Guest: RUSH frontman and Blue Jays fanatic Geddy Lee

The Blue Jays are on the eve of their American League division series against the New York Yankees, which begins Saturday afternoon. We talk to the Jays' most famous fan, the lead singer, bassist and keyboardist from the legendary Canadian rock band Rush, who also happens to be a massive baseball geek.

Geddy Lee shares his thoughts on the Blue Jays' worst-to-first season, how much fun he's had watching the team and how large a part of their success all the unsung heroes have been.

We also look at the ALDS match-up with the Yankees and open up the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca!

Guests: 2025 Blue Jays MVP, Rookie of the Year and Unsung Hero

We don't want to spoil the surprise for you, so as the Jays' American League division series draws ever closer, check out this episode of Deep Left Field to find out who the players, coaches and other uniformed personnel voted as their end-of-season award winners.

We're joined by the MVP, who got 45 of 53 votes cast, Rookie of the Year, who got 48, and Unsung Hero, who ran away with an award for which 14 different players received votes, truly symbolizing this year's Blue Jays, for which there seemed to be a different hero every night.

As we continue with our far-more-frequent-than-usual episodes through the post-season, remember that the Deep Left Field mailbag is always open. If you want to get your comment or question onto the show, send an email to deepleftfield@thestar.ca!

Guests: Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement, pitchers Jeff Hoffman and Eric Lauer

As the Blue Jays prepare to play in the American League Division Series for the first time since 2016, we take you back onto the field in the wake of their division-clinching win Sunday.

Ernie Clement is the poster boy for the Jays' cast of unsung heroes and versatile contributors, and he joins us to talk about his multiple roles over the course of the season and how his flexibility was once again put on display by playing three different positions in Sunday's season finale.

Eric Lauer may have saved the season by stabilizing the pitching staff when he was called up at the end of April, and he had the ball in his glove when the season ended, stepping on first to retire Tampa Bay's Jonathan Aranda for the final out. He talks about bouncing back from a 2024 in which he got released by two major-league organizations and wound up pitching in South Korea, and what he's doing with the ball from the 27th out.

Closer Jeff Hoffman was on the National League East champion Philadelphia Phillies last season, who also got a first-round bye, and we talk to him about what the Jays will do with five days off and how the break could affect them in the next round.

All that, plus we open up the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca for your questions and comments!

Guests: Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, Toronto Star baseball columnist Gregor Chisholm

The Blue Jays are American League East champions.

They clinched the division with a 13-4 mauling of the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre Sunday, giving them the AL East crown for the first time in ten years. It was the first time they'd clinched at home since 1993.

We talk to injured shortstop Bo Bichette about his season, the comeback from last year's last-place finish and what his status is as the Jays enter a five-day break before taking on either the Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees in the American League Division Series.

Gregor Chisholm stops by as well, to discuss Game 162 and how it felt like a microcosm of the season as a whole, as well as the odd path the Jays took to the division title, having to win their final four games of the season following an ugly run of six losses in seven games

Guest: Blue Jays pitcher Tommy Nance

With 161 games done and the American League East still in question, we present a bonus episode of Deep Left Field.

The final game of the regular season goes Sunday, and a Blue Jays home win over the Tampa Bay Rays gives them their first division title since 2015. So does a Yankees home loss against Baltimore.

We talk to Tommy Nance, whose scoreless eighth inning in Saturday's Jays win whittled his ERA down to a sparkling 1.99, about how we got here, how the team is feeling going into the biggest game of the year (so far) and what he thinks of the decision to start Kevin Gausman in the season finale.

As well, the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca will be open and we'll take your comments and answer your Blue Jays questions!

Guest: Blue Jays Associate Manager DeMarlo Hale

The Blue Jays are going into the season's final weekend having clinched a playoff spot but not knowing whether they'll be the first, second or fourth seed in the American League. The only thing that's assured is that they will open the playoffs at home, whether that's in the wild card round or with a first-round bye.

We talk to Jays' associate manager DeMarlo Hale about a wild week in which the Jays won just twice in eight tries and were almost swept by both Kansas City and Boston. Hale, who was John Gibbons' bench coach with the Jays in their 2015 and '16 playoff runs, and also coached in post-seasons under Terry Francona and Buck Showalter, weighs in on the playoffs to come, on the Jays sputtering to the finish line and on all the recent controversies with umpires and replay reviews.

Also, we open the mailbag and take about a dozen of your questions, most of which have to do with the playoff roster and starting rotation. And thoughts on DFAing Alek Manoah.

Guests: Children Ruin Everything star Aaron Abrams, Clare Blackwood of The Beaverton and Second City

After finishing in last place just a year ago, the Blue Jays clinched a post-season berth with their 8-5 win over the Kansas City Royals Sunday, becoming the first American League team to do so.

In honour of the return of playoff baseball to Toronto for the first time (actual Toronto, as in a home game) since 2022, we have gathered a panel of some of the city's best, brightest and professionally funniest Blue Jays fans to talk about the clinch, the awful week leading up to it, the replay debacles in Tampa and KC and so much more.

Aaron Abrams, the star of Children Ruin Everything on CTV and Netflix, joins the roundtable discussion along with distinguished Second City alumna Clare Blackwood of The Beaverton podcast. You're gonna love it!

Guest: Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman

Kevin Gausman has taken a huge leap forward over his past four starts, dominating the playoff-bound Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees and Houston Astros before turning in a solid September 17 performance in a 2-1 Blue Jays loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The right-hander has a sparkling 0.90 ERA over those four starts - and just 2.30 over his past 15 outings - and he's put himself in position to be the Jays' first starter out of the gate in the post-season.

The 34-year-old joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about his turnaround, being at his best when it matters the most, and this magical Blue Jays' season as they head into the playoffs.

We also deal with the news of the week, including Trey Yesavage's magical major-league debut, Bo Bichette being out for at least the rest of September, Baltimore analyst Brian Roberts' ignorant comments about Canadian baseball fans, the release of one-time top prospect Orelvis Martinez and the replay controversy in Tampa.

Plus, we open up the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca!