title: How Do You Live? (film)

text: Suzuki stated in August 2018 that the film was expected to be completed in 2021 or 2022. In a late 2019 interview with NHK, Miyazaki stated that the film is not to be expected anytime soon; he said that in his younger age, he used to produce 10 minutes of animation every month, but now his speed was reduced to 1 minute per month. As of October 2019, the film was confirmed to be 15% complete. In May 2020, Suzuki described to "Entertainment Weekly" that it was a "big fantastical" film, while also telling them that 60 animators were working on the film, and that an estimated 36 minutes had been completed after three years of production, saying "we are still hand-drawing everything, but it takes us more time to complete a film because we're drawing more frames", and they were "hoping it will finish in the next three years". In December 2020, Suzuki stated that the production was working with no deadlines, similarly to "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya" (2013), which took eight years to make. He said that the animation was half-finished, that production was running faster due to COVID-19 restrictions requiring them to work at home, and that the film would be 125 minutes long. He also revealed that Miyazaki wanted to adapt "Earwig and the Witch" (2020) during development, but his son Gorō directed the adaptation instead.


title: How Do You Live? (film)

text: On December 13, 2022, the film was announced to be released in Japan on July 14, 2023, and distributed by Toho.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed to have occurred in December 1531, and a venerated image on a cloak enshrined within the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. The basilica is the most-visited Catholic shrine in the world, and the world's third most-visited sacred site.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Pope Leo XIII granted the image a decree of canonical coronation on 8 February 1887 and was pontifically crowned on 12 October 1895.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: According to "Nican Mopohua", a 17th-century account written in the native Nahuatl language, the Virgin Mary appeared four times to Juan Diego, an indigenous Mexican peasant Chichimec and once to his uncle, Juan Bernardino. The first apparition occurred on the morning of Saturday, 9 December 1531 (Julian calendar, which is December 19 on the (proleptic) Gregorian calendar in present use). Juan Diego experienced a vision of a young woman at a place called the Hill of Tepeyac, which later became part of Villa de Guadalupe, in a suburb of Mexico City. According to the accounts, the woman, speaking to Juan Diego in his native Nahuatl language (the language of the Aztec Empire), identified herself as the Virgin Mary, "mother of the very true deity". She was said to have asked for a church to be erected at that site in her honor. Based on her words, Juan Diego then sought the Archbishop of Mexico City, Fray Juan de Zumárraga, to tell him what had happened. Not unexpectedly, the Archbishop did not believe Diego. Later the same day, Juan Diego again saw the young woman (the second apparition), and she asked him to continue insisting.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The next day, Sunday, December 10, 1531 (Julian calendar), Juan Diego spoke to the Archbishop a second time. The latter instructed him to return to Tepeyac Hill and to ask the woman for a truly acceptable, miraculous sign to prove her identity. Later that day, the third apparition appeared when Juan Diego returned to Tepeyac; encountering the same woman, he reported to her the Archbishop's request for a sign, which she consented to provide on the next day (December 11).


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: By Monday, December 11 (Julian calendar), however, Juan Diego's uncle, Juan Bernardino, became ill, which obligated Juan Diego to attend to him. In the very early hours of Tuesday, December 12 (Julian calendar), Juan Bernardino's condition having deteriorated overnight, Juan Diego journeyed to Tlatelolco to get a Catholic priest to hear Juan Bernardino's confession and help minister to him on his deathbed.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: To avoid being delayed by the Virgin and ashamed at having failed to meet her on Monday as agreed, Juan Diego chose another route around Tepeyac Hill, yet the Virgin intercepted him and asked where he was going (fourth apparition); Juan Diego explained what had happened and the Virgin gently chided him for not having made recourse to her. In the words which have become the most famous phrase of the Guadalupe apparitions and are inscribed above the main entrance to the Basilica of Guadalupe, she asked "¿No estoy yo aquí que soy tu madre?" ("Am I not here, I who am your mother?"). She assured him that Juan Bernardino had now recovered and told him to gather flowers from the summit of Tepeyac Hill, which was normally barren, especially in the cold of December. Juan Diego obeyed her instruction and he found Castilian roses, not native to Mexico, blooming there.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: According to the story, the Virgin arranged the flowers in Juan Diego's "tilma", or cloak, and when Juan Diego opened his cloak later that day before Archbishop Zumárraga, the flowers fell to the floor, revealing on the fabric the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The next day, December 13 (Julian calendar), Juan Diego found his uncle fully recovered as the Virgin had assured him, and Juan Bernardino recounted that he also had seen her after praying at his bedside (fifth apparition); that she had instructed him to inform the Archbishop of this apparition and of his miraculous cure; and that she had told him she desired to be known under the title of 'Guadalupe'.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The Archbishop kept Juan Diego's mantle, first in his private chapel and then in the church on public display, where it attracted great attention. On December 26, 1531, a procession formed to transfer the miraculous image back to Tepeyac Hill where it was installed in a small, hastily erected chapel. During this procession, the first miracle was allegedly performed when a native was mortally wounded in the neck by an arrow shot by accident during some stylized martial displays performed in honor of the Virgin. In great distress, the natives carried him before the Virgin's image and pleaded for his life. Upon the arrow being withdrawn, the victim fully and immediately recovered.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Guadalupe, Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain was the most important Marian shrine in the medieval kingdom of Castile. It is one of the many dark or black skinned Madonnas in Spain and is revered in the Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe, in the town of Guadalupe, from which numerous Spanish conquistadors stem. The name is derived from .


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The shrine houses a statue reputed to have been carved by Luke the Evangelist and given to Leander of Seville, archbishop of Seville, by Pope Gregory I. According to local legend, when Seville was taken by the Moors in 712, a group of priests fled northward and buried the statue in the hills near the Guadalupe River. At the beginning of the 14th century, the Virgin appeared one day to a humble cowboy named Gil Cordero who was searching for a missing animal in the mountains. Cordero claimed that the Virgin Mary had appeared to him and ordered him to ask priests to dig at the site of the apparition. Excavating priests rediscovered the hidden statue and built a small shrine around it which became the great Guadalupe monastery.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Following the Conquest in 1519–1521, the Marian cult was brought to the Americas and Franciscan friars often leveraged syncretism with existing religious beliefs as an instrument for evangelization. What is purported by some to be the earliest mention of the miraculous apparition of the Virgin is a page of parchment, the "Codex Escalada" from 1548, which was discovered in 1995 and, according to investigative analysis, dates from the sixteenth century. This document bears two pictorial representations of Juan Diego and the apparition, several inscriptions in Nahuatl referring to Juan Diego by his Aztec name, and the date of his death: 1548, as well as the year that the then named Virgin Mary appeared: 1531. It also contains the glyph of Antonio Valeriano; and finally, the signature of Fray Bernardino de Sahagun which was authenticated by experts from the Banco de Mexico and Charles E. Dibble. Scholarly doubts have been cast on the authenticity of the document.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: A more complete early description of the apparition occurs in a 16-page manuscript called the "Nican mopohua", which has been reliably dated in 1556 and was acquired by the New York Public Library in 1880. This document, written in Nahuatl, but in Latin script, tells the story of the apparitions and the supernatural origin of the image. It was probably composed by a native Aztec man, Antonio Valeriano, who had been educated by Franciscans. The text of this document was later incorporated into a printed pamphlet which was widely circulated in 1649.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: In spite of these documents, there are no known 16th century written accounts of the Guadalupe vision by the archbishop Juan de Zumárraga. In particular, the canonical account of the vision features archbishop Juan de Zumárraga as a major player in the story, but, although Zumárraga was a prolific writer, there is nothing in his extant writings that can confirm the indigenous story.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The written record suggests the Catholic clergy in 16th century Mexico were deeply divided as to the orthodoxy of the native beliefs springing up around the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, with the Franciscan order (who then had custody of the chapel at Tepeyac) being strongly opposed to the outside groups, while the Dominicans supported it.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The main promoter of the story was the Dominican Alonso de Montúfar, who succeeded the Franciscan Juan de Zumárraga as archbishop of Mexico. In a 1556 sermon Montúfar commended popular devotion to "Our Lady of Guadalupe", referring to a painting on cloth (the tilma) in the chapel of the Virgin Mary at Tepeyac, where certain miracles had also occurred. Days later, Fray Francisco de Bustamante, local head of the Franciscan order, delivered a sermon denouncing the native belief and believers. He expressed concern that the Catholic Archbishop was promoting a superstitious regard for an indigenous image:


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The devotion at the chapel... to which they have given the name Guadalupe was prejudicial to the Indians because they believed that the image itself worked miracles, contrary to what the missionary friars had been teaching them, and because many were disappointed when it did not.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Archbishop Montúfar opened an inquiry into the matter at which the Franciscans repeated their position that the image encouraged idolatry and superstition, and four witnesses testified to Bustamante's statement that the image was painted by an Indian, with one witness naming him "the Indian painter Marcos". This could refer to the Aztec painter Marcos Cipac de Aquino, who was active at that time.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Prof. Jody Brant Smith, referring to Philip Serna Callahan's examination of the tilma using infrared photography in 1979, wrote: "if Marcos did, he apparently did so without making a preliminary sketches – in itself then seen as a near-miraculous procedure... Cipac may well have had a hand in painting the Image, but only in painting the additions, such as the angel and moon at the Virgin's feet",


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Ultimately Archbishop Montúfar, himself a Dominican, decided to end Franciscan custody of the shrine. From then on the shrine was kept and served by diocesan priests under the authority of the archbishop. Moreover, Archbishop Montúfar authorized the construction of a much larger church at Tepeyac, in which the tilma was later mounted and displayed.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: In the late 1570s, the Franciscan historian Bernardino de Sahagún denounced the cult at Tepeyac and the use of the name "Tonantzin" or to call her Our Lady in a personal digression in his "General History of the Things of New Spain", also known as the "Florentine Codex":


