Bichette reflects – Bo Bichette arrived at Rogers Centre with the New York Mets for a three-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays and couldn’t hide his emotions ahead of Monday’s series opener. The 28-year-old spent seven seasons in Toronto, leaving with 748 games, 904 hits, 111
Bo Bichette could keep his stoic reputation in the dugout. At Rogers Centre, before Monday’s series-opener against his old organization, he couldn’t keep it in his voice.
The 28-year-old arrived with the New York Mets to begin a three-game set at Toronto, facing the moment that always feels sharper when you’ve lived inside it for years. Asked what it felt like to step back onto the field as an opponent, Bichette didn’t try to tidy it up.
“It feels different, for sure,” Bichette said. “But I’m excited to get out here and play some ball, see some guy. But definitely odd.”
He had been drafted by the Blue Jays in the second round of the 2016 draft and climbed through Toronto’s farm system before debuting in 2019. Over seven seasons, Bichette played 748 games for Toronto, finishing with 904 hits, 111 homers and a .294 average, along with two All-Star appearances. In that time, he also helped the Blue Jays reach four postseason berths.
Those numbers are the résumé. The emotion is what happens when that résumé becomes history in front of you.
“No, I don’t know what to expect,” Bichette said through tears when asked about the reception he might get from the fanbase. “I gave it everything I had… so I just hope that’s appreciated.”
For many Blue Jays fans, the lasting image won’t be a statistic line—it will be October. Bichette’s three-run homer off Shohei Ohtani in Game 7 of last year’s Fall Classic is still the kind of moment people replay for the rest of the year.
“I’m so grateful that we had that experience and got there,” Bichette said of Game 7. “But you dream of winning it, so I don’t know how many times I’ve replayed it, but it comes to mind every once in a while.”
That Game 7 swing came after a regular season that cemented Bichette as one of Toronto’s anchors. He slashed .311/.357/.483 with 18 homers and 94 RBIs, earning All-MLB Second Team honours. It also came despite a late-season leg injury that affected him during the stretch toward the postseason—and yet Toronto still reached the 2025 World Series.
Now the uniform is different, and the expectations are different too. Bichette joined the Mets this past off-season on a three-year, $126-million contract, with player options after both of the first two seasons.
But the Mets have not been living up to those expectations this year. New York opens play on Monday with a 35-49 record and sits last in the NL East. Bichette’s own start has been uneven in context. though it has improved recently: he carries a .687 OPS and 10 homers on the season. numbers that have been boosted by a hot June.
The Blue Jays. meanwhile. and the Mets. both arrive at the same address this week with the same goal—turn things around. And yet when Bichette takes the field at Rogers Centre for the first time as an opponent. the storyline won’t be about standings first. It will be about memory. gratitude. and the strange feeling of walking onto the same field where you once built your identity.
There’s a three-game set on the schedule, a 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT start time for Monday’s series-opener, and a whole lot to prove for both teams. But for Bichette, the most immediate question is simpler: whether the people who watched him for 748 games will feel the effort behind the applause.
Bo Bichette Toronto Blue Jays New York Mets Rogers Centre MLB three-game set Shohei Ohtani World Series Game 7 All-MLB Second Team contract player options