Saskatchewan·NewA father and son from Saskatoon drove over 2,000 kilometres to watch the Toronto Blue Jays take on the Seattle Mariners in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) Sunday night. Blue Jays reached American League Championship Series for first time since 2016Aliyah Marko-Omene · CBC News · Posted: Oct 13, 2025 7:11 PM EDT | Last Updated: 20 minutes agoSaskatoon’s Rhett Sangster said the 33-hour drive to Toronto was the perfect coming of age trip for his son Kai. (Submitted by Rhett Sangster)A father and son from Saskatoon drove over 2,000 kilometres to watch the Toronto Blue Jays take on the Seattle Mariners in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) Sunday night.The game marked the first time the Blue Jays reached the ALCS since 2016, when they lost to the Cleveland Guardians 4-1.Baseball lover Rhett Sangster and his son Kai purchased their tickets last Thursday on a whim. “The Blue Jays don’t make the playoffs very often, and my son and I are big fans,” Sangster told CBC’s Saskatoon Morning Monday.He and his wife had recently been discussing a “coming of age” trip for their son and thought the rare Blue Jays game was the perfect opportunity. The pair jumped into their van just after lunch Thursday and set out on a 33-hour drive to Toronto. “We thought about flying and then thought, you know what, a road trip’s fun and it’ll be great time spent together, father, son,” said Sangster. He said their entire drive took four days—stopping every eight to ten hours for rest. The pair stayed with family for a night in Winnipeg and then went on to sleep at campgrounds near Thunder Bay and Sault St. Marie before arriving in Toronto Sunday night for the game.“We actually took the two back seats out of the minivan and we put my son’s mattress in the back,” said Sangster. “I’m trying to save some pennies along the way.”Game 1 of the ALCS kicked off shortly after 8 p.m. EST Sunday night, and the Blue Jay’s George Springer came out with a bang, hitting a solo home run in the first inning, putting the team in the lead. Springer’s hit was the first-ever leadoff homer in Blue Jay’s post-season history, according to Major League Baseball.“That was really fun to watch,” said Kai. He was most excited to watch Springer bounce back this season after a “not very good year last year.”Kai said watching Sunday’s game from the stands was quite different than seeing it on TV. He said the energy at Toronto’s Roger’s Centre was really good, and only got better after Springer’s home run. Kai said the atmosphere at the Rogers Centre Sunday night was really good. (Submitted by Rhett Sangster)Despite the strong start, the Blue Jays fell 3-1 to the Seattle Mariners. “The game last night didn’t go quite exactly how we wanted it to go, but we’re having a lot of fun, so it’s been great,” said Sangster. He said the experience has reminded him that time is the most valuable commodity. “For me to spend time with my son and make sure that those relationships are strong and build memories and stories that we’ll be able to tell for our whole lives, yeah, it’s important,” said Sangster. The best-of-seven series against the Seattle Mariners continues Monday night with Game 2 at the Rogers Centre before heading to Seattle for Game 3 on Wednesday.LISTEN | A Saskatoon dad and his son drove all the way from the Prairies to Toronto to watch the Blue Jay’s first appearance in the series in nine years:Saskatoon Morning4:56A Saskatoon dad and his son drove all the way from the Prairies to Toronto to watch the Blue Jay’s first appearance in the series in nine yearsFrom Saskatoon to Toronto, that’s more than 2,200 kilometres. It’s not too far or too long for Saskatoon’s Rhett Sangster. The baseball fan and his son bought Blue Jays tickets on a whim, hopped in their van, and headed to Toronto. Last night they watched the Canadian team lose against the Seattle Mariners in the American League Championship Series. They joined guest host Candice Lipski to talk about the adventure.ABOUT THE AUTHORAliyah Marko-Omene is a reporter for CBC Saskatchewan. She has previously worked for CBC and Toronto Star in Toronto. You can reach her at aliyah.marko@cbc.ca.With files from Saskatoon Morning
Saskatoon father and son go the distance to catch Toronto Blue Jays ALCS game
