TORONTO – In back-to-back postseasons, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion hit the two biggest home runs Blue Jays fans had seen in a generation.
But after making history, both soon might be history.
Toronto fell to Cleveland in five games in the American League Championship Series on Wednesday. Now a winter of change is expected. Bautista and Encarnacion highlight a list of nine Blue Jays free agents.
Largely unheralded when each arrived by trade, the Dominicans developed into All-Stars. The team evolved, too, into one that led the AL in attendance this year, reinvigorating an audience across Canada.
After Toronto ended a 22-year playoff drought with an AL East title last year, Bautista blasted the Blue Jays into the ALCS with a three-run homer to win Game 5 against Texas, punctuating his shot with a memorable bat flip.
It was Encarnacion's turn this year. His three-run drive in the 11th inning beat Baltimore in the wild-card game.
The two homers are Toronto's most indelible moments since Joe Carter's World Series walk-off gave the Blue Jays a second consecutive title in 1993.
"They really helped put this team back on the map again, what they've accomplished," manager John Gibbons said. "Both of them made their name here in Toronto. But baseball is still a business. It's a game we play, but it's still a big business and guys earn the right to try free agency."