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: At this place [Tepeyac], [the Indians] had a temple dedicated to the mother of the gods, whom they called Tonantzin, which means Our Mother. There they performed many sacrifices in honor of this goddess ... And now that a church of Our Lady of Guadalupe is built there, they also called her Tonantzin, being motivated by those preachers who called Our Lady, the Mother of God, Tonantzin. While it is not known for certain where the beginning of Tonantzin may have originated, but this we know for certain, that, from its first usage, the word refers to the ancient Tonantzin. And it was viewed as something that should be remedied, for their having [native] name of the Mother of God, Holy Mary, instead of Tonantzin, but "Dios inantzin". It appears to be a Satanic invention to cloak idolatry under the confusion of this name, Tonantzin. And they now come to visit from very far away, as far away as before, which is also suspicious, because everywhere there are many churches of Our Lady and they do not go to them. They come from distant lands to this Tonantzin as in olden times.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Sahagún's criticism of the indigenous group seems to have stemmed primarily from his concern about a syncretistic application of the native name "Tonantzin" to the Catholic Virgin Mary. However, Sahagún often used the same name in his sermons as late as the 1560s.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: One of the first printed accounts of the history of the apparitions and image occurs in "Imagen de la Virgen Maria, Madre de Dios de Guadalupe", published in 1648 by Miguel Sánchez, a diocesan priest of Mexico City.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Another account is the Codex Escalada, dating from the sixteenth century, a sheet of parchment recording apparitions of the Virgin Mary and the figure of Juan Diego, which reproduces the glyph of Antonio Valeriano alongside the signature of Fray Bernardino de Sahagún. It contains the following glosses: "1548 Also in that year of 1531 appeared to Cuahtlatoatzin our beloved mother the Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico. Cuahtlatoatzin died worthily"


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The next printed account was a 36-page tract in the Nahuatl language, "Huei tlamahuiçoltica" ("The Great Event"), which was published in 1649. This tract contains a section called the "Nican mopohua" ("Here it is recounted"), which has been already touched on above. The composition and authorship of the "Huei tlamahuiçoltica" is assigned by a majority of those scholars to Luis Laso de la Vega, vicar of the sanctuary of Tepeyac from 1647 to 1657.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Nevertheless, the most important section of the tract, the "Nican Mopohua", appears to be much older. It has been attributed since the late 1600s to Antonio Valeriano (c. 1531–1605), a native Aztec man who had been educated by the Franciscans and who collaborated extensively with Bernardino de Sahagún.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: appears to be datable to the mid-1500s, and may have been the original work by Valeriano, as that was used by Laso in composing the "Huei tlamahuiçoltica". Most authorities agree on the dating and on Valeriano's authorship.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: On the other hand, in 1666, the scholar Luis Becerra Tanco published in Mexico a book about the history of the apparitions under the name "Origen milagroso del santuario de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe," which was republished in Spain in 1675 as "Felicidad de Mexico en la admirable aparición de la virgen María de Guadalupe y origen de su milagrosa Imagen, que se venera extramuros de aquella ciudad." In the same way, in 1688, Jesuit Father Francisco de Florencia published "La Estrella del Norte de México", giving the history of the same apparitions.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Two separate accounts, one in Nahuatl from Juan Bautista del Barrio de San Juan from the 16th century, and the other in Spanish by Servando Teresa de Mier date the original apparition and native celebration on September 8 of the Julian calendar, but it is also said that the Spaniards celebrate it on December 12 instead.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: According to the document "Informaciones Jurídicas de 1666", a Catholic feast day in name of Our Lady of Guadalupe was requested and approved, as well as the transfer of the date of the feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe from September 8 to December 12, the latest date on which the Virgin supposedly appeared to Juan Diego. The initiative to perform them was made by Francisco de Siles who proposed to ask the Church of Rome, a Mass itself with allusive text to the apparitions and stamping of the image, along with the divine office itself, and the precept of hearing a Catholic Mass on December 12, the last date of the apparitions of the Virgin to Juan Diego as the new date to commemorate the apparitions (which until then was on September 8, the birth of the Virgin).


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: In 1666, the Church in México began gathering information from people who reported having known Juan Diego, and in 1723 a formal investigation into his life was ordered, where more data was gathered to support his veneration. Because of the "Informaciones Jurídicas de 1666" in the year 1754, the Sacred Congregation of Rites confirmed the true and valid value of the apparitions, and granted celebrating Mass and Office for the then Catholic version of the feast of Guadalupe on December 12.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: These published accounts of the origin of the image already venerated in Tepeyac, then increased interest in the identity of Juan Diego, who was the original recipient of the prime vision. A new Catholic Basilica church was built to house the image. Completed in 1709, it is now known as the Old Basilica.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The image had originally featured a 12-point crown on the Virgin's head, but this disappeared in 1887–88. The change was first noticed on February 23, 1888, when the image was removed to a nearby church. Eventually a painter confessed on his deathbed that he had been instructed by a clergyman to remove the crown. This may have been motivated by the fact that the gold paint was flaking off of the crown, leaving it looking dilapidated. But according to the historian David Brading, "the decision to remove rather than replace the crown was no doubt inspired by a desire to 'modernize' the image and reinforce its similarity to the nineteenth-century images of the Immaculate Conception which were exhibited at Lourdes and elsewhere... What is rarely mentioned is that the frame which surrounded the canvas was adjusted to leave almost no space above the Virgin's head, thereby obscuring the effects of the erasure."


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: A different crown was installed to the image. On February 8, 1887, a Papal bull from Pope Leo XIII granted permission a Canonical Coronation of the image, which occurred on October 12, 1895. Since then the Virgin of Guadalupe has been proclaimed "Queen of Mexico", "Patroness of the Americas", "Empress of Latin America", and "Protectress of Unborn Children" (the latter two titles given by Pope John Paul II in 1999).


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Under Pope John Paul II the move to beatify Juan Diego intensified. John Paul II took a special interest in non-European Catholics and saints. During his leadership, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints declared Juan Diego "venerable" (in 1987), and the pope himself announced his beatification on May 6, 1990, during a Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, declaring him "protector and advocate of the indigenous peoples," with December 9 established as his feast day.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: At that time historians revived doubts as to the quality of the evidence regarding Juan Diego. The writings of bishop Zumárraga, into whose hands Juan purportedly delivered the miraculous image, did not refer to him or the event. The record of the 1556 ecclesiastical inquiry omitted him, and he was not mentioned in documentation before the mid-17th century. In 1996 the 83-year-old abbot of the Basilica of Guadalupe, Guillermo Schulenburg, was forced to resign following an interview published in the Catholic magazine "Ixthus," in which he was quoted as saying that Juan Diego was "a symbol, not a reality", and that his canonization would be the "recognition of a cult. It is not recognition of the physical, real existence of a person." In 1883 Joaquín García Icazbalceta, historian and biographer of Zumárraga, in a confidential report on the Lady of Guadalupe for Bishop Labastida, had been hesitant to support the story of the vision. He concluded that Juan Diego had not existed.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: In 1995, Father Xavier Escalada, a Jesuit whose four volume Guadalupe encyclopedia had just been published, announced the existence of a sheet of parchment (known as "Codex Escalada"), which bore an illustrated account of the vision and some notations in Nahuatl concerning the life and death of Juan Diego. Previously unknown, the document was dated 1548. It bore the signatures of Antonio Valeriano and Bernardino de Sahagún, which are considered to verify its contents. The codex was the subject of an appendix to the Guadalupe encyclopedia, published in 1997. Some scholars remained unconvinced, one describing the discovery of the Codex as "rather like finding a picture of St. Paul's vision of Christ on the road to Damascus, drawn by St. Luke and signed by St. Peter."


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: In the earliest account of the apparition, the "Nican Mopohua", the Virgin de Guadalupe, later called as if the Virgin Mary tells Juan Bernardino, the uncle of Juan Diego, that the image left on the tilma is to be known by the name "the Perfect Virgin, Holy Mary of Guadalupe."


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The Virgin of Guadalupe is a core element of Mexican identity and with the rise of Mexican nationalism and indigenist ideologies, there have been numerous efforts to find a pre-Hispanic origin in the cult, to the extreme of attempting to find a Nahuatl etymology to the name.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The first theory to promote a Nahuatl origin was that of Luis Becerra Tanco. In his 1675 work "Felicidad de Mexico", Becerra Tanco said that Juan Bernardino and Juan Diego would not have been able to understand the name Guadalupe because the "d" and "g" sounds do not exist in Nahuatl.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: He proposed two Nahuatl alternative names that sound similar to "Guadalupe", "Tecuatlanopeuh" , which he translates as "she whose origins were in the rocky summit", and "Tecuantlaxopeuh" , "she who banishes those who devoured us."


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Ondina and Justo González suggest that the name is a Spanish version of the Nahuatl term, "Coātlaxopeuh" , which they interpret as meaning "the one who crushes the serpent," and that it may seem to be referring to the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl. In addition, the Virgin Mary was portrayed in European art as crushing the serpent of the Garden of Eden.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: According to another theory the juxtaposition of Guadalupe and a snake may indicate a nexus with the Aztec goddess of love and fertility, Tonantzin (in Nahuatl, "Our Revered Mother"), who was also known by the name Coatlícue ("The Serpent Skirt"). This appears to be borne out by the fact that this goddess already had a temple dedicated to her on the very Tepeyac Hill where Juan Diego had his vision, the same temple which had recently been destroyed at the behest of the new Spanish Catholic authorities. In the 16th century the Franciscans were suspicious that the followers of Guadalupe showed, or was susceptible to, elements of syncretism, i.e. the importation of an object of reverence in one belief system into another (see above).


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The venerated image of Our Lady of Guadalupe features a full-length representation of a young woman with delicate features and straight, dark hair in a centre parting. She stands facing the viewer's left, with her hands joined in prayer and head slightly inclined down, gazing with heavy-lidded eyes at a spot below and to her right (the left of the viewer).


