That’s A Raptorial: Let’s take a basketball break with the Blue Jays

It’s the Raptors off-season now but we’re not taking any breaks on That’s A Rap! The Finals will be over soon and basketball may not be back until 2021, so we’ll the extra time to scan the Toronto sports scene and get to know our other pro teams.

The first That’s A Rap tutorial — a Raptorial, as it were — is on the Toronto Blue Jays.

To help guide us through the intricacies of Baseball and the who’s who of the 2-time champions, Jason brought in Adam Corsair. A frequent guest of the show, Adam not only hosts his own Raptors podcast (South of the 6ix), he also co-hosts a Blue Jays podcast (JayBird Watching).

If you ever wanted to get to know the sport or the team a little more, what better time than now, as Toronto is in the midst of a sports renaissance! Enjoy the first edition of That’s A Raptorial and feel free to pose your questions and comments below.

In This Episode:

5:30 — How did you become a fan?

Adam’s fandom story mimics a lot of our own. It happened in adolescence, with guidance from his father, and with the knowledge that you’re in this for the long haul. Was that how you became a Raptors fan? Did you have a favourite before the Raptors had a franchise?

9:00 — Reviewing some ground(ball) rules

It’s odd to think of Baseball as a Christopher Nolan movie, but Adam and Jason manage to make the connection work.

13:37 — MLB D-League

When explaining the Minor Leagues, it’s fascinating to think how quickly Basketball used Baseball’s development system and quickly turned it into a viable tool for many franchises. It doesn’t take long to remember the success some Raptors had in the D/G-League: Fred VanVleet (Champ), Pascal Siakam (Champ + Finals MVP), and Chris Boucher (MVP + DPOY).

19:30 — Base-ketball comparisons

Coaches challenges, umpires vs. referees, and faking your opponents. The similarities and, more importantly, differences between Baseball and Basketball are about embracing the game’s imperfections.

32:43 — President-GM-Coach

While the Raptors have been enjoying the spoils of Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster, Blue Jays fans have endured a roller coaster of emotions with the moves made by Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins. Similar to Nick Nurse, Charlie Montoyo managed a Toronto sport team to over-achieve in 2020. But that’s where the similarities end.

40:16 — Lowry, Siakam, FVV, OG on the Blue Jays

Cavan Biggio, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Bo Bichette are more than just famous sons to former Baseball greats. They’re the future for the Blue Jays and names that Toronto sports fans will continue hearing for many years.

48:47 — Pennant Odds

The Blue Jays’ return to the playoffs, after a 4-year playoff drought, may have been short-lived, but make no mistake, this team is well ahead of schedule. What does the future hold for the boys in blue? Was this season a sign of things to come or a flash in the pan due to an extended playoff field?