Are the Blue Jays really cursed at Tropicana Field?

Having seen his fair share of squirrelly Blue Jays-Rays games during his time as a coach and then the bench boss, former manager John Gibbons once told the Toronto Sun: “House of Horrors man, weird things happen down here, I’ll tell you that.”

It’s one thing for fans to buy into conspiracy theories, but when the manager says something fishy is going on, that’s when you know something’s up.

After the sweep yesterday afternoon, the Blue Jays are 92-142 lifetime at Tropicana Field since 1998. Their .393 winning percentage is the second-worst overall record against an AL East opponent. The Blue Jays’ .389 lifetime winning percentage at Yankee Stadium is the worst.

For whatever reason, the Rays seem to have the Blue Jays’ number when they’re at home year after year. Incredibly, the Blue Jays have posted single-season winning records in three (!!!) of the 29 seasons they’ve played against the Rays: 2005, 2006, and 2014.

For a span of seven years — from 2007 to 2014 — the Blue Jays didn’t win a single series in 22 attempts at Tropicana Field. Not that “winning” a series really means anything, but if that were a short postseason like an ALDS, the Blue Jays would’ve been ousted 22 consecutive times.

Lifetime, the Blue Jays own a .258/.330/.413 slash line with a .743 OPS, which seems decent for a road ballpark. As a team, the Blue Jays have a 4.38 ERA at Tropicana Field, which is middle of the pack for visiting stadiums. So what gives with all the bad juju?

For as much as the Rays get made fun of for their subpar stadium, the team excels at playing its unique brand of baseball against the Blue Jays. Traditionally, they’re a top-10 pitching team, which Blue Jays hitters seem to have trouble figuring out. Their four combined runs over three games are proof of those struggles.

One would think that, because of the law of averages, these two teams playing each other as division rivals, things would even out over time. But that’s not the case, and the best the Blue Jays can do this year is split the season record at 3-3 in Tampa Bay.

There’s no prize for being better than your opponent in your own ballpark, but where there are real implications is in the tiebreaker scenarios. Since the Blue Jays are already behind the eight ball with a 0-3 season record against the Rays, the Jays need to be that much better at home against Tampa, in addition to the three-game set at Tropicana in August.

For as much as this Blue Jays franchise has struggled over the years against the Rays, it’s not all Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s fault, as he’s only been around for the last eight years of this chicanery in Tampa Bay. The Roy Halladay-led era Blue Jays had trouble handling the Rays, as did the Jose Bautista-led era Blue Jays.

In 26 years, the only “positive” Blue Jays memory I can think of that took place at Tropicana Field was Josh Donaldson’s dive into the stands to preserve Marco Estrada’s no-hitter in 2015. The unfortunate part was Estrada gave up a single to Logan Forsythe, the very next batter after this play.

One of the most recent memories of Tampa Bay-induced heartache was the Blue Jays’ swift exit from the 2020 postseason. The short series took place entirely in Tampa, and as expected, the Rays handed the Blue Jays with ease, outscoring them 11-3.

Yes, that was the series in which the Blue Jays piggybacked Matt Shoemaker and Robbie Ray in Game 1. It technically was a success, as the two starters combined to give up one earned run over six innings. There wasn’t a ton of outrage over the idea since the Blue Jays only pushed across one run in that game.

Let’s also not forget that Tropicana Field was the scene of the crime in 2021 when Kevin Kiermaier swiped Alejandro Kirk’s card that fell off of arm after a play at the plate. KK later redeemed himself by signing with the Blue Jays the next year, but he took a lot of heat from the Toronto fan base after pulling this stunt.

Jays fans can take solace that the team won’t be travelling back to Tampa Bay until late August. But at the rate things are going, that could be a crucial series that could have Wild Card implications. In the meantime, the Blue Jays will say good riddance to Tampa Bay and hope Danhausen un-curses them before their next trip to the Sunshine State.