Toronto Blue Jays add ridiculous accessory to their home run jacket
After being outscored by 24 runs in their previous three games on a tough West Coast road trip, the Toronto Blue Jays were willing to try just about anything to change the vibe.
Enter a stuffed, light-up red dragon on a stick.
The toy dragon, reportedly purchased for US$70 at a Just For Fun store near the team's hotel in San Francisco, has become the Blue Jays' newest dugout mascot and home-run celebration prop, in addition to the bedazzled Toronto jacket.
And it instantly worked.
The Blue Jays snapped out of their offensive slump on Tuesday with a 9-3 win over the San Francisco Giants, scoring more than three runs for the first time in a week.
Clase is BACK in session!
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 8, 2026
His first blast of 2026 😤 pic.twitter.com/OzhHQZyZss
The story behind the stuffed children's toy is quite funny.
With the team sitting among the worst in the MLB when it comes to scoring runs, Toronto's hitting coaches felt they needed to try something different.
Instead of getting players up to beat on an opposing fastball or telling players to be more patient at the plate, assistant hitting coach Cody Atkinson wandered into a toy store to look for a new dugout prop to inject some life into the bats.
According to The Athletic, Atkinson initially considered buying a sword or a wolf before settling on the mythical dragon, which lights up and growls when you press its ear.
"We've reached the 'try something weird' portion of the 2026 campaign," Atkinson said.
INTRODUCING:
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 8, 2026
🐉 THE HOME RUN DRAGON 🐉 pic.twitter.com/ts99sh4ceQ
"It's meant to embody fearlessness, and our goal of being the hunter, not the hunted, on offence."
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. appears to be fully on board with the new mascot, telling reporters after the game the dragon "brought fire" to the Blue Jays' offence again.
If the dragon can keep the bats alive and somehow salvage this season, the franchise might need to adopt it as its alternate mascot. Sorry Ace.
@thehazelmae | @BlueJays
