Wray Morrison: Blue Jay surprise

I’ll admit it. I am surprised the Toronto Blue Jays are back in the American League Championship series.

I never doubted team talent.

The majority of players on this roster helped this team make a push last season that captivated the country. Those same players are using the experiences of last season to the team’s benefit in 2016.

However, this team is among baseball’s final four with new president in Mark Shapiro and new general manager in Ross Atkins. The pair came from Cleveland to replace Paul Beeston and Alex Anthopoulos.

To the credit of the newcomers, they never blew this roster up, and retained manager John Gibbons. David Price did get away, but every team has to account for some change from one year to the next. In July the brain trust made a minor move by acquiring Melvin Upton Junior from San Diego while keeping the main group together.

Hats off to Shapiro and Atkins for what they didn’t do in the off season.