The Toronto Blue Jays mascot since the 2002 season has been Ace, a large blue jay who romps around Rogers Centre entertaining the fans. Ace replaced BJ Birdie who was also an over-sized Blue Jay. Originally, Ace was paired with Diamond, a female Blue Jay, but Diamond was sent to the Toronto AAA system after the 2003 season. Starting in 2011, Ace had a part-time partner again, Junior, his half-size younger brother who only appears on Jr. Jays Sundays. The name “Ace” comes from the fact that the top starting pitcher on a major league team is traditionally called the team’s “Ace.” In the case of the Blue Jays, this was Roy Halladay.
The choice of a blue jay as the team mascot and name of the team is partially because the other two Toronto professional sports teams use the color blue. And, the original owner of the Blue Jays was Labatt Brewing Company whose popular beer is Labatt’s Blue.
Ace is especially proud of how his Blue Jays came so far so fast as an expansion franchise with the usual difficult early years. In 1983, just six years after they came into existence, the Blue Jays had their first winning season. And, it was only two years later in 1985 that they were division champions. The Blue Jays went on to repeat as division champions four more times by 1993. This period included two World Series Championships in 1992 and 1993 led by Joe Carter, John Olerud, Devon White, and Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar. Their World Series victory in their 16th year was the fasted ever for an American League expansion team.
After a long dry spell, the Blue Jays won their division in 2015 and clinched a wild-card spot in 2016. Their faithful mascot, Ace, is hoping for even better things this year.