After a win in Phoenix, the Toronto Blue Jays‘ travel plans to Los Angeles went sideways, forcing a team vote that left star pitcher Max Scherzer fuming.

“There was an issue with the joystick,” Manager John Schneider noted.

The Blue Jays had to travel all the way from Phoenix on a bus because their flight faced complications. The option was for the Jays to either wait for another plane or drive. But Max Scherzer wasn’t happy with this at all.

“I got reprimanded by Max for electing to travel that way,” Schneider added.

The Toronto Blue Jays had their charter flight canceled due to a joystick issue affecting takeoffs and landings. The problem came up around 4 p.m. after their 10-4 win over the Diamondbacks.

The new plane from Vancouver was expected to arrive by 10 p.m., which meant long delays. The team voted together and chose to bus instead of waiting for hours.

Upon reaching Anaheim, Manager John Schneider remarked, “We all got here safe, and we’re ready to go.”

But the entire incident was definitely better than what happened in NFL in December 2025.

The Minnesota Vikings team charter plane had to turn around after departing from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The landing gear hatch on the original chartered aircraft reportedly didn’t close after takeoff. The plane made it as far as Madison, Wisconsin, before turning around and returning to Minneapolis once the mechanical failure was discovered by the flight crew.

Players and staff were stranded and forced to wait for a second plane, resulting in a 5½-hour delay to their travel schedule to face off the New York Giants.

For the Jays, though, the issue happened before take-off, reducing the troubles a bit.

Yet, their choice led to a six-hour overnight bus ride through a dark desert road. The team reached their Orange County hotel at around 12:30 a.m.

Schneider compared it with the Northwest League (minor league in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada) days, where bus trips were common.

Most players wanted to leave early instead of sitting around and waiting for a plane. That decision showed they wanted rest before facing the Angels. And that worked, too, as they defeated Los Angeles 5-2 on Monday night. But Mad Max wasn’t happy with the decision.

The travel plan needed a lot of work as they had to move all the gear. The team took luggage and food off the plane and brought it back to Chase Field. From there, everything was loaded onto three buses for the trip ahead. Two buses carried players, while one bus carried staff and coaches. Around 40 people were part of the group making this overnight trip via Interstate 10.

“There was a whole lot of doubling up for us. I had my own two seats, and I still had cases of water around me, and you feel bad reclining on people,” recalled Schneider.

While pitcher Max Scherzer wanted to wait and take the flight, he ended up losing by 30 votes in favor of the buses.

Schneider joked about how this is going to be a court case, as Scherzer reportedly issued a full-letterhead kangaroo court summons.

“I was like, ‘Max, why don’t you just buy a plane? You’ve got plenty of cash.’,” exclaimed the skipper.

Per Celebrity Net Worth, Max Scherzer’s approximate net worth is $180 million. And a pre-owned business jet can cost around $28.9 million (CBC reports). In fact, Ontario Premier Doug Ford had a private jet for sale that he recently agreed to sell at $21M. Maybe, Scherzer could take one for the team!

But jokes apart, one player did take a different route as he was required to rest a little more, dealing with critical injury hurdles.

Dylan Cease. He booked a commercial flight and got to the hotel around 9:30 p.m., and had enough rest to lead the rotation Monday night. Cease looked physically aggressive, carving through the Angels’ lineup, recording 12 strikeouts over five innings, giving up only two runs.

Probably Max Scherzer’s previous ultimatum finally worked as a motivation for the Blue Jays.

Max Scherzer’s warning to the Blue Jays’ clubhouse

Other than having to travel by bus, Max Scherzer was not satisfied with how the team had been playing.

The Toronto Blue Jays sit 10-13, second-last in the AL East standings. Their 94 wRC+ ranks 20th, showing a below-average offense through 22 games.

For Scherzer, one 8-run first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday cannot erase weeks of struggles.

That outburst included seven hits and eight baserunners, tying a franchise record set in 2014. While the team showed flashes of being a top team, the rankings tell a completely different story. And Max Scherzer addressed that gap.

“This is 2026, not 2025,” after the big win against the D-Backs.

He added, “You can’t rely on last year,” pointing to their current losing record.

The American League East features four projected playoff teams entering 2026. New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays. In 2023, the division posted a .670 record against other MLB teams. Since 1995, AL East teams have claimed 20 of 32 American League wild card spots.

This shows the competition in the AL East and why teams there can’t slip up.

Sunday showed potential as Toronto got the first eight hitters on base without a single out. Kevin Gausman limited the damage, striking out four across six steady innings against Arizona. Even after following that up by beating the Los Angeles Angels 5-2 on Monday and 4-2 on Tuesday, Toronto remains four games behind the division-leading Yankees.

This gap shows that even after back-to-back wins, the rankings in the AL East will not change that easily.

During the 2025 run, Toronto stood 26-28 by late May before a postseason surge. They pushed the Los Angeles Dodgers to seven games in the World Series.

Scherzer remarked, “We know we can play with anybody,” but results must be consistent if they want to stay relevant.

With players like Alejandro Kirk and George Springer expected to return from their injuries in the next few weeks, the hope now is that the hitting and winning will be consistent.