Several hundred fans of Canada’s only major league baseball team piled into Rogers Place for a meet-and-greet opportunity with several Toronto Blue Jays on Friday.
A sea of blue greeted the Jays’ Kevin Pillar, Marco Estrada, Aaron Sanchez and Devon Travis as they arrived at Edmonton’s downtown arena for an autograph session on their winter tour.
Fans obtained tickets to the event through a lottery system.
READ MORE: 4 Toronto Blue Jays players coming to Edmonton as part of winter tour
The players were met by boisterous chants of “let’s go Blue Jays” as they filed in to meet with fans.
The players were thrilled to see how much their fanbase spreads beyond Canada’s largest city.
Estrada, a starting pitcher for the Jays, said no matter where the team goes across Canada “you’ll see Blue Jays fans.”
The players will meet with children and their families at the Stollery Children’s Hospital on Saturday before they head back to Rogers Place to take in a hockey game as the Edmonton Oilers host the Calgary Flames.
“It’s always something I make sure to sign up for,” Sanchez said of the upcoming visit to Edmonton’s children’s hospital.
“Sometimes for the parents it can be nice too… (to) see some joy on their kid’s face,” Pillar added.
Look at a photo gallery of the Blue Jays’ visit to Edmonton below:
The Blue Jays’ fanbase has become even more fanatical in recent years with several successful seasons. Last year, the team advanced to the American League Championship Series before losing to the Cleveland Indians.
While the players were optimistic about another successful season, they’re likely to feel the loss of power slugger Edwin Encarnacion to the very team that eliminated them, in the offseason.
“No one guy can fill Eddie’s shoes, we’re not asking them to,” Pillar said. “We’ve all got to step up.”
READ MORE: Cleveland Indians welcome former Toronto Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion
There is also rampant speculation about the future of fan favourite Jose Bautista who is a free agent this offseason.
The players also talked about how impressed they were with the Oilers’ new arena. They hope that some of the building’s bells and whistles make their way to their stadium in Toronto soon.
“This is sick,” Sanchez, one of the team’s starting pitchers, said. “I know our guys are going to be looking to renovate some of the things in Rogers Centre back in Toronto so there’s a lot of ideas (here) – it’s state-of-the-art for sure.”
“Hopefully we have one of these trophy rooms at our spot out east,” he said of the Oilers’ Stanley Cup display case.
-With files from Emily Mertz.
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