How the Blue Jays made it uncool, again, to strike out

If you want to understand how the Toronto Blue Jays went from a last place team to playing in the World Series in the span of 12 months, know this: In 2025, they do two things very well – they strike out far less than any other team, and they hit the ball a lot more.

If you’re a casual baseball fan, you might not realize how notable that is. Baseball, as a sport, has in recent years believed that strikeouts are an acceptable cost in the pursuit of the all-mighty home run. The Blue Jays, who hit 53 fewer of them than the Los Angeles Dodgers did in the regular season, have rejected that idea since they started playing this spring.