TORONTO – Whether it's during the draft, the trade deadline or free agency, Ross Atkins has always emphasized the importance of values during his 10 years as general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Whenever there was a potential addition to the team, Atkins made sure to mention their “high character.”
He believes that policy paid off in 2025, and that the Blue Jays made it to the World Series for the first time in 32 years, largely due to their cohesiveness and dedication to each other.
“I've always taught and learned and strongly believed that recruiting and identifying players, coaches, scouts, anyone who can contribute to supporting the organization is the most important thing we do,” Atkins said in a press conference Friday before Game 1 of the World Series. “If you act on the values that are important to you, it will pay off over time.”
Atkins said focusing on the team's personnel policy and resulting atmosphere was something he and coach John Schneider actually talked about earlier this week.
Atkins, who was hired as the team's GM in December 2015, said, “The thing I think about most is relationships, the people we've hired and the people we've grown with.” “There's a big group of people here that I work with that I've always felt will definitely be lifelong relationships and lifelong friendships.
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“While this success is far from over and there is still work to be done, I think it is an encouraging sense of how strong this relationship will be, not just this year but well beyond.”
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Toronto led all of Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins during the regular season, with 12 of those wins coming when the Blue Jays trailed by at least three points.
Also, in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series, they came back from a 2-0 deficit against the Seattle Mariners. The climactic Game 7 in Toronto was capped off by George Springer's three-run homer in the seventh inning, defeating Seattle, who had taken an early 3-1 lead in the final game of the series.
“I think that's what makes a good team. It's talent and players, but it's people,” Schneider said before the World Series started. “I think we’ve done a phenomenal job of creating a culture that welcomes people.
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“That's something we've figured out and the standard we've set. Not just the type of players we want, but the type of talent we want here.”
Schneider has been with the Blue Jays since 2002, when he was drafted in the 13th round of that year's draft. He retired after the 2007 season due to three concussions that year, but in 2008 he became the minor league manager of the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Blue Jays, gaining experience with the team's various levels of ball.
He said the relationships built in Toronto during Atkins' tenure helped create a culture that enabled the Blue Jays (94-68) to reach the playoffs.
“When you're trying to establish a winning environment and a winning organization that can do that over and over again, I think the key is the people,” Schneider said. “People who are not satisfied and try to move things forward.
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“This year, even when we acquired (infielder Andres Jimenez) and signed (Anthony Santander) and Max (Scherzer), we were talking about what that would mean for the people around them as well and where the people we had already acquired were in their careers and in their lives.”
Schneider said July was also a factor as Major League Baseball's trade deadline approached and the Blue Jays were gearing up for a solid postseason run.
“It was cool to be able to have a conversation with Ross and understand what we were doing at the time and not try to disrupt it,” Schneider said. “We want to increase the number of people who can help.
“So Seranthony (Dominguez), Louis Varland, Tai France, who are as selfless as the others, they are pieces that fit what we already have. We tried to be really aware of that this year, but it took us a few years to get here again.”
On July 31, Berland and France were traded to Toronto by the Minnesota Twins for Alan Rhoden and Kendry Rojas. Burland, who became a fixture in the Blue Jays' bullpen in the postseason, said the strong culture of his new team was immediately apparent.
“From the coaching staff to the players to the support staff to the chefs, everyone has been great, friendly and welcoming,” he said. “I saw 'Glue Jays' the other day.
“That's the perfect way to sum it up. Everyone gets along so well and everyone is a great guy or girl.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press