George Springer tearful as he shares what being a Blue Jay meant to him

Veteran slugger suited up Sunday for his 776th and likely final game with Toronto as his contract is set to expire

Published Sep 27, 2026  •  4 minute read

George Springer celebrates with teammates in the Blue Jays dugout after scoring in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Aug. 18, 2026, in St Petersburg, Fla. Photo by Julio Aguilar /Getty Images

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As much as Game 162 on Sunday at the Rogers Centre marked the thudding end to a dud of a season, it was also about good byes for some Blue Jays, likely more exiting the reigning American League champions than we know.

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For George Springer, who was both a big kid and the heartbeat of the team while also signalling the start of something big around here, it was so much more.

A fond farewell, sure, but one that clearly was going to touch him deeply.

“The whole goal was to hopefully leave the organization in a better place than I found it,” an emotional Springer said on Sunday. “It’s not just friendships, it’s family. And I love this place. I’m thankful.”

‘My goal was to … help win’

With those words three hours before his 776th and likely final game with the Jays, tears began to spill and his voice started to crack.

It’s easy to be cynical about athletes at times, especially those who are paid the most. They can be viewed as detached mercenaries rather than humans who appreciate their surroundings.

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When Springer was signed to what was then a Blue Jays record contract — six years, $150 million US — he was meant to be an agent of change. It was a signal that Canada’s only team meant big business and the future wasn’t just going to be Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette.

No, Jan. 23, 2021, was meant to be much more for all parties and especially for Springer, as it turned out. It has been clear with the joy he has played with along the way, especially with how his love and appreciation for all things Toronto and Canada grew along the way.

“I didn’t really set any expectations,” Springer said of his first thoughts of moving to a foreign country to play with a team that still had work to do to be a championship contender. “Honestly, my goal was to come here and to help win and to help any way that I possibly could. Help with culture, with friendship, whatever the case.

“I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish as a team over the last six years.”

Veteran here for highs and lows

Springer has seen a lot over that span. He’s seen the growth of players like Guerrero, the maturation of an organization and the explosion of the baseball infrastructure both here and in the franchise’s spring training home of Dunedin, Fla.

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He’s seen rapturous highs and he’s seen demoralizing lows, Sunday being a snapshot of that as the team finished off a last-to-first-to last run over the last three seasons in the AL East Division.

Sunday was abject disappointment for last season’s World Series finalists with the playoff flame expired four days earlier, but as an upside it was also an opportunity for Springer to soak it all in while exiting the city in which he started his family with his head held high.

Manager John Schneider put him at the top of his order for one of the few times this season, an homage to one of the greatest leadoff hitters in history. The plans were to take him out of the game at an appropriate moment to allow another Rogers Centre sellout crowd to salute what he’s meant to the franchise.

Disregarding the dodgy times, Springer has been a huge part of the good that has come the franchise’s way during his six seasons here. His three-run homer in Game 7 of the ALCS in Seattle last October is cemented as an all-time Blue Jays moment.

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“I told (GM Ross Atkins) when I first signed that I would give you everything I’ve got, every single day, give you 100% of whatever it is I had,” Springer said. “It didn’t matter if I was hurt or sick.

“That’s other people’s opinion, but I hope I did.”

Standing ovation in 1st inning

The team certainly felt it. Part of the attraction of signing Springer was his championship pedigree as a World Series MVP with the Houston Astros.

“For me, personally, watching George over the six years has been really cool,” Schneider said. “Watching him rub off on others with the way he plays, playing through injuries, putting the team on his back at times and understanding how to navigate a post-season was really cool.

“He’s changed the trajectory of the organization. He said he wanted to do that when he got here and he’s done that.”

What’s next for Springer remains to be seen. It’s unlikely he’ll be back in Toronto and retirement is certainly possible. On Sunday, though, it was time to celebrate a veteran pro who helped change the culture of Blue Jays baseball.

What will it be like, Springer was asked, when he exits his final game?

“Probably like my face is (now),” he said through tears.

On cue, that’s exactly how it happened. In his first at-bat, those tears indeed flowed as Springer took off his helmet for a minute-long standing ovation.

“It will be happy,” he said, “if that makes sense. I have nothing but good things to say about this organization and the guys I’ve played with over the last six years.”

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