‘What I can say is I’m all about anything I can do that makes the Blue Jays brand stronger and hopefully can connect them [the fans] closer to this organization,’ general manager Ross Atkins said.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
There was talk that it should be scrapped, that the arrival of new leaders would afford a perfect opportunity for the Toronto Blue Jays to gracefully retire their annual public get-together for season-ticket holders.
The event was viewed as having run its course, that the often pointed questions about the baseball team's direction were uncomfortable and that there were better ways for the Blue Jays to spread their message.
But instead of burying what was known as the State of the Franchise, the American League club instead decided to embrace it – running it out with a new name and a new format the club hopes will result in a stronger connection with the fans.
The event, which has been held in some form since around 2000, has been rebranded by the Blue Jays as The Leadoff and will unfold Thursday night at Rogers Centre in what is being billed as an opportunity for "an inside look at the ball club."
"What I can say is I'm all about anything I can do that makes the Blue Jays brand stronger and hopefully can connect them [the fans] closer to this organization," Ross Atkins said in an interview about what will be his first major public appearance as the Jays' new general manager. "Anything I can do to aid that I will and look forward to.
"The fans are the second-most important piece after the players, right?"
Thursday's gathering will feature more razzle-dazzle, club officials said, with more production and more video presentation in hopes of giving the event a "fresh face."
The participants will no longer be seated in cozy chairs on top of the first-base dugout roof but on a stage that will be set up on the field.
The affair will also be note-worthy for who isn't there – Paul Beeston, the Blue Jays' former president and chief executive officer, and Alex Anthopoulos, the former general manager. They're missing for the first time since 2009.
They have been replaced by a couple of fresh faces in new president and chief executive officer Mark Shapiro and Atkins, who will be on hand along with manager John Gibbons and centre fielder Kevin Pillar, to field questions from the fans.
Beeston retired at the end of the 2015 season, in which Toronto finished first in the combative AL East and returned to the playoffs for the first time in 22 years.
When Shapiro joined Toronto after a long run in the front office of the Cleveland Indians, Anthopoulos spurned the club's offer at a contract extension and eventually wound up accepting an assistant GM's position in Los Angeles with the Dodgers.
Anthopoulos's exit rankled many fans who lauded his gunslinger approach at last season's trade deadline, when he dealt away prized minor-league prospects in separate deals to land pitcher David Price and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.
Both Price and Tulowitzki played major roles in leading the Jays into the playoffs and Anthopoulos's abrupt departure only ensured that Shapiro's arrival in Toronto was anything but cozy.
Both Shapiro and Atkins are prepared to explain to the fans what has transpired since last season, after which Price joined division rival Boston Red Sox as a free agent.
No doubt the team is hoping the news on Wednesday that the installation of dirt basepaths at Rogers Centre, which will be completed in time for the start of this season, will help defuse some fan angst about the lack of real grass elsewhere.
And then there is the question of aging sluggers Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, who are both poised to become free agents at the conclusion of the 2016 season and will be seeking lucrative, long-term deals. Their continued future with the Blue Jays is expected to be a prime topic of conversation among the season-ticket base.
"Our desire to keep them here has only increased since we've joined the organization," Atkins said.
Encarnacion, who stroked 39 home runs in 2015, has already stated, through his agent, that he would like to have his contract resolved before the end of spring training or he would opt for free agency at the end of the season.
Atkins sounded positive when asked if signing Encarnacion was a possibility.
"Absolutely," he said. "We'll work as hard as we can towards that."
And the GM said he sees no reason why the club would not be able to ink Bautista, a 40-home run threat for Toronto in 2015, to a new deal as well.
"As we've joined the organization our respect and admiration for him as a baseball player and a person has only increased," Atkins said. "Everything we've learned about him has only increased our desire to make sure he's a Blue Jay as long as we possibly can."