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The figure is dressed from neck to feet in a pink robe and cerulean mantle, one side folded within the arms, emblazoned with eight-pointed stars with two black tassels tied high around her waist, and wearing a neck brooch featuring a colonial-style cross. The robe is spangled with a small gold quatrefoil motif ornamented with vines and flowers, its sleeves reaching to her wrists where the cuffs of a white undergarment appear.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The figure stands on an upturned crescent moon, which was allegedly once silver in colour, and is now relatively dark. A feathered cherubic angel with outstretched arms carries the corners of her robe underneath her exposed feet. A sunburst of straight and wavy gold rays are projected behind her and around her and are enclosed within a mandorla. Beyond the mandorla to the right and left is an unpainted expanse, white in color with a faint blue tinge.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The present image shows the 1791 nitric acid spill on the top right side, unaffecting the subject matter's aureola.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The portrait was executed on a natural fibre fabric support constituted by two pieces (originally three) joined. The join is clearly visible as a seam passing from top to bottom, with the Virgin's face and hands and the head of the angel on the left piece, passing through the left wrist of the Virgin. The fabric is mounted on a large metal sheet to which it has been glued for some time. The image, currently set in a massive frame protected behind bullet-proof glass, hangs inclined at a slight angle on the wall of the basilica behind the altar. At this point, there is a wide gap between the wall and the sanctuary facilitating closer viewing from moving walkways set on the floor beneath the main level of the basilica, carrying people a short distance in either direction. Viewed from the main body of the basilica, the image is located above and to the right of the altar and is retracted at night into a small vault (accessible by steps) set into the wall. An intricate metal crown designed by the painter Salomé Pina according to plans devised by Rómulo Escudero and Pérez Gallardo, and executed by the Parisian goldsmith, Edgar Morgan, is fixed above the image by a rod, and a massive Mexican flag is draped around and below the frame.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The nature of the fabric is discussed below. Its measurements were taken by José Ignacio Bartolache on December 29, 1786, in the presence of José Bernardo de Nava, a public notary: height , width . The original height (before it was first shielded behind glass in the late 18th century, at which time the unpainted portion beyond the Virgin's head must have been cut down) was .


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Neither the fabric ("the support") nor the image (together, "the tilma") has been analyzed using the full range of resources now available to museum conservators. Four technical studies have been conducted so far. Of these, the findings of at least three have been published. Each study required the permission of the custodians of the tilma in the Basilica. However, Callahan's study was taken at the initiative of a third party: the custodians did not know in advance what his research would reveal.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Religious imagery of Our Lady of Guadalupe appears in Roman Catholic parishes, especially those with Latin American heritage. <section end=Alleged corruption in the Catholic Church transclusion/>In addition, due to the growth of Hispanic communities in the United States, religious imagery of Our Lady of Guadalupe has started appearing in some Anglican, Lutheran, and Methodist churches. Additionally, Our Lady of Guadalupe is venerated by some Mayan Orthodox Christians in Guatemala.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The iconography of the Virgin is fully Catholic: Miguel Sánchez, the author of the 1648 tract "Imagen de la Virgen María", described her as the Woman of the Apocalypse from the New Testament's Revelation 12:1, "clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." She is described as a representation of the Immaculate Conception.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: <section begin=Alleged corruption in the Catholic Church transclusion/>Virgil Elizondo says the image also had layers of meaning for the indigenous people of Mexico who associated her image with their polytheistic deities, which further contributed to her popularity. Her blue-green mantle was the color reserved for the divine couple Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl; her belt is interpreted as a sign of pregnancy; and a cross-shaped image, symbolizing the cosmos and called "nahui-ollin," is inscribed beneath the image's sash. She was called "mother of maguey," the source of the sacred beverage pulque. Pulque was also known as "the milk of the Virgin." The rays of light surrounding her are seen to also represent maguey spines.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Juan Diego's tilma has become Mexico's most popular religious and cultural symbol, and has received widespread ecclesiastical and popular veneration. In the 19th century it became the rallying cry of the Spaniards born in America, in what they denominated 'New Spain'. They said they considered the apparitions as legitimizing their own indigenous Mexican origin. They infused it with an almost messianic sense of mission and identity, thereby also justifying their armed rebellion against Spain.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: "Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe" became a recognized symbol of Catholic Mexicans. Miguel Sánchez, the author in 1648 of the first published account of the vision, identified Guadalupe as "Revelation's" Woman of the Apocalypse, and said:


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: ... this New World has been won and conquered by the hand of the Virgin Mary ... [who had] prepared, disposed, and contrived her exquisite likeness in this, her Mexican land, which was conquered for such a glorious purpose, won that there should appear so Mexican an image.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Throughout the Mexican national history of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Guadalupan name and image have been unifying national symbols; the first President of Mexico (1824–1829) changed his name from José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix to Guadalupe Victoria in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Father Miguel Hidalgo, in the Mexican War of Independence (1810), and Emiliano Zapata, in the Mexican Revolution (1910), led their respective armed forces with Guadalupan flags emblazoned with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In 1999, the Church officially proclaimed her the "Patroness of the Americas", the "Empress of Latin America", and the "Protectress of Unborn Children".


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: In 1810, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla initiated the bid for Mexican independence with his "Grito de Dolores", with the cry "Death to the Spaniards and long live the Virgin of Guadalupe!" When Hidalgo's mestizo-indigenous army attacked Guanajuato and Valladolid, they placed "the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which was the insignia of their enterprise, on sticks or on reeds painted different colors" and "they all wore a print of the Virgin on their hats." After Hidalgo's death, leadership of the revolution fell to a mestizo priest named José María Morelos, who led insurgent troops in the Mexican south. Morelos adopted the Virgin as the seal of his Congress of Chilpancingo, inscribing her feast day into the Chilpancingo constitution and declaring that Guadalupe was the power behind his victories:


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: New Spain puts less faith in its own efforts than in the power of God and the intercession of its Blessed Mother, who appeared within the precincts of Tepeyac as the miraculous image of Guadalupe that had come to comfort us, defend us, visibly be our protection.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Simón Bolívar noticed the Guadalupan theme in these uprisings, and shortly before Morelos's execution in 1815 wrote: "the leaders of the independence struggle have put fanaticism to use by proclaiming the famous Virgin of Guadalupe as the queen of the patriots, praying to her in times of hardship and displaying her on their flags... the veneration for this image in Mexico far exceeds the greatest reverence that the shrewdest prophet might inspire."


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: In 1912, Emiliano Zapata's peasant army rose out of the south against the government of Francisco Madero. Though Zapata's rebel forces were primarily interested in land reform—"tierra y libertad" ('land and liberty') was the slogan of the uprising—when his peasant troops penetrated Mexico City, they carried Guadalupan banners. More recently, the contemporary Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) named their "mobile city" in honor of the Virgin: it is called Guadalupe Tepeyac. EZLN spokesperson Subcomandante Marcos wrote a humorous letter in 1995 describing the EZLN bickering over what to do with a Guadalupe statue they had received as a gift.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Harringon argues that: The Aztecs... had an elaborate, coherent symbolic system for making sense of their lives. When this was destroyed by the Spaniards, something new was needed to fill the void and make sense of New Spain ... the image of Guadalupe served that purpose.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Hernán Cortés, the Conquistador who overthrew the Aztec Empire in 1521, was a native of Extremadura, home to Our Lady of Guadalupe. By the 16th century, the Extremadura Guadalupe, a statue of the Virgin said to be carved by Luke the Evangelist, was already a national icon. It was found at the beginning of the 14th century, when the Virgin appeared to a humble shepherd and ordered him to dig at the site of the apparition. The recovered Virgin then miraculously helped to expel the Moors from Spain, and her small shrine evolved into the great Guadalupe monastery.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: According to the traditional account, the name of Guadalupe, as the name was heard or understood by Spaniards, was chosen by the Virgin herself when she appeared on the hill outside Mexico City in 1531, ten years after the Conquest.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Guadalupe continues to be a mixture of the cultures which blended to form Mexico, both racially and religiously, "the first mestiza", or "the first Mexican", "bringing together people of distinct cultural heritages, while at the same time affirming their distinctness." As Jacques Lafaye wrote in "Quetzalcoatl and Guadalupe", "as the Christians built their first churches with the rubble and the columns of the ancient pagan temples, so they often borrowed pagan customs for their own cult purposes." The author Judy King asserts that Guadalupe is a "common denominator" uniting Mexicans. Writing that Mexico is composed of a vast patchwork of differences—linguistic, ethnic, and class-based—King says "The Virgin of Guadalupe is the rubber band that binds this disparate nation into a whole."


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The Mexican novelist, Carlos Fuentes, once said that "you cannot truly be considered a Mexican unless you believe in the Virgin of Guadalupe." Nobel Literature laureate Octavio Paz wrote in 1974 that "The Mexican people, after more than two centuries of experiments and defeats, have faith only in the Virgin of Guadalupe and the National Lottery."


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: One notable reference in literature to the image and its alleged predecessor, the Aztec Earth goddess Tonantzin, is in Sandra Cisneros' short story "Little Miracles, Kept Promises", from her collection "Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories" (1991). Cisneros' story is constructed out of brief notes that people give Our Lady of Guadalupe in thanks for favors received, which in Cisneros' hands becomes a portrait of an extended Chicano community living throughout Texas. "Little Miracles" ends with an extended narrative (pp. 124–129) of a feminist artist, Rosario "Chayo" de León, who at first didn't allow images of La Virgen de Guadalupe in her home because she associated her with subservience and suffering, particularly by Mexican women. But when she learns that Guadalupe's shrine is built on the same hill in Mexico City that had a shrine to Tonantzin, the Aztec Earth goddess and serpent destroyer, Chayo comes to understand that there's a deep, syncretic connection between the Aztec goddess and the Mexican saint; together they inspire Chayo's new artistic creativity, inner strength, and independence. In Chayo's words, "I finally understood who you are. No longer Mary the mild, but our mother Tonantzin. Your church at Tepeyac built on the site of her temple" (128).


