Inside the 2018 Toronto Blue Jays on Twitter

Major League Baseball (@MLB) teams across North America are set to take the field this week as the 2018 baseball season gets underway. North of border, the Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) have returned with a cast of new faces, returning favourites and one of pro sports’ most dedicated fan bases on Twitter.

New for 2018: Tweeting #BlueJays will unlock a custom Blue Jays emoji all season long as fans from across Canada chat up the Jays. Our research shows that baseball is an incredibly popular topic with Canadians on Twitter:

• 80% of Canadian Twitter users are interested in baseball (43% higher than non-users)
• 68% of Canadian Twitter users who are baseball fans have followed along on Twitter while watching baseball

Early in the 2017 season, the @BlueJays became the first Canadian professional sports team to cross the 2,000,000 follower mark on Twitter. At the time, they were only the second @MLB team to hit that milestone, having subsequently been joined by three other team accounts.

Here are the Top 5 most followed teams in Major League Baseball:

1. New York Yankees (@Yankees)
2. Chicago Cubs (@Cubs)
3. Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays)
4. Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers)
5. Boston Red Sox (@RedSox)

Here are the Top 5 most followed professional sports teams in Canada:

1. Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays)
2. Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs)
3. Toronto Raptors (@Raptors)
4. Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL)
5. Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks)

The @BlueJays added a number of players over the offseason, adding to the deep roster of Jays you can follow on Twitter.

Here are some “new for 2018” @BlueJays you can follow on Twitter:

• Curtis Granderson (@cgrand3)
• Danny Espinosa (@dannyespinosa_3)
• Jacob Petricka (@jacobpetricka)
• John Axford (@JohnAxford)
• Randal Grichuk (@RGrich15)
• Tyler Clippard (@TylerClippard)
• Yangervis Solarte (@Solarte26)
  

Granderson is also the third most followed active @BlueJays player on Twitter

1. Josh Donaldson (@BringerOfRain20)
2. Marcus Stroman (@MStrooo6)
3. Curtis Granderson (@cgrand3)
4. Kevin Pillar (@KPILLAR4)
5. Russell Martin (@russellmartin55)

Keep tabs on Twitter for all the baseball reaction and fan reactions around the 2018 #BlueJays.