Blue Jays’ Curtain Falls on 2021 Season, Guerrero Jr. Hits 48th Homer

[Box Score]

Finally, the curtain has fallen on the 2021 Toronto Blue Jays’ season. Notably, they did everything they needed to do down to the final day of the regular season to give themselves a chance to play in the playoffs or at least a one-game playoff against the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.

The Blue Jays swept the Orioles at home, bludgeoning them 12-4 on Sunday in a game that was over quickly. At the same time, the Yankees carried a 0-0 tie in New York into the bottom of the ninth. Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox trailed at one point 5-1 in Washington.

While both of those squads would somehow rally and win, eliminating the Blue Jays in tragic fashion; a little history was made on Sunday. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered to right field for his 48th and final home run of the season.

Guerrero Jr. finished the legendary season with 48 home runs, 111 RBI, 122 runs scored, and a .311 batting average. He is the only 22 year old in baseball history to hit 48 home runs, breaking his tie with Eddie Matthews. He finished with an OPS of 1.002 on the year.

Also in this game, George Springer homered twice.

In the end the Blue Jays just had one mulligan too many over the course of the year. While they closed with a rush of shock and awe, they struggled a little bit after the trade deadline and their bullpen blew a few leads late. Obviously these were the games that cost them as they came up a single game short.

This will go down as the season that Guerrero Jr. put himself on the map as baseball’s best hitter, and although the Blue Jays didn’t make the playoffs, it will be viewed as a season of immense success. Still, one has to wonder if they make it back to this point. We have said it before that the teams that truly end up special are the ones that arrive by surprise a year early. This was that year to sneak attack the league for Toronto. Now, opponents will be waiting on them as they face an uncertain future with labor issues looming.