If you have been following the 2025 MLB season, you’re likely aware of the Toronto Blue Jays’ dominant season and now late postseason push.
They just took down the powerhouse New York Yankees in dominant fashion, winning the series in a convincing 3 games to 1 manner.[1] In fact, the Bluejays looked so good (especially at home) that many began to speculate that the Blue Jays might have been cheating. And at a glance, one could see how that argument could’ve been made. In the ALDS, the Jays jumped on the Yankees at home beating them 10-1 in game one and 13-7 in game two.[2] Yankees fans were quick to claim that something wasn’t right. After some detective work, Yankees fans across the internet were quick to notice that the Blue Jays, while being dominant at home (54-27), were a below average team on the road (40-41).[3] Fans were also quick to point out that the Blue Jays have a hotel in center field, where they could be placing cameras to steal signs, thus explaining their home-field dominance.[4]
This theory echoes a lot of the same concerns that were eventually proven true about the Houston Astros in 2020, which also involved an elaborate sign-stealing operation. There, the MLB found that the Astros engaged in an illegal use of cameras to steal signs and then relay the signs via the infamous trash can bangs. However, while the Astros investigation was the product of a thorough MLB investigation and corroborated by witnesses, email threads, videos, and photos, here, the Blue Jays allegations are fueled by nothing other than speculation.[5] And since the Mariners just won the first two games of the ALCS in Toronto, it might be time to put the speculation to bed and just admit (begrudgingly) that the Jays just had the Yankees’ number this year.
[1] Keegan Matheson, Blue Jays prove they’re top dog, clinch ALCS berth in the Bronx, MLB.Com (October 9, 2025)
[2] 2025 AL Division Series Toronto Blue Jays over New York Yankees (3-1), Baseball Refrenece (October 8, 2025)
[3] Blue jays home and away record, Statmuse (October 14, 2025)
[4] Md Saife Fida, Blue Jays Accused of Cheating as Astros 2.0 Claims Erupt After Back-to-Back Wins Over Yankees, Essentially Sports (October 5, 2025)
[5] Robert Manfred, Statement of the Commissioner, MLB (January 13, 2020)
Blake Breidenstein is a third year law student at the University at Buffalo School of Law who has spent much of his law school career studying how the law intertwines with the sports and entertainment industry. Throughout his time in law school, Breidenstein has supported the university's compliance office, working alongside a supervising attorney and staff in ensuring compliance with the ever-changing rules governing collegiate athletics. As a lifelong baseball player, Blake focuses much of his writing on the MLB, although his Buffalo roots occasionally turn his focus towards the Bills and Sabres.
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