As the summer rolled along and you were out enjoying the sunshine and freedom, the Toronto Blue Jays were headed towards another year of mediocrity — their 22nd straight season without reaching the post-season.

Mired in a slump of losing seven of their past 11 games, another year of playoff-less Blue Jays baseball seemed like all but a foregone conclusion. Fast-forward to the end of July, however, and after a flurry of major trades by general manager Alex Anthopoulos, the Blue Jays are once again relevant in the MLB.

Sitting with a record of 50–51 as of July 27 and a whopping eight games behind the New York Yankees for the division lead, the Jays went out and traded for five-time all-star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. But they weren’t done there. Just a few days later, they added the top pitcher on the market, David Price, and the buzz behind the Blue Jays reached a fever pitch.

Neither of the superstars disappointed their new teammates or fans as Price was dominant in his first start as a Blue Jay, striking out 11 over eight solid innings of work. Tulowitzki won his first 13 starts with the club and just two short weeks after all hope had appeared to be lost, the Blue Jays surpassed the Yankees for first place in the division.

This is the latest in the season that they’ve held the division lead since 1993, which also happens to be the last time they made the playoffs and won the World Series. At the end of August, they were sitting 7.5 games up in the wildcard and suddenly, making the playoffs was looking like a sure thing. For longtime fans, it’s sweet relief to finally see Canada’s lone professional baseball team looking like a contender once again.

That being said, there’s still plenty of room on the bandwagon for the part-time baseball fan and there’s never been a better time to get behind the Blue Jays.

They aren’t just winning games right now; they are hammering teams. In their recent series with the Detroit Tigers, the Jays won all three games and outscored them by a tally of 29–6.

The Jays have one of the most exciting lineups in the league, with power from top to bottom of the batting order. Their pitching staff has been right up there with the best since the mid-July all-star break and their consistently shaky bullpen has found their stride and put forth the best Earned Run Average in the majors in August.

Not only has the offence been playing well, but the defence has been hot too. Tulowitzki, Kevin Pillar, Russell Martin, Ryan Goins and Justin Smoak have all contributed nicely on the defensive side of things. Error-free baseball will be key as the playoff race heats up.

Everybody loves home runs and the Jays are providing more than any other team in the league. As of Aug. 31, they’ve clubbed 184 homers and don’t look like they plan on slowing down anytime soon. In the aforementioned series with the Tigers, they hit 11 dingers in just three games, with four of those coming from the red-hot bat of Edwin Encarnacion. “EE” set a franchise record with 35 RBI’s in the month of August, as him and Most Valuable Player candidate Josh Donaldson have led the power surge that have vaulted the Jays up the standings.

Donaldson has paced the Jays’ offensive attack all year long, as he’s hitting .301 with 36 home runs and 106 RBI’s at the end of August. His RBI totals are the top in the league and he has thrived at hitting in the second spot, even more so after the addition of Tulowitzki. With José Bautista still playing like an all-star — plus Martin and Chris Colabello contributing nicely in the middle of the order — the Jays have one of the most feared offenses in recent memory.

Regardless of whether or not you are a big baseball fan, the time is now for the Toronto Blue Jays. They are 24–6 since acquiring Tulowitzki and are exciting to watch on a nightly basis. As October draws closer, the hype builds as the Jays — with all of Canada behind them — hope to make a run at the World Series.

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Photo: Supplied/Toronto Blue Jays