A Casual Fan’s Guide to 2025 MLB Season

The crack of the bat, the smell of hot dogs, and the roar of the crowd. Yes, once again baseball has crept up on us. While we are all focused on March Madness, the 2025 Major League Baseball season is set to kick off, promising another year filled with drama, excitement, and unforgettable moments. Even if you’re not a die-hard fan glued to every game, there’s plenty to look forward to. I would say I am a very casual baseball fan. I try my best to cheer for the Toronto Blue Jays, and I know who is good, but after that, I am lost. That’s why this preview is designed for the casual fan, giving you the key storylines, teams to watch, and players to know as we head into the season. Oh, and I make some very uneducated predictions. Let’s go.

Touch ’em all Joe!

Last week I watched Edwin Encarnación destroy Rogers Centre on loop for a good five minutes. But that isn't even the greatest walk off in Jays history. You know where…

In Our House It’s All About The Blue Jays #OurMoment

blue jays family

Dad did the Jays win last night?

Did Joshie hit a home run?

Did Pillar make a crazy catch??

Can we go to another game?

These are all daily questions in our house. From April until October, the Toronto Blue Jays take over the chatter in our family and it was a perfect storm of events that got us to that point.

First, our boys are of the age where baseball becomes fun and interesting. Harry (6) went to his first game two years ago and has been hooked ever since.

Charlie (3) just wants to do and like what his big brother likes, so it was easy for him to become a Junior Jay.

They play in the backyard. Harry has entered the world of organized teeball and baseball. Their Nana has been doing her best to promote her Jays fandom for years. It was bound to stick at some point.

Second, we moved back to Toronto in 2014. That meant hearing about the Jays in the news more. That meant actually being able to go to the games. That meant getting caught up in the hype very easily.

Third, that hype. The Jays are good. They are really good. That makes everyone excited to the point where we watch almost every game on TV now. I certainly did not do that a few years ago. Forget House of Cards, my wife and I end up watching Buck and Pat.

So you combine seeing the game through the eyes of your kids, being close to the action and the team challenging for a World Series and that is how it all went down.

How I Got My Baseball Groove Back

Baseball. It has been my best friend, my worst enemy and everything in between. I used to love it. I used to hate it. But thanks to being a dad and those dang Toronto Blue Jays, as Jay Z would say, I think I got my swagger back.

Baseball has once again become a big part of my life. I even have my first glove since I was a teen.

For those who knew me as a kid, you would remember my sticker collections, building mini stadiums in my room and of course knowing every single
baseball stat there was (BEFORE THE INTERNET).

I grew up as a Detroit Tigers fan and that meant despising the Toronto Blue Jays. Yes I f’in hated George Bell, Dave Stieb and every dude associated with them.

I never played organized baseball, but I played and played often with neighbourhood buddies. I saw myself as the Canadian Mark McGwire before there was a Mark McGwire.

I dug the long ball before I even knew about the chicks.

Just sitting here now, if I really try hard, my first memory of watching MLB was the World Series when the Cardinals and Brewers squared off in 1982. I remember Robin Yount, Cecil Cooper and just have friggen fast those Cardinals were.

Have I proved to you how much I loved baseball yet?