Great Expectations

The making of the Blue Jays’ 2013 season.

After a disastrous 2012 season, the Blue Jays had a major makeover, adding an array of star players through trades and free-agent signings, including R.A. Dickey, the best pitcher in the National League last year, and ticket sales have since soared. Starting with a behind-the-scenes look at the offseason fallout that led to the roster upheaval, this book covers every aspect of the 2013 season with a particular focus on the personalities involved. The cast includes Alex Anthopoulos, the 36-year-old general manager from Montreal; R.A. Dickey, a sexual abuse survivor who also happens to be the only major-league pitcher to throw a knuckleball; Brett Lawrie, the team’s lone Canadian, whose kinetic style of play is a double-edged sword; José Bautista, the two-time home-run champion bidding to revive his power after wrist surgery felled him last summer; and Melky Cabrera, whose 50-game drug suspension last year forced him to sign a free-agent contract with a new team for half the money he might otherwise have realized. Their guide is John Gibbons, whose challenge is to meld a diverse collection of newcomers and holdovers into a winning team in a city starved for a championship. For a generation of fans, 2013 is on the cusp of being a season like no other.