The talk of the Toronto spots scene has been the Toronto Blue Jays return to the World Series after more than three decades.
I was 12 years old when Joe Carter hit that home run to stun the Philadelphia Phillies. It was a unique time to be a sports fan in Toronto, to be sure.
Lost amid the Blue Jays a second straight World Series title was the Toronto Maple Leafs start to the season. The Leafs stared the season 10-0 and looked poised for another strong playoff run.
That year, the Leafs made it to the Western Conference Final, losing the Vancouver Canucks. That was during the spring of 1994, of course. Still, there’s an interesting parallel. The Blue Jays made it to the World Series as the Maple Leafs’ season got started.
That situation has made me think that this could be another bizarre conjunction of events that could propel the Maple Leafs to a long playoff run.
Yes, I know. The Maple Leafs are not 10-0 this season. But that doesn’t mean the Leafs can’t make the playoffs and go on a run. The club has the pieces to do so. It’s just a matter of the club getting in sync and showing off what it can do.
I can also understand the pessimism and skepticism regarding the Maple Leafs this season. But it was much worse seeing those early 90s Leafs teams after a horrific decade in the 1980s. It was such a balm to the soul to see the Leafs succeed back then, fleeting as it was.
As a historian, I look for patterns and parallels. Sometimes, the history has a serendipitous way of making things lineup.
Maybe I’m looking too hard and finding patterns in random events. But then again, how many times have weird coincidences fit in?
First, let’s celebrate the Blue Jays hopefully winning it all. Then, we can revisit this conversation in the spring, with the Maple Leafs, hopefully, making a strong playoff run.
Heck, what if the universe decides to right a wrong and clear the way for the Leafs to win the Cup? Wouldn’t that be the ultimate historical anomaly?
The Leafs and Blue Jays winning championships in the same season would be the anomaly of an anomaly, for sure.