Who needs Shohei Ohtani? Apparently, not the Toronto Blue Jays. During the Blue Jays' dominant 11-4 win over the Ohtani's Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series, the Toronto home crowd jeered the reigning MVP. The Canadian crowd chanted “We don't need him” while Ohtani was at the plate, showing their displeasure.
After the game, Blue Jays manager John Schneider was asked about the crowd's incendiary chants. Schneider appreciated the Blue Jays crowd's enthusiasm, but he said that he was ultimately just focused on getting that final out to win the game.
“I just wanted to get the third out. I love energetic fan bases,” Schneider said (video via MLB on FOX Sports. “It happens in different ways and shapes and forms in every stadium. We saw it just in the last series in Seattle. Kind of heard it, but it’s tough to talk about a player like that, to be honest with you. He’s special. I’m glad that the home run that he hit came when it came, and we had a little cushion. But I love that our fans are passionate about our team.”
Blue Jays fans are obviously still a little salty with Ohtani after what happened in the 2024 offseason. With Ohtani entering free agency that year, the Japanese star was courted by many teams. Toronto was one of the front-runners, and it was even rumored at one point that Ohtani was definitely headed to the Jays. Many fans eagerly awaited the MVP candidate to head up north.
Instead, Ohtani spurned the Blue Jays to join the Dodgers that year. Los Angeles would end up winning it all that year, with Ohtani winning regular-season MVP honors after a historic 50 HR and 50 SB season. Since then, the Blue Jays fanbase has held a grudge against the two-way star. Now that they've met in the World Series, the Jays are hellbent on beating the player who they felt left them hanging last year.
