From Critic to Convert
Ottawa Blue Jays fans know the feeling well — for years, Ross Atkins was public enemy number one in Toronto baseball circles. Now, with the Blue Jays coming off a historic World Series run, even some of his harshest former critics are coming around, including a player who once counted himself among the loudest detractors.
Former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar opened up this week about his rocky relationship with GM Ross Atkins, admitting on the Blue Bird Territory podcast that his dislike of the executive was deep and personal.
"Speaking of criticism and critics, I was one of his biggest critics," Pillar said. "For a long time, I did not like Ross Atkins for multiple reasons."
The Wound That Took Time to Heal
Pillar, who was a key piece of the electric 2015 and 2016 Blue Jays rosters — teams that captured the imaginations of baseball fans coast to coast — felt betrayed when Atkins began dismantling what many players believed was a squad on the cusp of something special.
"Shortly after that 2016 run, they started getting rid of my friends and my teammates and something that we felt like we had built that we wanted another opportunity to kind of do it again," Pillar explained. "He had this long-term vision that at the time I didn't see, at the time I didn't agree with."
The frustration intensified when Pillar was dealt to the San Francisco Giants early in the 2019 season — a trade he clearly didn't see coming and didn't welcome.
"He traded me, and I hated him for that. I thought I would never move on from that and forgive him. It took me a long time, it really did. That was a wound that was open for a while."
A Long-Term Vision Finally Validated
Atkins officially became Blue Jays GM on December 3, 2015, and spent the better part of a decade weathering fan frustration over a prolonged rebuild that saw beloved veterans shipped out. Blue Jays fans — including the passionate contingent who cheer on the team from Ottawa and across Ontario — spent years calling for his head.
That all changed this past season. The World Series title validated every controversial decision Atkins made: the patient rebuild, the prospect development, the willingness to let fan-favourite veterans walk in order to build something sustainable.
For Pillar, the championship has reframed everything he once resented.
"He had this long-term vision that at the time I didn't see," he admitted — acknowledging that the GM was playing chess while critics were playing checkers.
From Villain to Architect
Atkins' redemption arc is one of the more remarkable stories in recent Canadian sports history. The 52-year-old executive went from the most-criticized GM in the league to the architect of a World Series champion — all while staying the course through years of public pressure.
For fans and former players alike, it's a reminder that rebuilds are painful in real time, even when they work out in the end. Pillar's willingness to own his criticism — and publicly change his view — adds a genuinely human note to an otherwise triumphant Blue Jays story.
Source: BlogTO
