 2016 — and the clock is ticking.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is a free agent after next season. So is Bo Bichette. The rest of Toronto’s stable of talent is only getting older.
The 2024 season did little to inspire hope in a turnaround.
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