Tenacious Blue Jays built to thrive in must-win situations

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Alex Anthopoulos watched as the Baltimore Orioles celebrated clinching the American League East title in mid-September 2014 and pondered why it wasn’t his team spraying champagne instead.

The Toronto Blue Jays had led the division for six weeks that season but wound up in third place, another also-ran finish in Anthopoulos’ five years as general manager, extending to 21 Toronto’s streak of years missing the playoffs.

The Blue Jays had raised their payroll from 22nd in the majors in his first season running the show to ninth, at nearly $130 million, and the results were no better, an 83-79 record that left them 13 games behind the Orioles.

It finally dawned on Anthopoulos he needed to change his philosophy when it came to player acquisitions.

“We felt like talent alone is not getting us to where we need to get to,’’ he said Thursday as the Blue Jays worked out in preparation for Friday’s Game 6 of the American League Championship Series. “Maybe we need to emphasize some of the other components a little bit more than just having very talented teams, which we had over the years.’’

So the Blue Jays went into the offseason with a different focus, seeking a better balance between talent and makeup in search of that elusive and ill-defined winning chemistry.

The first step was to sign free agent catcher Russell Martin, a proven leader and handler of pitchers who happens to be Canadian to boot. The club also added the likes of pitcher Marco Estrada and rookie second baseman Devon Travis before the coup de grace, a trade for All-Star third baseman Josh Donaldson.

The flurry of summer trades that netted the Blue Jays star-caliber players like Troy Tulowitzki and David Price and a new leadoff man in Ben Revere supplied the key to the push that saw Toronto go 40-18 in the final two months on the way to the division crown.

But the basis for the club that has survived four elimination games to force Friday’s Game 6 – Toronto trails the Kansas City Royals 3-2 – was formed by that renewed emphasis on blending ability with high character.

Anthopoulos said in the past the team paid lip service to that notion but talent eventually would win out, especially when there was a need to fill. Starting this past offseason, that was no longer the case. The new acquisitions came in with solid reputations for their makeup, and Donaldson, who had a history of irking opponents, made a concerted effort to fit in with his new teammates from the beginning of spring training.

“Everybody we talked about bringing in, we wanted to make sure they fit certain values we want to have,’’ Anthopoulos said. “The obvious: being selfless, team-oriented, intelligent, committed. It still starts with talent and productivity.

“I think (former Jays GM) Pat Gillick said it best. He said when he started in his career he thought the ratio of talent to makeup was 70-30, and over time he adjusted it to 60-40. I understand now what he meant. I had to make the same adjustment, and we as an organization did too.’’

Players who have been with the club in recent seasons believe the new mix of personalities – including the highly regarded Tulowitzki and Price – has been a factor in Toronto’s playoff success in do-or-die games.

In the AL Division Series against the Texas Rangers, the Blue Jays became only the third team to lose the first two games at home in a best-of-five series and come back to win it.

Now they’re facing up to two more elimination games, and they would tie a record set by the 2012 San Francisco Giants if they won both.

Price is keenly aware he has not been at his best in the postseason and hopes to make amends in Friday’s start opposite fireballing right-hander Yordano Ventura. Price outpitched Ventura in Game 2, throwing six shutout innings and retiring 18 batters in a row, until a misplay by second baseman Ryan Goins interrupted that streak in the seventh, and the Royals turned that into a five-run inning for a stunning victory.“I think there’s no truer test of character than when your backs are against a wall,’’ said center fielder Kevin Pillar, in his third year with the Blue Jays. “When you’re facing elimination, it’s either play well or go home. Some teams may fold under that pressure. It’s not a situation we intended to put ourselves in. It’s just kind of the way it’s worked out, where we just seem to play our best baseball when facing elimination.’’

That dropped Price’s career postseason record to 2-7 with a 5.24 ERA, with both wins coming in relief.

“I know what I’m capable of doing … I think I just kind of want to do it too bad,’’ Price said. “And it’s been long overdue for me to get a win as a starter in the playoffs. And I’ll be ready to change that story tomorrow.’’

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