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The Toronto Blue Jays are back in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) for the first time since 2016, and with more October baseball guaranteed at Rogers Center, fans can count on one thing: more singing of the seventh inning with a song that has become part of the city’s soundtrack.
“I’ve written music for a hundred different series, I’ve probably done 3-4,000 commercials in my life… However, you remember this one, because it comes alive,” said composer Jack Lenz, who co-wrote the ok blue jays With Tony Kosnik in 1983.
What started as a light-hearted jingle has endured for more than four decades and established itself as the team’s unofficial anthem. Played during every seventh inning at home games, the song has taken fans from Exhibition Stadium to Rogers Center through the regular season, playoff push and even World Series glory.
a song that wasn’t meant to last
Lenz recalls that he and Kosnik were not exactly baseball insiders when they were approached to write the track.
Lenz said with a laugh, “Tony and I had never been to a game; we always said we weren’t qualified to write sports songs.” “But [then-team president] Paul Beeston came to our office. He was enthusiastic, but he said don’t overpromise – and then of course, the idea was fine.”
This “idea” turned into a gold record. The single sold over 50,000 copies, bringing Lenz and Kosnik industry recognition in 1986. But for Lenz, the song’s legacy is measured less in sales and more in moments.
He remembers taking his father, a farmer from Saskatchewan, to a game in Toronto. when the crowd got up to sing ok blue jaysHis younger son pulled his grandfather’s hand and proudly announced, “My dad wrote that song.”
“That was a big family moment, but it was also a moment where I realized he could see that I was going to be OK,” Lenz said.
From stand to social media
The enduring power of the anthem has reached a new generation of fans and musicians. Max Karman, frontman of the Canadian rock band Arkells and lifelong Blue Jays supporter, Recently posted my acoustic version of the song On TikTok after Toronto’s Game 2 ALDS win over the Yankees.
“This song has become part of the fabric of the city, of the country,” Karaman said. ,I was feeling really excited after Game 2, and right before I went to bed, I was like, I’m just going to bang this little acoustic folk version. It really took off – people are feeling very festive about that song at the moment.’
The Blue Jays advanced to the ALCS after defeating the Yankees in four games. Toronto now awaits the winner of the second division series between the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners, with a decisive Game 5 set for Friday.
Game 1 of the ALCS will be played on Sunday at 8:08 pm ET at Rogers Center. One thing is certain: When the seventh inning comes, thousands of Blue Jays fans will once again rise to their feet and sing a song that transcends eras, rosters and stadiums.