Countdown to Opening Day - 22: Blue Jays look to end postseason drought
In this 30-day series, theScore's MLB editors preview the 2015 season with an in-depth look at some of the significant numbers - milestones, jersey numbers and general miscellanea - poised to pop up throughout the campaign.
No team knows misery like the Toronto Blue Jays. Not over the last two decades, at least.
The last time the Blue Jays were in the postseason the Rogers Centre was named the SkyDome, the organization had the game's highest payroll and the Raptors were still two years shy of playing their first-ever game.
The team's 21-year playoff drought is the longest among the big four sports teams. Toronto hasn't been to the postseason since Joe Carter's home run secured the second of back-to-back World Series titles for the Blue Jays.
Whether it was falling short with near-90-win teams in 1998 and 2006, coming up empty and injured in 2013, or nosediving and blowing a division lead in 2014, Toronto has consistently found ways to avoid playing meaningful September baseball.
Since 1993:
| Results | Year |
|---|---|
| 84+ W seasons | 6 (last time: 2010) |
| 84+ L seasons | 8 (last time: 2013) |
| Best record | 88-74 (1998) |
| Worst record | 67-94 (2004) |
The division hasn't done the Blue Jays any favors, but they've managed to place better than third only once since 1993, while the other American Leaugue East teams have all made at least four playoff appearances.
It looked like 2015 was as strong a year as any to buck the trend before Marcus Stroman - the team's best pitcher - was lost weeks ahead of Opening Day, forcing an uphill battle from the start, and taking a bite out of four-plus months of optimism born through the acquisitions of All-Stars Josh Donaldson and Russell Martin.
But Donaldson and Martin, two players expected to help take Toronto over the hump, Jose Reyes and sluggers Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion reman present, forming a dynamic top part of the order.
The Blue Jays aren't short on talent and a lot of unexpected surprises occur over a 162-game season.
Maybe the next unexpected headed the Blue Jays' way isn't disappointment, a feeling the fan base knows all too well, and the postseason drought is halted before reaching 22 years.
The team's top two pitching prospects, Aaron Sanchez and Daniel Norris - both pitching in their age-22 season - will fittingly have a prominent say in whether the torment is ended.