“It just feels like this team could win the World Series. It’s the first time I’ve felt like this since the early 90s.”

That was what I told my friends Ted and Jeff – and anyone who will listen – since we sat watching the first few innings of the Toronto Blue Jays Game 1 win over the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series (ALDS).

There is a certain vibe, an aura per say, that cannot be denied about this year’s iteration of the Blue Jays.

Sure, as Ted pointed out, the Bautista-Donaldson-Tulowitzki Jays were formidable, but the magic was missing.

That unseen je ne sais quoi that the back-to-back World Series championship teams in ’92 and ’93 had. The 2025 Jays have the je ne sais quoi with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leading the way and a locked in supporting cast coming up big in the right moments.

Is it the quiet swagger? Is it the wonderfully positive energy? Is it the deep line-up and roster?

Or maybe it’s the way they started slow, even falling to as low as four games below .500 in May, before climbing all the way to the East Division crown and best record in the American League on the final day of the season.

Maybe it’s the way they kept winning the games they needed down the stretch in September as the Yankees made a push to steal the division and best AL record from these plucky and lovable Jays.

Maybe it’s Alejandro Kirk or George Springer or Bo Bichette (who is missing the ALDS so far with an injury) or the rookie phenom Trey Yesevage or experienced ace Shane Bieber or their ever positive manager John Schneider … insert fun player or pitcher or coach here.

Or maybe it’s the way they bashed around the big, bad Yankees in the first two games of this series to move to 8-1 at the SkyDome against New York this season.

Okay, okay, I know this is a column that screams “jinx” ahead of Game 4 in the Bronx, but the chances are low that the normally defensively sound Blue Jays repeat their error-filled performance.

And yes, I realize that either a solid Seattle Mariners team or Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal awaits in the American League Championship Series (ALCS), but I do feel if the Jays beat the Yankees, they will have the necessary momentum to do the job in the next round.

If, and i know it’s a big if, the Blue Jays managed to advance to the World Series, it would be amazing to take on the defending champions Los Angeles Dodgers.

Why? Why would you want that? Well, it’s because only the Dodgers and soon to be eliminated Chicago Cubs allow the Jays to have homefield advantage in the MLB Fall Classic.

Both the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers had better records than Toronto.

And yes, the Dodgers are awesome, but the Jays can hang with them. I truly believe that and fans can point to the fact the only two times Toronto was in the World Series the team won.

Let’s see how Shohei Ohtani and Los Angeles deal with the time difference and the cooler weather (open the dome maybe?) along with the magic of fall baseball in Toronto.

To go back to a further point, these Jays have that je ne sais quoi that often leads to wonderful moments.