Toronto CEO Mark Shapiro pens heartfelt thank you letter to Blue Jays fans
Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Toronto Blue Jays President and CEO Mark Shapiro has penned a heartfelt thank you letter letter to fans of the team after an incredible run in 2025.
Thanks to an outstanding 2025 season, public perception on the Blue Jays front office has changed dramatically.
Having not been on a lengthy playoff run since 2016, there were many calling for the Blue Jays to part ways with the likes of team president Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins.
Then the Blue Jays put up an AL-best 94-68 record and nearly won the World Series.
The outstanding season helped gather support we haven't seen surrounding the Blue Jays for many years, something that didn't go unnoticed by Shapiro and company.
Blue Jays CEO Mark Shapiro shares heartfelt letter to teams social media accounts
Shapiro says he is «filled with gratitude» and issued a «deeply felt thank you» to Blue Jays fans.
«Thank you to our fans - the best in baseball,» Shapiro wrote. «You travelled great distances to support us, filling our ballpark at home and supporting us at stadiums on the road. You gathered around screens and radios from thousands of kilometres away.»
«We heard you. We felt you. Your energy, love, your hopes and belief reached our players and lifted us all.»
Shapiro said that the fan passion «inspired a group of individuals to achieve what few thought possible.»
His letter pointed to the Blue Jays' successes in 2025, including capturing the AL East title, «toppling» the New York Yankees on their «home turf» to claim the American League Division Series (ALDS), and overcoming «powerful opponents» in the Seattle Mariners to win the American League Championship Series (ALCS).
Shapiro wrote that despite coming «just centimetres short of a World Series Championship,» the ALDS and ALCS banners will «forever hang proudly» at Rogers Centre to represent a season «none of us will ever forget.»
He added that what stood out the most to him outside of the team's accomplishments, was what the fans «celebrated about them.»
«You saw their toughness, their resilience, their character, and above all their love for one another,» Shapiro wrote. «No group could better represent what it means to be a teammate... Their unity and selflessness brought people together across our country.»
Shapiro went on to say that the «sting» of missing out on winning the World Series is still there, and comes from the Blue Jays' «shared desire» to bring fans and all of Canada the championship.
«We'll use that disappointment as fuel for what comes next,» he said.
The president and CEO closed his letter by once again expressing pride and gratitude for the fans, and promised them that their journey isn't over.
«I have never been prouder to be a Blue Jay, and never more determined to deliver more memories, moments, and celebrations that bind us together,» Shapiro said. «One team, one country, one fanbase.»
The question now for the Blue Jays is what the future will look like.
While Shane Bieber will be back in the rotation in 2026, there are other pending free agents, most notably Bo Bichette, who Blue Jays fans expect Shapiro and Atkins to sign long term.
Regardless of what transpires in the offseason, Shapiro, who is expected to soon sign a contract extension, is making it clear that this organization has its sights set on winning it all.
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