toronto blue jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are retiring their popular home run jacket this season

It seems as though all good things must come to an end, because the Toronto Blue Jays are officially ditching their highly-coveted home run jacket just in time for the new season. 

Jays manager John Schneider told the Toronto Sun on Wednesday that the team is retiring the jacket, in a decision that was made by the players. 

"It's time to go from a talented, fun team to a talented, fun team that's going to scrap and claw and find ways to win games," Schneider said. "I think the overall message, whether it's putting a jacket on or doing something in the dug out, we want to celebrate more than just home runs." 

Reactions on social media to the news were mixed, with someone mourning the loss of the tradition, while others were happy to see the jacket go. 

Team staffer Hector LeBron is the brains behind the fashionable attire, and created the jacket back in July 2021. Over the course of the past two seasons, it has become a fixture of post-home run celebrations. 

The back of the jacket includes the names of different countries, including Ukraine in its 2022 edition. The countries are accompanied by the words "La Gente del Barrio" which translates from Spanish to "the people of the neighbourhood." 

The jacket is a true homage to all of the unique multicultural backgrounds that are found in the Blue Jays clubhouse, fanbase, and staff.

It was first featured on July 29, 2021, when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a home run out of Fenway Park in Boston. When the Canadian-Dominican player returned to the dugout, his teammates presented him with the detailed jacket, thus starting the tradition. 

Last month, Schneider hinted that the tradition might be coming to an end, saying that the decision was "up to the players." 

"I think that anything that the players want to do is going to be cool," he said. "We've had the jacket for a couple of years." 

Although we're sad to see the tradition go, we'll be cheering just as loud for the Blue Jays when they hit a home run, with or without the jacket. 

Lead photo by

@BlueJays


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