Over the past few years, the Toronto Blue Jays have made a concerted effort to improve the ball club not only on the field, but in every aspect possible.
That has meant massively renovating Rogers Centre — both for the fans and for the players and their families. There also have been millions of dollars poured into the team’s spring training facility in Dunedin, Fla., which has been used as a selling point to free agents like Shohei Ohtani in recent years.
So, it should come as little surprise that the team’s reputation among MLB players is among the best in all of baseball.
What do MLB players think about the Jays?
In a poll of 100 MLBers across 23 different teams conducted by The Athletic, the Jays were ranked in the organizations with the best reputation among players.
Toronto came in fourth, getting 16 votes in the poll, trailing the Dodgers, Yankees and Cubs.
The free-spending Los Angeles team was the runaway winners, garnering an outstanding 59 votes, while the Yankees had 38 and the Cubs 28.
What did the players say?
When asked why the players voted for the Jays, the team received rave reviews on many fronts.
“The facilities in Toronto are crazy good,” one player said. “For me, where I’ve played … there’s nowhere close to Toronto when it comes to that.”
Another said that the team’s “clubhouse has every bell and whistle,” while also the team makes sure that being the Majors’ lone team residing north of the border doesn’t create issues.
“I heard travel for them is good, especially considering you have to cross national borders,” the player added.
Having a winning culture doesn’t hurt, either.
“I’ve been impressed with what they’re doing,” the player said. “They clearly want to win. Their facilities are great. And it seems like they have a good culture.”
What has the team done to improve recently?
Having been given the opportunity to tour Rogers Centre behind the scenes earlier this season, it was easy to see the love the organization shows its players.
The locker room has all the amenities that any pro could ask for while the weight room and training facilities have state-of-the-art, proprietary technology.
Players’ families are well taken care of, and the outstanding culture created by the club can easily be seen on social media, with teammates and their families frequently getting together for events in the off-season and on off days.
Which team has the worst reputation?
On the opposite end of the spectrum, there was one team that stood out as the worst in MLB.
Of the 73 players who gave a response when asked which organizations had a bad reputation, the Colorado Rockies took the cake with 28 votes.
Second place was the Pittsburgh Pirates at 23 while the wandering Athletics tied the Chicago White Sox with 21 votes apiece.
It’s no secret what the franchises that top this negative list have in common: They’re cheap.
“Which are the ones that are cheap as f***?” one player rhetorically responded when asked.
Of the 30 teams in MLB, 20 received votes for the bad reputation – and the Jays were not among them.