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The image and its alleged apparition was investigated several times, including in the 2013 documentary "The Blood & The Rose", directed by Tim Watkins. Documentarians have been portraying the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe since the 1990s, in an attempt to bring the message of the apparition to the North American audience.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Catholic sources attest that the original image has many miraculous and supernatural properties, including that the tilma has maintained its structural integrity for approximately 500 years despite exposure to soot, candle wax, incense, constant manual veneration by devotees, the historical fact that the image was displayed without any protective glass for its first 115 years, while replicas normally endure for only circa 15 years before degrading, and that it repaired itself with no external assistance after a 1791 accident in which nitric acid was spilled on its top right, causing considerable damage but leaving the aureola of the Virgin intact.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Furthermore, on November 14, 1921, a bomb hidden within a basket of flowers and left under the tilma by an anti-Catholic secularist exploded and damaged the altar of the Basilica that houses the original image, but the tilma was unharmed. A brass standing crucifix, bent by the explosion, is now preserved at the shrine's museum and is believed to be miraculous by devotees.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: In 1929 and 1951 photographers said they found a figure reflected in the Virgin's eyes; upon inspection they said that the reflection was tripled in what is called the Purkinje effect, commonly found in human eyes. An ophthalmologist, Dr. Jose Aste Tonsmann, later enlarged an image of the Virgin's eyes by 2500x and said he found not only the aforementioned single figure, but images of all the witnesses present when the tilma was first revealed before Zumárraga in 1531, plus a small family group of mother, father, and a group of children, in the center of the Virgin's eyes, fourteen people in all (including a young Black girl, representing Zumárraga's slave whom he freed in his will).


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: In 1936 biochemist Richard Kuhn reportedly analyzed a sample of the fabric and announced that the pigments used were from no known source, whether animal, mineral, or vegetable. According to "The Wonder of Guadalupe" by Francis Johnston, this was requested by Professor Hahn and Professor Marcelino Junco, retired professor of organic chemistry at the National University of Mexico. This has been taken as further evidence of the tilma's miraculous nature. In late 2019, investigators from The Higher Institute of Guadalupano Studies concluded that there was no evidence Kuhn ever investigated the Lady of Guadalupe or made the statement attributed to him.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Dr. Philip Serna Callahan, who photographed the icon under infrared light, declared from his photographs that portions of the face, hands, robe, and mantle had been painted in one step, with no sketches or corrections and no visible brush strokes.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe is the most visited Catholic pilgrimage destination in the world. Over the Friday and Saturday of December 11 to 12, 2009, a record number of 6.1 million pilgrims visited the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City to commemorate the anniversary of the apparition.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: The Virgin of Guadalupe is considered the Patroness of Mexico and the Continental Americas; she is also venerated by Native Americans, on the account of the devotion calling for the conversion of the Americas. Replicas of the tilma can be found in thousands of churches throughout the world, and numerous parishes bear her name.


title: Our Lady of Guadalupe

text: Due to Mary's appearance as a pregnant mother and her claims as mother of all in the apparition, the Blessed Virgin Mary, under this title is popularly invoked as "Patroness of the Unborn" and a common image for the Pro-Life movement.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games primarily at Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The name "Blue Jays" originates from the bird of the same name, and blue is also the traditional colour of Toronto's collegiate and professional sports teams including the Maple Leafs (ice hockey) and the Argonauts (Canadian football). In 1976, out of the over 4,000 suggestions, 154 people selected the name "Blue Jays." In addition, the team was originally owned by the Labatt Brewing Company, makers of the popular beer Labatt Blue. Colloquially nicknamed the "Jays", the team's official colours are royal blue, navy blue, red, and white. An expansion franchise, the club was founded in Toronto in 1977. Originally based at Exhibition Stadium, the team began playing its home games at SkyDome upon its opening in 1989. Since 2000, the Blue Jays have been owned by Rogers Communications and in 2004, SkyDome was purchased by that company, which renamed it Rogers Centre. Due to border restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Blue Jays played home games at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida for April and May of the 2021 season, and Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York for the 2020 season as well as June and July 2021, returning home to Toronto as of July 30 of that year. They are the second MLB franchise to be based outside the United States, and currently the only team based outside the U.S. after the first Canadian franchise, the Montreal Expos, became the Washington Nationals in 2005.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Blue Jays went through struggles typical of an expansion team, frequently finishing last in their division. In 1983, they had their first winning season and two years later, became division champions. From 1985 to 1993, the Blue Jays were an AL East powerhouse, winning five division championships in nine seasons, including three consecutive from 1991 to 1993. During that run, the team also became back-to-back World Series champions in 1992 and 1993, led by a core group of award-winning All-Star players, including Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter, John Olerud, and Devon White. The Blue Jays became the first (and, to date, only) team outside the U.S. to appear in and win a World Series, and the fastest AL expansion team to do so, winning in its 16th year. As of 2019, they are one of only two MLB franchises that are undefeated through multiple World Series appearances, along with the National League's Miami Marlins. After 1993, the Blue Jays failed to qualify for the playoffs for 21 consecutive seasons, until clinching a playoff berth and division championship in 2015. The team clinched a second consecutive playoff berth in 2016, after securing an AL wild card position. In both years, the Blue Jays beat the Texas Rangers in the AL Division Series, but lost the AL Championship Series. Most recently, they qualified for the playoffs as a wild card team in 2020 and 2022. The Blue Jays and the Atlanta Braves are the only two MLB teams under corporate ownership; the Blue Jays are the only American League team to be under such ownership.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Blue Jays were approved as part of the 1977 Major League Baseball expansion discussions, after Toronto's original plan of getting a Major League Baseball team by luring the Giants from San Francisco fell through; they would be added alongside the Seattle Mariners. The team was represented by legal counsel Herb Solway and Gord Kirke. Kirke prepared the original documents which led to the founding of the team in 1976.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Blue Jays played their first game on April 7, 1977, against the Chicago White Sox before a home crowd of 44,649. The game is now perhaps best remembered for the minor snowstorm which began just before the game started. Toronto won the snowy affair 9–5, led by Doug Ault's two home runs. That win would be one of only 54 of the 1977 season, as the Blue Jays finished last in the AL East, with a record of 54–107. After the season, assistant general manager Pat Gillick succeeded Peter Bavasi as general manager of the team, a position he would hold until 1994.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: In 1978, the team improved their record by five games, but remained last, with a record of 59–102. In 1979, after a 53–109 last place finish, shortstop Alfredo Griffin was named American League co-Rookie of the Year. In addition, the Blue Jays' first mascot, BJ Birdy, made its debut in 1979.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: In 1980, Bobby Mattick became manager, succeeding Roy Hartsfield, the Blue Jays' original manager. In Mattick's first season as manager, although the team remained at the bottom, Toronto nearly reached the 70-win mark, finishing with a record of 67–95, a 14-win improvement on 1979. Jim Clancy led with 13 wins and John Mayberry became the first Jay to hit 30 home runs in a season.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: In the strike-divided season of 1981, the Blue Jays finished last in the AL East in both halves of the season. They were a dismal 16–42 in the first half but improved dramatically in the second, finishing the 48-game second half at 21–27, for a combined record of 37–69.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: Under new manager Bobby Cox, Toronto's first solid season came in 1982 as the Jays finished 78–84. Their pitching staff was led by starters Dave Stieb, Jim Clancy, and Luis Leal, and the outfield featured a young Lloyd Moseby and Jesse Barfield. 1982 was also the first year the Jays did not place last, finishing sixth in the East out of seven teams.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: In 1983, the Blue Jays compiled their first winning record, 89–73, finishing in fourth place, nine games behind the eventual World Series champions, the Baltimore Orioles. First baseman Willie Upshaw became the first Blue Jay to get at least 100 RBIs in a season.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Jays' progress continued in 1984, finishing with the same 89–73 record, but this time in a distant second place behind another World Series champion, the Detroit Tigers. After 1984, Alfredo Griffin went to the Oakland Athletics, thus giving a permanent spot to young Dominican shortstop Tony Fernández, who would become a fan favourite for many years.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: In 1985, Toronto won its first championship of any sort: the first of its six American League East division titles. The Blue Jays featured strong pitching and a balanced offense. Tony Fernández excelled in his first full season, and veteran pitcher Doyle Alexander led the team with 17 wins, including a division-clinching complete-game win. Their mid-season call-up of relief pitcher Tom Henke also proved to be important. The team finished 99–62 (the franchise record for most wins), two games in front of the New York Yankees. The Jays faced the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series (ALCS), and took a three-game-to-one lead. However, Kansas City won three consecutive games to win the series 4–3, on the way to their first World Series championship. The Blue Jays' successful season was dubbed the "Drive of '85".


