Blue Jays fever has business booming in Toronto ahead of Game 6 of the World Series
CBC
It might be the day for ghouls and ghosts, but a sea of blue has taken over Toronto with a different kind of spirit in the air ahead of a highly-anticipated Game 6 of the World Series on Friday.
The nerve-wracking season could come to an end tonight if the Blue Jays score a fourth victory to be crowned World Series champions after 32 years.
But if their bats and basemen are spooked by a Dodgers comeback, the series will be forced into a do-or-die Game 7 Saturday night.
The Jays returned home to Toronto after dominating in back-to-back wins for a 3-2 series lead against reigning champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While baseball fans pack into bars, living rooms and a sold-out Rogers Centre in anticipation of their team’s victory, businesses across the Greater Toronto Area have been reaping the boom in Blue Jays fever.
From baseball cards to vintage merchandise to reservations at sports bars, fans are scrambling to get in on the World Series excitement.
Though baseball cards made their resurgence in Canada during the pandemic, John Amendola, owner of Mintink Trading Cards, says Blue Jays items have been flying off the shelves.
“[Sales] in the last month has just been fire. Like every [Vladimir Guerrero Jr.] card we have [is] sold, every Blue Jay anything, right down to the Ace Funko Pops are sold out,” he said.
Amendola says while certain players are already popular among collectors, the value in cards will continue to rise depending on the series results.
“There's only X amount [of cards] now, it's like it's a piece of art you get into,” he said. “A lot of the excitement, of course, is geared to the success of the Jays and them actually being in the World Series.”
But cards aren’t making the only comeback, vintage Blue Jays merchandise from 1992 and 1993 is in large demand, said Cameron Stubbins, co-owner of Squisha House Vintage and Thrift in Oakville.
“Blue Jays merch is off the hook. We get asked for it. I'm literally sold out,” he said, adding some fans have even offered to buy the clothes off his back.
Stubbins says prices have skyrocketed for old crewnecks, jerseys and hats, with items online going for hundreds of dollars.
The so-called Blue Jays effect brought about a “game-changing boost” to Toronto retailers this year, said an emailed statement from Square, the business technology program behind payment terminals and software.
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