Toronot Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s American League.

The "Blue Jays" name originates from the bird of the same name. They are nicknamed "the Jays", which is featured on the team's logo and on the front of the home uniform.

An expansion franchise, the club was founded in Toronto, in 1977. Originally based at Exhibition Stadium, the team began playing its home games at the SkyDome, upon completion of its construction in 1989. As of 2009, the Blue Jays are owned by Rogers Communications, and in 2004, the SkyDome was purchased by the company, which renamed the venue to Rogers Centre. They are the first and only team outside the United States to win a World Series, the first team to win a World Series in Canada, and the fastest AL expansion franchise to win a World Series (winning in their 16th year, beating the Kansas City Royals' record by one year). With the fellow Canadian franchise Montreal Expos relocating to Washington, D.C. after the 2004 season, and becoming the Washington Nationals, the Blue Jays are currently the only MLB team outside the United States.

The Toronto Blue Jays have the largest geographical home market for radio and television in all of baseball, encompassing all of Canada. The Blue Jays' former radio play-by-play announcer, Tom Cheek, called every Blue Jays game from the team's inaugural contest on April 7, 1977 until June 3, 2004, when he took two games off following the death of his father – a streak of 4,306 consecutive regular season games and 41 postseason games. Cheek died in 2005, and the team commemorated him during their 2006 season by wearing a circular badge on the left sleeve of their jerseys. The badge was adorned with Cheek's initials, as well as a stylized microphone. Cheek is also honoured with a place in the Blue Jays' "Level of Excellence" in the upper level of the Rogers Centre; the number 4,306 is depicted beside his name. In 2008 Cheek received the third highest amount of votes by fans to be nominated for the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence. This is the fifth year in a row Cheek has been named a finalist.