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: After the playoffs, Cox, the AL Manager of the Year, suddenly left the Blue Jays to become general manager of the Atlanta Braves, the team he had previously managed.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: With Jimy Williams taking over as manager, the Blue Jays could not duplicate their success in 1986, sliding to a fourth-place tie at 86–76. Jesse Barfield and George Bell led the way with 40 and 31 home runs, respectively, while Jim Clancy, Mark Eichhorn, and Jimmy Key tied for the team wins lead with 14 each.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: In 1987, the Blue Jays held a -game lead with a week to go in the season, then lost their last seven in a row to finish two games behind the Detroit Tigers, getting swept on the last weekend by the Tigers. The Jays finished with a 96–66 record, second-best in the major leagues, but to no avail. However, George Bell (.308 batting average, 47 home runs, 134 RBI) was named the AL's Most Valuable Player (MVP), the first Blue Jay to earn that honor.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: In 1988, however, Toronto could not duplicate the successes of the previous season. The team tied the Milwaukee Brewers for third in the division at 87–75, only two games behind the division champion Boston Red Sox. Still, the season had numerous highlights. First baseman Fred McGriff hit 34 home runs, and Dave Stieb had back-to-back starts in which he lost a no-hitter with two out and two strikes in the ninth inning.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: In 1989, the Blue Jays' new retractable roofed home, SkyDome, opened mid-season. It also marked the beginning of an extremely successful five-year period for the team. In May, management fired manager Jimy Williams and replaced him with Cito Gaston, the team's hitting instructor. The club had a dismal 12–24 record at the time of the firing, but went 77–49 under Gaston to win the AL East title by two games, with an 89–73 record. Fred McGriff's 36 home runs led the AL. On May 28, George Bell's walk-off home run, off of Chicago White Sox closer Bobby Thigpen, marked the end of the Exhibition Stadium era. The first game at the new stadium took place on June 5 against the Milwaukee Brewers; the Jays lost 5–3. In the 1989 ALCS, Rickey Henderson led the World Series champion Oakland Athletics to a 4–1 series win.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: In 1990, the Blue Jays again had a strong season, but finished second, two games behind the Boston Red Sox. Dave Stieb pitched his only no-hitter, beating the Cleveland Indians 3–0 in front of a less-than-capacity crowd at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. As of 2018, it remains the only no-hitter ever pitched by a Blue Jay. During the off-season, the Blue Jays made one of the two biggest trades in franchise history, sending All-Star shortstop Tony Fernández and first baseman Fred McGriff to the San Diego Padres in exchange for outfielder Joe Carter and second baseman Roberto Alomar. The Jays also obtained centre fielder Devon White from the California Angels. These deals, particularly the trade with San Diego, were instrumental in the team's future success.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: Carter, Alomar and White would prove to be extremely effective additions, as the Blue Jays again won the division in 1991, as Carter drove in Alomar for the division-winning run. Once again, however, the team fell short in the postseason, losing to the Minnesota Twins, who were on the way to their second World Series victory in five seasons, in the ALCS. In 1991, the Blue Jays became the first Major League club ever to draw over four million fans in one season.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: After the 1991 season had ended, the Blue Jays acquired pitcher Jack Morris, who had led the Minnesota Twins to victory in the World Series by pitching a 10-inning complete-game shutout in Game 7 and had been named the World Series MVP. To add veteran leadership to their explosive offence, Toronto signed Dave Winfield to be the team's designated hitter.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The 1992 regular season went well, as the Jays clinched their second straight AL East crown with a final record of 96–66, four games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers. They also went the entire season without being swept in any series, becoming the first team in 49 years to accomplish the feat. The Blue Jays met the Oakland Athletics (who had the same record as the Jays and won the AL West by six games over the defending champion Twins) in the ALCS, winning four games to two. The pivotal game of the series was Game 4, considered by many to be one of the most important games in Blue Jays history: the Blue Jays rallied back from a 6–1 deficit after seven innings, capped off by Roberto Alomar's huge game-tying two-run homer off A's closer Dennis Eckersley in the top of the ninth. This paved the way for a 7–6 victory in 11 innings, a 3-games-to-1 lead in the series and an eventual 4–2 ALCS series win.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Blue Jays then faced the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. The Braves returned after being beaten by the Twins the previous year. The pivotal game in this series turned out to be Game 2, in which reserve player Ed Sprague hit a 9th-inning two-run home run off Braves closer Jeff Reardon to give the Blue Jays a 5–4 lead, which would hold up. After winning Game 3 thanks to Candy Maldonado's ninth-inning RBI hit and Game 4 due to Jimmy Key's superb -inning pitching effort in which he retired 15 straight batters (five innings), the Jays could not win the Series on home turf as the Braves struck back with a 7–2 win in Game 5. Game 6 in Atlanta, with the Blue Jays leading 3 games to 2, was a very close game. Toronto was one strike away from winning in the bottom of the 9th inning, 2–1, but Otis Nixon singled in the tying run off the Blue Jays' closer Tom Henke. It was the first run the Toronto bullpen had given up in the series. The game was decided in the 11th inning, when Dave Winfield doubled down the left-field line, driving in two runs. The Braves would again come within one run in the bottom of the 11th, but Jays reliever Mike Timlin fielded Otis Nixon's bunt, throwing to Joe Carter at first base for the final out. The Blue Jays became the first team based outside of the United States to win the World Series. Pat Borders, the Jays' catcher, was the unlikely player who was named MVP after hitting .450 with one home run in the World Series. Oddly, Morris was acquired in large part for his reputation as a clutch postseason pitcher, but he went 0–3 in the playoffs. Morris, however, pitched well in the regular season, becoming the Blue Jays' first 20-game winner, with a record of 21–6 and an ERA of 4.04.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: After the 1992 season, the Blue Jays let World Series hero Dave Winfield and longtime closer Tom Henke go, but signed two key free agents: designated hitter Paul Molitor from the Milwaukee Brewers and perennial playoff success Dave Stewart from the Oakland Athletics.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: In 1993, the Blue Jays had seven All-Stars: outfielders Devon White and Joe Carter, infielders John Olerud and Roberto Alomar, designated hitter Molitor, plus starting pitcher Pat Hentgen, and closer Duane Ward. In August, the Jays acquired former nemesis Rickey Henderson from the Athletics. The Blue Jays cruised to a 95–67 record, seven games ahead of the New York Yankees, winning their third straight division title. The Jays beat the Chicago White Sox four games to two in the ALCS, and then the Philadelphia Phillies, four games to two, for their second straight World Series victory. The World Series featured several exciting games, including Game 4, played under a slight rain, in which the Blue Jays came back from a 14–9 deficit to win 15–14 and take a 3 games to 1 lead in the series. It remains the highest-scoring game in World Series history. Game 6 in Toronto saw the Blue Jays lead 5–1, but give up 5 runs in the 7th inning to trail 6–5. In the bottom of the 9th inning, Joe Carter hit a one-out, three-run walk-off home run to clinch the series off of Phillies closer Mitch Williams. Only the second World Series-winning walk-off home run in the history of Major League Baseball (following Bill Mazeroski's in Game 7 in 1960), Carter's hit differed from the first in that Toronto, while not facing elimination, was trailing in the bottom of the 9th. The home run is also memorable for late Blue Jays radio broadcaster Tom Cheek's call:


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: Molitor was named the World Series MVP after hitting .500 in the series. In the regular season, three Blue Jays—Olerud, Molitor and Alomar—finished 1–2–3 for the AL batting crown, led by Olerud's franchise record .363 average. It was the first time in 100 years that the top three hitters in the league were from the same team.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: Expectations were high for the Blue Jays for the 1994 season, following back-to-back championships, but they slumped to a 55–60 record and a third-place finish (16 games back of the New York Yankees) before the players' strike. It was their first losing season since 1982. Joe Carter, Paul Molitor and John Olerud enjoyed good years at the plate, but the pitching fell off. Juan Guzmán slumped considerably from his first three years (40–11, 3.28 ERA), finishing 1994 at 12–11 with a 5.68 ERA. Three young players, Alex Gonzalez, Carlos Delgado and Shawn Green, did show much promise for the future. At the time of the strike, their fellow Canadian cousins, the Montreal Expos, had the best record in the majors, leading some to consider the possibility of a Canadian three-peat in 1994.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On October 31, 1994, Gillick, the longtime Blue Jays general manager, resigned and handed the reins of the team to assistant general manager and Toronto native Gord Ash, who would lead the team in its most tumultuous era yet.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: In their 1995 season, the Blue Jays showed they had lost their contending swagger of the past 12 years. Although they had most of the World Series teams cast, the Jays dropped dramatically to a dismal 56–88 record, placing last in the AL East, 30 games behind the Boston Red Sox. That year, team owner Labatt Breweries was bought by Belgian-based brewer Interbrew, making the Blue Jays the second major league team owned by interests outside of North America, after their expansion cousins, the Seattle Mariners (then owned by Nintendo).


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: 1996 was another mediocre year for the Jays, despite Pat Hentgen's Cy Young Award (20–10, 3.22 ERA). Ed Sprague had a career year, hitting 36 home runs and driving in 101 runs. And the team's 74 wins did put them in fourth place, improving over 1995's last-place finish.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Blue Jays started their 1997 season with high hopes. Not only did they radically change their uniforms, the team signed former Boston Red Sox ace Roger Clemens to a $24.75 million contract. Clemens had one of the best pitching seasons ever, winning the pitcher's Triple Crown and leading the AL with a record of 21–7, a 2.05 ERA, and 292 strikeouts. This was not enough to lead the Jays to the postseason, however, as they finished last for the second time in three years with a record of 76–86. Cito Gaston, the longtime manager who led the team to four division titles and two World Series crowns, was fired five games before the end of the season. The season did provide a unique experience for its fans with the advent of Interleague play, when the Blue Jays faced their Canadian rival, the Montreal Expos, for the first official games between the two teams. Before the start of their 1998 season, the Jays acquired closer Randy Myers and slugger Jose Canseco. Gaston was replaced with former Blue Jay Tim Johnson, who was a relative unknown as a manager. Despite mediocre hitting, strong pitching led by Clemens' second straight pitching Triple Crown (20–6, 2.65 ERA, 271 strikeouts) sparked the Blue Jays to an 88–74 record—their first winning season since 1993. However, this was only good enough to finish a distant third, 26 games behind the New York Yankees, who posted one of the greatest records in all of baseball history at 114–48. The Jays were, however, in contention for the wildcard spot until the final week.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: Before the 1999 season, the Blue Jays traded Clemens to the Yankees for starting pitcher David Wells, second baseman Homer Bush and relief pitcher Graeme Lloyd. They also fired manager Tim Johnson during spring training after he lied about several things (including killing people in the Vietnam War) to motivate his players. The Blue Jays had initially been willing to stand by Johnson. A blizzard of questions about his credibility during spring training, however, led Ash to fire him less than a month before opening day. Johnson was replaced with Jim Fregosi, who managed the Phillies when they lost to the Blue Jays in the 1993 World Series. The offence picked up somewhat in 1999, but the pitching suffered without Clemens, as the Blue Jays finished at 84–78, in third place. After the 1999 season, the Blue Jays' original mascot for 20 years, BJ Birdy, was replaced by a duo named Ace and Diamond.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On November 8, 1999, Toronto traded star outfielder Shawn Green to the Los Angeles Dodgers for left-handed relief pitcher Pedro Borbón and right-fielder Raúl Mondesí. Green had told the Jays that he would not be re-signing when his contract was up at the end of the year (he wished to play closer to his home in Southern California).


