The Toronto Blue Jays are four wins away from securing a spot in the World Series — and the closer they get, the more politically charged the games become.
When Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the White House this week, he even made sure to mention Canada’s baseball team to U.S. President Donald Trump.
“We’re coming down for the World Series,” said a confident Carney. (Trump admitted that the Jays are “looking pretty good.”)
Jamie Campbell, the host of Blue Jays Central on Sportsnet, was a guest this week on our Closer Look podcast. Asked if the ongoing trade war — and Trump’s 51st state rhetoric — has had any impact on the Jays’ playoff run, Campbell replied: “You have just hit a nerve.”
He compared the recent Jays/Yankees series to this winter’s 4 Nations Face-Off, which Canada won over the United States on a thrilling overtime goal from Connor McDavid.
“It almost felt like us in this wild way, standing up to this entity that wants to make us a state,” Campbell told the podcast. “And I couldn't help but think about that as I was watching those baseball games.
“Here are the Blue Jays, Canada's last remaining major league team, beating the New York Yankees and doing so handily,” he continued. “And maybe there was way more to it than just baseball. Maybe there was a political edge to the way people were feeling about it, and if that's the release some of us need — some of us who, you know, are uneasy and pissed off about some of what we’re hearing from south of the border — then let it continue. Let's see more of it.”
You can watch our full interview with Campbell HERE.
The Blue Jays will host the Seattle Mariners in game one of the American League Championship Sunday night at 8 p.m.
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