what happened to... toronto sports franchises (Tfc & mlb)

06/03/2023

If you’ve been following the Toronto sports landscapes in the recents weeks to months, you’ll notice that things have changed. No longer are the Toronto Raptors one of the premier franchises in the NBA, respected for their integrity, coaching, and player development; no longer are the Toronto Maple Leafs fighting for the cup in the NHL playoffs after being eliminated by the red hot Florida Panthers; and no longer are the Toronto Blue Jays considered as world series favourites, a title they held a recently as the start of the 2023 spring season. As for the Toronto FC, our soccer friend who sometimes is forgotten amongst the big three, they’re franchise is in complete and utter disarray after reaching the league final in three or four years between 2016 and 2019. So, let’s dig in: in this two part series, we’ll examine what happened to each of the Toronto franchises.

THE TORONTO FOOTBALL CLUB

I’ve started with the Toronto FC because this team more closely resembles the cast of a reality TV show than a professional soccer club. If I told you that two underperforming Italian stars were plotting to overthrow the team’s coach, whose son was the team’s captain, coupled with in-fighting between the team’s best players, you’d tell me to call MTV for a camera crew within the hour.

Toronto FC turned to coach Bob Bradley after a disastrous season in the MLS Bubble, one of the most successful coaches in MLS history through his tenure with the LA Galaxy, However, hiring the father of your team captain, Michael Bradley, isn’t exactly a recipe for healthy and open working relations. Multiple players have said that they don’t feel comfortable speaking in front of Bradley whose tactics and coaching has led to some animosity with the team’s stars.

President Bill Manning led the charge to sign Italian stars Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernadeschi as he took multiple trips to Italy to meet with the player and his representatives and eventually inked Insigne to a four year $60 million deal. Fedrico Bernadeschi from Juventus was also brought in with the goal of rejuvenating a city and franchise, Here’s Manning’s on this strategy and future plan for TFC:

"How can we reignite this thing? It was to go get a big player and to manage the big player, or two, a big coach,” Manning said. “And that was literally the best-laid plan. Like, how can that fail?”

It quickly failed. Sources say that Federico Bernadeschi and Insigne did not get along, even before signing with TFC, and this animosity has carried over to Toronto where Bernadeschi demanded to be paid the same amount as Insigne. The two even clashed when Inisgne got a jacket deal with Drake’s OVO while Bernadeschi didn’t, and Bernadeschi was hurt that the club selected Insigne to go to the media day and not him.

Insigne told the media after last season that he wouldn’t return to the team if it was coached by Bradley.

With a team riddled with power struggles and odd family dynamics, how can you expect to build a working and competitive club in the MLS? At a team meeting when Bradley confronted Bernardeschi and encouraged him to air his grievances in front of the team, the Italian replied, “of course, you’re his son,” and “of course, you’re his papa,” to his coach. When Mark Anthony Kaye interjected, Bernadeschi referred to Kaye as “his other son.” Manning clearly underestimated the simplicity of his strategy and the TFC’s record and season hope suffered as a result.

THE TORONTO BLUE JAYS

I’m more well-versed in what’s been happening in Toronto Blue Jays Land, having followed the Bautista Bat Flip era and their back to back appearances in the American League Championship Series — what a magical time to be a Jays fan! Nonetheless, I can’t explain what has gone wrong with the Toronto Blue Jays this year.

This chapter begins with a devastating loss to the Seattle Mariners in which the visitors roared back from a seven run deficit to stun the Jays, followed by a flurry of offseason moves as the Jays traded Teosar Hernandez, Lourdes Gurriel Jr and Gabriel Moreno, two important pieces of their playoff team last year and one of their most highly lauded prospects. Instead of the fun Hernandez and Gurriel, the team brought in workmen like Daulton Varsho, Kevin Kiermaier, and Brandon Belt because the team needed to be more “serious” in order to compete. This may have been their motivation in trading banana haired Lourdes and Teo who could always be seen doing some shenanigans on the bench, as they played with Vladdy and Bo while distracting them from competing.

However, in selling away a lot of that fun, the Jays made their team a lot worse as they now rank just about the middle in all of baseball’s major hitting statistics while being closer to the top the year before. After all, Varsho and Belt have had a slow start (Belt has heated up but Varsho is still batting 213!), and Kiermaier is more known for his defensive prowess than any bat to ball skills. One of the bright spots for this team has been their starting rotation with reliable Guasman, newcomer Bassitt, and revived Berrios who bolster the inconsistent Manoah and Kikuchi. What a surprise, I’ll say for the Cy Young candidate Manoah, whose struggles some say result from the new pitch clock — Manoah was one of the slowest working pitchers last year. The Jays currently sit in fourth place in the stacked American League East, one game above the Red Sox, and have lost 6 out of their last 10 games. This team was lauded as World Series contenders but chronic inconsistency from their bullpen and just about average hitting has capped their ceiling. I still have hope, however, that Vladdy and Bo will propel the Jays to the postseason. Anything can happen from there.

WRITTEN BY: JON ROSENHEK