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The 2000 season proved similar, as the Blue Jays had an 83–79 record, well out of the wild card race but only a slim games behind the three-time defending World Series champion Yankees in the AL East, the first time since 1993 they had contended for the division. Carlos Delgado had a stellar year, hitting .344 with 41 home runs, 57 doubles, 137 RBI, 123 walks and 115 runs. In addition, six other players hit 20 or more home runs, an outstanding feat.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On September 1, 2000, Rogers Communications Inc. purchased 80% of the baseball club for $160 million, with Interbrew (later InBev) maintaining a 20% interest and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce relinquishing its 10% share. Rogers eventually acquired the 20% owned by Interbrew and now has full ownership of the team.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The 2001 season marked the 25th anniversary of the franchise's inception. Buck Martinez, former catcher and broadcast announcer for the Blue Jays, took over as manager before the season began with a home game in Puerto Rico. The team had a disappointing season, falling back under .500 and finishing 80–82, with mediocre pitching and hitting. Delgado led the team again with 39 home runs and 102 RBI. After the season ended, the Jays fired Gord Ash, ending a seven-year tenure as general manager.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: J. P. Ricciardi, then director of player development under Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane, was named Blue Jays' General Manager; he was expected to slash payroll immediately, stemming the tide of red ink. During the off-season, the team traded or let go of several popular players, including Alex Gonzalez, Paul Quantrill, Brad Fullmer and closer Billy Koch to let talented youngsters such as Eric Hinske and Felipe López get a chance to develop into major leaguers.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Blue Jays started the 2002 season with slow progress in performance. Buck Martinez was fired about a third of the way through the season, with a 20–33 record. He was replaced by third base coach Carlos Tosca, an experienced minor league manager. They went 58–51 under Tosca to finish the season 78–84. Roy Halladay was relied on as the team's ace and rose to the challenge of being the team's top pitcher, finishing the season with a 19–7 record and 2.93 ERA. The hitters were led once again by Carlos Delgado. Promising young players were assigned to key roles; starting third baseman Eric Hinske won the Rookie of the Year Award at the season's conclusion, and 23-year-old centre fielder Vernon Wells had his first 100 RBI season.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The 2003 season was a surprise to both team management and baseball analysts. After a poor April, the team had its most successful month ever in May. Carlos Delgado led the majors in RBI, followed closely by Wells. Despite their hitting successes, poor pitching continued to plague the team. Halladay was an exception, winning his first Cy Young Award, going 22–7, with a 3.25 ERA. In July, Shannon Stewart was traded to the Minnesota Twins for Bobby Kielty, another outfielder with a much lower batting average than Stewart's. Although the Jays finished in third place in their division, Delgado was second in the voting for the American League MVP Award. In the off-season, Kielty was traded to the Oakland Athletics for starter Ted Lilly.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The 2004 season was a disappointing year for the Blue Jays right from the beginning. They started the season 0–8 at SkyDome and never started a lengthy winning streak. Much of that was due to injuries to All-Stars Carlos Delgado, Vernon Wells and Roy Halladay among others. Although the additions of starting pitchers Ted Lilly and Miguel Batista and reliever Justin Speier were relatively successful, veteran Pat Hentgen faltered throughout the season and retired on July 24. Rookies and minor league callups David Bush, Jason Frasor, Josh Towers and others filled the void in the rotation and the bullpen; however, inconsistent performances were evident. With the team struggling in last place and mired in a five-game losing streak, manager Carlos Tosca was fired on August 8, 2004, and was replaced by first base coach John Gibbons. Long-time first baseman Carlos Delgado became a free agent in the off-season. Nevertheless, prospects Russ Adams, Gabe Gross, and Alex Ríos provided excitement for the fans. Rookie pitchers David Bush, Gustavo Chacín and Jason Frasor also showed promise for the club's future. The Blue Jays' lone MLB All-Star Game representative was Lilly.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: SkyDome was renamed Rogers Centre and was extensively renovated. The Blue Jays had a good start to the 2005 season. They led the AL East from early to mid-April and held their record around .500 until late August. The Jays were hit with the injury bug when third baseman Corey Koskie broke his finger, taking him out of the line-up, but the club was pleasantly surprised with the performance of rookie call-up Aaron Hill in his stead. On July 8, just prior to the All-Star break, Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay was struck on the shin by a line drive, resulting in a fractured leg. Though Halladay's injury was hoped to be minor, the recovery process was met with constant delays, and eventually, he was out for the rest of the season. Prior to his injury, the Blue Jays were in serious wild card contention, but soon fell out of the playoff race. The team received glimpses of the future from September call-ups Guillermo Quiróz, John-Ford Griffin, and Shaun Marcum. Marcum made himself noteworthy by posting an ERA of 0.00 over five relief appearances and eight innings in September. Josh Towers also stepped up, showing largely unseen potential by going 7–5 with a 2.91 ERA in the second half of the season.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: In 2006, the team experienced its most successful season in years. On July 2, Troy Glaus, Vernon Wells, Roy Halladay, B. J. Ryan, and Alex Ríos were picked to represent the Blue Jays at the All-Star Game. It was the largest number of Blue Jay All-Stars selected for the game since 1993. The team played well in the critical month of September, going 18–10. This, combined with the slumping of the Boston Red Sox, enabled the Blue Jays to take sole possession of second place in the American League East by the end of the season. This marked the first time that the Jays had finished above third place in their division since their World Championship season of 1993, and with the most wins since the 1998 season. On December 18, the Blue Jays announced that they had re-signed centre fielder Wells to a seven-year contract worth $126 million, which came into effect after the 2007 season.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The 2007 season was blighted by persistent injuries, with 12 Blue Jays landing on the disabled list. The most serious injury was that of B. J. Ryan, who was out for the entire season having had Tommy John surgery. Prior to the season, the team signed starting pitchers John Thomson, Tomo Ohka, and Víctor Zambrano; each of them was released before the end of the season. However, young starters Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan had break-out years, with 12 wins each. On June 24, McGowan pitched a complete game one-hitter. On June 28, Frank Thomas became the 21st major league player to hit 500 career home runs. Aaron Hill also had a break-out year, setting a team record for second baseman with 47 doubles.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Blue Jays' 2008 season featured a strong pitching staff, which led the major leagues with a 3.49 ERA. For much of the season, however, the team struggled to hit home runs and drive in runs. On May 24, starter Jesse Litsch set a team record, with 38 consecutive innings without giving up a walk. On June 20, following a five-game losing streak and with the Jays in last place in the AL East, management fired John Gibbons and several members of his coaching staff, and re-hired Cito Gaston. Meanwhile, Alex Ríos had 32 stolen bases, making him the first Blue Jay with 30 since 2001. On September 5, Roy Halladay earned his 129th career win, moving him into second spot on Toronto's all-time wins list. Halladay also came second in the voting for the Cy Young Award, after posting a 20–11 record and 2.78 ERA.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The 2009 season saw the addition of two new patches on the Blue Jays' uniforms: on the right arm, a bright red maple leaf (part of the Canadian flag), and on the left arm, a small black band with "TED" written on it, in reference to the late team owner Ted Rogers, who died in the off-season.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On Opening Day at the Rogers Centre, the Blue Jays, led by Roy Halladay, beat the Detroit Tigers 12–5. Aaron Hill and Roy Halladay both had excellent years and represented the Blue Jays at the 2009 All-Star Game in St. Louis. The Jays started the season well, posting a 27–14 record; however, immediately afterwards, the Jays fell into a nine-game losing streak and was never able to recover for the remainder of the season. In mid-August, GM J. P. Ricciardi allowed the Chicago White Sox to claim Alex Ríos off waivers. With two games remaining in what was a disappointing season, Ricciardi was fired on October 3. He was replaced by assistant general manager Alex Anthopoulos.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: Despite a 75-win season, the Jays saw the strong return of Aaron Hill, who won the American League Comeback Player of the Year Award and the Silver Slugger for second base. Adam Lind, who also had a strong season, earned the Silver Slugger for designated hitter.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: In the off-season, the Jays' ace Roy Halladay was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Kyle Drabek, Travis d'Arnaud, and Michael Taylor; Taylor was immediately traded to the Oakland Athletics for Brett Wallace. The team's significant free agent signings were that of catcher John Buck and shortstop Álex González.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The 2010 season was a surprising 10-win improvement over the last season. It was a career year for José Bautista, who hit 54 home runs, breaking George Bell's franchise record of 47. In doing so, he became the 26th player to reach 50 home runs and the first since Alex Rodriguez and Prince Fielder achieved the feat in 2007. The Blue Jays also set a franchise record for the most home runs in a single season as they hit 257, 13 more than their previous record of 244 set by the 2000 Blue Jays. The Blue Jays tied the 1996 Baltimore Orioles for the third-most home runs by a team in a single season. Seven players (José Bautista, Vernon Wells, Aaron Hill, Adam Lind, Lyle Overbay, John Buck, and Edwin Encarnación) hit 20 home runs or more throughout the season, tying an MLB record previously set by four teams, including the 2000 Blue Jays.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On July 14, the Jays traded Álex González and two minor league prospects—left-handed pitcher Tim Collins and shortstop Tyler Pastornicky—to the Atlanta Braves for Jo-Jo Reyes and Yunel Escobar.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On August 7, catching prospect J. P. Arencibia made his major league debut. He went 4-for-5 with two home runs, including a home run hit on the first pitch he saw. The next day, starting pitcher Brandon Morrow came within one out of a no-hitter, finishing with 17 strikeouts in a complete-game one-hitter.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: Led by new manager John Farrell, the 2011 Blue Jays finished with a .500 record. After signing a five-year $64 million contract extension, José Bautista followed up his record-setting 2010 season with an arguably better season. He finished with a Major League-leading 43 home runs, along with 103 RBI, 132 walks, and a .302 average. Rookie J. P. Arencibia also had a successful year, setting a Blue Jays single-season record with 23 home runs by a catcher. In August, third base prospect Brett Lawrie made his Major League debut and hit .293 with 9 home runs, 4 triples, and 25 RBI, in just 43 games.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: Starting pitcher and ace Ricky Romero led the team with 15 wins and a 2.92 ERA. He also became an All-Star for the first time in his career. The other starting pitchers were inconsistent, and Farrell used 12 different starters over the course of the season. Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco, both acquired in the off-season, shared the closer role. They both struggled through the first half of the season, though Francisco improved in the last two months of the season, and had six saves in September.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On July 31, the Blue Jays retired their first number, Roberto Alomar's #12, one week after Alomar became the first Hall of Famer to be inducted as a Blue Jay.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The 2012 season was an injury-plagued year for the Blue Jays, having used 31 total pitchers, which set a franchise record. In June, three starting pitchers (Brandon Morrow, Kyle Drabek, and Drew Hutchison) were lost to injury in a span of four days, two of whom required Tommy John surgery; in addition, starters Dustin McGowan and Jesse Litsch missed the entire season due to injury. In the second half of the season, some key players in Toronto's line-up, including All-Star José Bautista, missed a significant amount of playing time due to injury, sending the team into a freefall and culminating in a 73–89 record. Despite the underachievements of Ricky Romero and Adam Lind, Casey Janssen established himself as a reliable closer (22 SV, 2.52 ERA) and Edwin Encarnación developed into one of the league's best power hitters (.280 average, 42 home runs, 110 RBI).


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On April 5, 2012, the team opened on the road in Cleveland, where they beat the Indians 7–4 in 16 full innings, during this game they set the record of the longest opening-day game in the Major League history. The previous record of 15 innings had been set by the Washington Senators and Philadelphia Athletics on April 13, 1926, and tied by the Detroit Tigers and the Indians on April 19, 1960.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On April 20, the Jays turned a triple play against the Kansas City Royals in a 4–3 win. It was the first triple play they turned since September 21, 1979.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: During the off-season, the Toronto Blue Jays traded Farrell to the Boston Red Sox per his wishes, and former manager John Gibbons returned to manage the Blue Jays. The Jays also made a blockbuster trade with the Miami Marlins, leading to a series of other blockbuster trades and signings, including with the New York Mets for National League Cy Young winner R. A. Dickey and free agents including Melky Cabrera. On June 8, the Blue Jays played the then-longest game in franchise history by innings, winning 4–3 in 18 innings against the visiting Texas Rangers, which would be broken one season later. The Jays matched their franchise record of 11 consecutive wins in a 13–5 home win over the Baltimore Orioles on June 23. However, the Jays had a losing season overall.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: Pitcher Roy Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Blue Jays before retiring from baseball, citing injuries. The Jays had a nine-game win streak from May 20 to 28, as well as wins in 18 of 21 between May 15 and June 6.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On August 10, the Blue Jays played the longest game in franchise history by both time and innings, winning 6–5 in 19 innings and playing 6 hours, 37 minutes against the visiting Detroit Tigers.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: During the off-season, the Jays signed Toronto-born catcher Russell Martin through free agency. The Jays acquired Marco Estrada, Devon Travis, All-Star third baseman Josh Donaldson, and Michael Saunders in trades. The Jays claimed Justin Smoak, Andy Dirks, and Chris Colabello off waivers. However, Dirks, along with John Mayberry Jr., were eventually non–tendered; the Jays later signed Dirks to a minor league contract. Melky Cabrera and Brandon Morrow left through free agency and Juan Francisco was claimed off waivers by the Boston Red Sox.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Jays later traded José Reyes and pitching prospects Miguel Castro, Jeff Hoffman, and Jesus Tinoco to the Colorado Rockies for All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and reliever LaTroy Hawkins. Two days later, they acquired All-Star pitcher David Price from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for pitching prospects Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd, and Jairo Labourt.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Jays had two 11-game winning streaks during this season. On September 25, the Blue Jays clinched a playoff berth, ending the longest active playoff drought in North American professional sports (see List of Major League Baseball franchise postseason droughts). They subsequently claimed the AL East division title on September 30, after defeating the Baltimore Orioles 15–2 in the first game of a doubleheader.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Blue Jays faced the Texas Rangers in the ALDS. After losing back-to-back home games, they won the next three games in a row to take the five-game series, advancing to the ALCS; a three-game comeback series victory had not been accomplished since 2012 by the San Francisco Giants. During game five of the series in Toronto, Blue Jays' right fielder José Bautista executed what Andrew Keh of "The New York Times" described as possibly "the most ostentatious bat flip in MLB history" after hitting a go-ahead, three-run home run off Rangers relief pitcher Sam Dyson. Bautista wrote an article about the bat flip published in November 2015 in "The Players' Tribune".


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Blue Jays then faced the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS, losing the series 4–2 in Kansas City; the Royals would eventually win the World Series.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: After the playoffs, Donaldson was named AL MVP, becoming the first Blue Jay to win the award since George Bell in 1987.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: Upon the expiration of Paul Beeston's contract, Mark Shapiro replaced him as president of the Blue Jays. Alex Anthopoulos resigned two months after the hiring of Shapiro. Ross Atkins subsequently took his place.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: During the off-season, David Price left the Blue Jays through free agency, signing with the Boston Red Sox, while the Blue Jays signed J. A. Happ. On March 4, 2016, infielder Maicer Izturis announced his retirement from baseball. A few weeks later, Brad Penny and Rafael Soriano, both veterans under minor league contract with the Blue Jays, retired from baseball as well.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On May 15, 2016, the Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers brawled against each other in Arlington, Texas. The brawl happened when Matt Bush threw a pitch at Jose Bautista, then Bautista made an illegal slide, and Rougned Odor punched Bautista. Bautista was later suspended for one game.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On May 31, 2016, the Blue Jays traded for Jason Grilli from the Atlanta Braves. Before the non-waiver trade deadline at 4 pm EDT on August 1, 2016, the Blue Jays traded for Joaquín Benoit, Melvin Upton Jr., Scott Feldman, and Francisco Liriano. On August 25, 2016, the Blue Jays re-acquired popular backup catcher Dioner Navarro in a trade with the Chicago White Sox. This was done before the August 31 trade deadline making Navarro eligible to be on the postseason roster.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On October 2, 2016, the Blue Jays clinched their first Wild Card berth with a Detroit Tigers loss to the Atlanta Braves. On October 4, 2016, the Blue Jays defeated the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Wild Card Game in extra innings, via a walk-off three-run home run by Edwin Encarnación in the bottom of the 11th inning. On October 9, 2016, the Blue Jays completed a sweep of the Texas Rangers in the American League Division Series to advance to the American League Championship Series for the second consecutive year. On October 19, 2016, the Blue Jays were eliminated from World Series contention with a 3–0 loss to the Cleveland Indians in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On November 11, 2016, it was announced that Toronto had signed designated hitter Kendrys Morales to a three-year, $33 million deal. The contract became official on November 18.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On December 5, 2016, Steve Pearce signed a two-year, $12.5 million contract with Toronto. On January 5, 2017, Edwin Encarnación signed a three-year, $60 million contract with the Cleveland Indians. On January 18, 2017, Bautista signed a one-year, $18 million contract with the Blue Jays. The contract includes a $17 million mutual option for the 2018 season, as well as a $20 million vesting option for 2019. The following day, Michael Saunders signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. However, in late June, the Phillies released Saunders and the Jays signed him to a minor league contract.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On April 2, one day before the start of the regular season, Melvin Upton Jr. was released. By the end of April, the Jays had the worst record in all of MLB.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On July 2, the Jays traded Grilli to the Texas Rangers for Eduard Pinto. Pearce hit two walk-off grand slams in a span of three days: one against the Oakland Athletics on July 27 and another against the Los Angeles Angels on July 30, the latter of which is an ultimate grand slam.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Blue Jays wore special red-and-white uniforms at select games during the 2017 season to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Canada.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Blue Jays declined their mutual option on José Bautista, allowing him to enter free agency. He then signed with the Atlanta Braves, later the New York Mets, and eventually with the Philadelphia Phillies.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Blue Jays traded two prospects to the San Diego Padres for Yangervis Solarte. The Blue Jays also acquired Curtis Granderson and Seung-hwan Oh as free agents.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On June 22, Roberto Osuna was suspended for 75 games after being accused of sexual assault on May 8 and applied retroactively from the date of the incident.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: In July, the Blue Jays traded Pearce to the Boston Red Sox for a prospect, Santiago Espinal. They also dealt three pitchers: J. A. Happ to the New York Yankees, Seung-hwan Oh to the Colorado Rockies, and Roberto Osuna to the Houston Astros.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: In August, the Blue Jays traded Josh Donaldson to the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later, later revealed to be a pitching prospect, Julian Merryweather. The Blue Jays also traded Curtis Granderson to the Milwaukee Brewers for a prospect.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On September 26, it was confirmed by the Blue Jays that manager John Gibbons would not return for the 2019 season.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On October 25, 2018, the Blue Jays announced that Charlie Montoyo had been hired as their new manager.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: Early in the season, the Blue Jays traded Kendrys Morales to the Oakland Athletics and Kevin Pillar to the San Francisco Giants.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: During the season, the Blue Jays called up Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Cavan Biggio, and Bo Bichette for the first time. The three are second-generation Major League Baseball players with the first two also being sons of Hall of Famers Vladimir Guerrero Sr. and Craig Biggio, respectively; Bo Bichette is the son of Dante Bichette.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: Nearing the trade deadline, the Blue Jays traded Marcus Stroman to the New York Mets and Aaron Sanchez to the Houston Astros.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: Over the 2019–20 off-season, the Blue Jays signed free agents Tanner Roark and Hyun-jin Ryu. The Blue Jays also signed Shun Yamaguchi from the Yomiuri Giants, the first player the Blue Jays successfully signed via the posting system.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On July 24, 2020, it was announced that the Toronto Blue Jays would play a majority of their home games in Buffalo, New York, at their Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons ballpark, Sahlen Field, as the Canadian government disallowed the Blue Jays and their opponents from playing in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Blue Jays reached the Wild Card series of the postseason, only to be swept by the Tampa Bay Rays in two games. The Blue Jays scored only three runs total in the two games.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: On successive days in January 2021, the Blue Jays signed relief pitchers Kirby Yates and Tyler Chatwood, and outfielder George Springer. The Blue Jays also signed infielder Marcus Semien. However, Yates was out for the entire season to recover from Tommy John surgery.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Toronto Blue Jays played their home games in TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida until June 1 when they moved back to Sahlen Field in Buffalo. On July 16, the Blue Jays announced that they would finally return to Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 30 after the Canadian government allowed the Blue Jays and their opponents to play in Canada.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: Despite having 91 wins in 2021, the Toronto Blue Jays were fourth in the American League East and one game back of the Wild Card cutoff, preventing them from reaching the postseason.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: During the off-season, the Blue Jays signed Kevin Gausman, Yimi Garcia, and Yusei Kikuchi as Robbie Ray, Marcus Semien, and Kirby Yates left for free agency. The off-season is mainly affected by a lockout that lasted from December 2021 to March 2022. After the lockout, the Blue Jays traded for Matt Chapman from the Oakland Athletics, as well as traded Randal Grichuk for Raimel Tapia. On July 13, the team released Charlie Montoyo as the manager for the team. With his four seasons with Toronto (2019–2022), he had a win-loss record of 236–235 (.500), and made it to the playoffs once (2020 ALWC). The new interim manager is bench coach John Schneider. At the trade deadline, the Blue Jays traded for Whit Merrifield from the Kansas City Royals. After the trade deadline, the Blue Jays claimed Jackie Bradley Jr. from waivers.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Blue Jays clinched home advantage for the American League Wild Card Series and hosted the Seattle Mariners. However, the Mariners swept the Blue Jays in two games.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: During the off-season, the Blue Jays traded Teoscar Hernández to the Seattle Mariners for Erik Swanson and Adam Macko. The Blue Jays hired Don Mattingly as the new bench coach. The Blue Jays later signed Chris Bassett and Kevin Kiermaier.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: In 1977, after just 50 home games, the Blue Jays set an MLB record for a first-year expansion team, with an overall attendance of 1,219,551 during those games. By the end of the season, 1,701,152 fans had attended. After setting an attendance record in 1990, with 3,885,284 fans, in 1991, the Blue Jays became the first MLB team to attract over four million fans, with an attendance of 4,001,526, followed by 4,028,318 in 1992. Each of those records were broken in 1993 by the expansion Colorado Rockies, although the Blue Jays' 1993 attendance of 4,057,947 stood as an AL record for 12 years until it was broken by the 2005 New York Yankees.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: Several Blue Jays became very popular in Toronto and across the major leagues, starting with Dave Stieb, whose seven All-Star selections is a franchise record. He is closely followed by Roy Halladay and José Bautista, who were selected six times each, and by Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter, who were selected five times each. Bautista set a major league record in 2011 (which only stood for just one year), with 7,454,753 All-Star votes. In his first season with the Blue Jays in 2015, Josh Donaldson set a new major league record by receiving 14,090,188 All-Star votes.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: During the seventh-inning stretch of home games, before singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", Blue Jay fans sing and clap to "OK Blue Jays" by Keith Hampshire and The Bat Boys, which was released in 1983. The song was remixed in 2003, and since then, the new, shortened version is played at home games.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: From 1979 to 1999, BJ Birdy served as the Blue Jays' sole mascot, played by Kevin Shanahan. In 2000, he was replaced by a duo named Ace and Diamond. After the 2003 season, Diamond was removed by the team, leaving Ace as the team's sole mascot. Since the 2010s, Ace has been accompanied by his younger brother, Junior. This usually happens on the Jr. Jay Saturday promotions until the end of the 2017 season. The promotions were moved to select Sundays since the 2018 season, since the Blue Jays can no longer hold early Saturday afternoon games to accommodate American national broadcasts on Fox, though Fox did occasionally broadcast Blue Jays games at the Rogers Centre.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: Since 2012, every Sunday home game, the Blue Jays pay tribute to a member of the Canadian Armed Forces. During the third inning, the team presents the honoured member a personalized jersey.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: Since 2005, "The Star-Spangled Banner" has been sung before "O Canada" at every home game. In some home games (including Canada Day home games and playoffs), "O Canada" is sung in English and French. When O Canada was sung during the Home Opener, Canada Day, and playoff games, a giant Canadian flag was carried by members of the Canadian Armed Forces. On June 29, 2019, "O Canada" was sung in Cree and English. On September 30, 2021, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, "O Canada" was sung in English, French, and Anishinaabemowin. On September 30, 2022, O Canada was sung in French, English, and Blackfoot. For Blue Jays road games, "O Canada" is sung before the "Star Spangled Banner" as all road games (since the Expos moved to Washington, DC) for the Blue Jays are in the United States.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Blue Jays traditionally host a home game during Canada Day. During the game, the team wears red jerseys instead of blue jerseys. During the pre-game ceremony, a giant Canadian flag is carried by members of the Canadian Armed Forces while O Canada is sung in English and French. The game was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the game was held in Buffalo, New York due to Canada–U.S. travel restrictions.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Blue Jays operate a store that sells primarily Blue Jays merchandise called the Jays Shop. This store has three locations: two at Rogers Centre and one in the Toronto Eaton Centre.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Blue Jays wore pullover uniforms during their first decade of existence. The front of the home white uniforms contained the team name in a unique blue/white/blue split-letter style, with the team logo centred below. The road uniforms were powder blue, with the city name in front and the team logo centred below. Initially, the city name was rendered in bold blue letters, before gaining a white outline the following season. By 1979 it was replaced by the team name in split-lettered white/blue/white style. Player numerals also used the split-letter style, except on the road uniform during its first two seasons. Player names in blue were added to both uniforms for the 1980 season, but were dropped from the road uniform in 1981. Caps were blue with the Blue Jays logo on a white panel in front.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Blue Jays adopted buttoned uniforms upon moving to Rogers Centre (then SkyDome) in 1989. Aside from the additions of buttons and belts, the only change affecting the home uniforms was the relocation of the team logo to the left chest. The road uniforms changed from powder blue to grey, while the city name and numerals in blue/white/blue split-letters was emblazoned and the logo moved to the left chest. Player names were also added to the road uniform. All-blue caps were worn with their road uniform while keeping the white-paneled blue caps at home. By 1993, the all-blue caps were worn universally, supplanting and eventually retiring the original cap design.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: In 1994 the Blue Jays began wearing blue alternate uniforms with the team name and numerals in white/blue/white split letters.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: The Blue Jays updated their logo prior to the 1997 season, with a new bird design and enlarged red maple leaf at the back. The usage of red was greatly increased on the team's new uniforms. On the home uniforms, the letters and numerals were changed to blue/teal/blue split letters, while road uniform letters and numerals were changed to blue/red/blue split letters. On the alternate blue uniforms, split letters and numerals became red/blue/red. Red also appeared on the pant and sleeve stripes while the new logo occupied the left sleeve. Player names also took on the new block split-letter style. An updated all-blue cap was paired with the home and road uniforms, while a red-brimmed blue cap (with a modified logo without a baseball) was used with the blue alternates.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: In 1999 the Blue Jays unveiled an alternate sleeveless white uniform, featuring the same lettering style as the regular home uniform. However, the chest numerals were replaced with the primary logo. Blue undershirts were worn with this uniform.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: Before the 2001 season slight modifications were made with the uniforms, eliminating the tricolour stripes and adding a single colour piping along the chest and neck. While the home uniforms remained mostly intact, the road uniforms gained blue sleeves in a faux-vest design. On the alternate white uniform (now a faux-vest instead of a straight sleeveless design), the new "T-bird" logo replaced the primary "jay leaf" logo, which moved to the left sleeve. In 2003, the "T-bird" logo became the primary, taking over the previous logo's placement on the caps and sleeve, while the alternate white uniforms brought back chest numerals.


title: Toronto Blue Jays

text: Before the 2004 season, the Blue Jays adopted a new visual identity, going with a black, silver and graphite motif. The home and black alternates simply read "Jays" in front and in a 3D-oriented diagonal arrangement, with the bird connected to the letter "J". Letters and numerals were in graphite with light blue and silver trim. The road uniforms featured the city name in a similar letter style as the logo, with graphite letters and numerals trimmed in light blue and silver. In 2008, however, amid complaints of illegibility, the Blue Jays tweaked their road uniforms to include 3D-style block letters and numerals in light blue trimmed in black and white, along with chest numerals. The "J-bird" alternate was added to the left sleeve. A red maple leaf would be added on the right sleeve starting in 2009. The Blue Jays wore all-black caps with the "J-bird" logo for much of the uniforms' existence, save for the 2004 and 2005 seasons when they wore all-graphite caps at home, and in 2007 when an alternate all-black cap with the "T" from the previous road uniform was used.