Toronto Blue Jays fans showered former shortstop Bo Bichette with appreciation before Monday night's series opener with the New York Mets.

Bichette, playing his first game in Toronto since signing with New York before the 2026 season, received a video tribute before the game. He watched it from the outfield and acknowledged the crowd before leaving the field.

Speaking before the game in a media scrum, Bichette got emotional about his time in Toronto. He wasn't sure what kind of reaction he'd get, but this is likely exactly what he was hoping for.

Furthermore, Bichette got a standing ovation before his first at-bat. He tipped his helmet to the crowd at the request of first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Now 28 years old, Bichette spent seven seasons in Toronto, earning two All-Star berths and helping the team get to the playoffs in 2020, 2022-23 and 2025. The Jays got to the World Series in 2025, falling one game short of winning the organization's first title since 1993.

A .294 career hitter with the Jays, he signed a one-year deal with the Mets this offseason, though he has player options for each of the next two seasons. He's underwhelmed in his first season in Queens, hitting .254 with 10 homers and 46 RBIs entering play on Monday.

Of course, the entirety of the Mets roster has been disappointing, with the team serving as arguably the biggest disappointment in the entire sport.

While there was a case to be made for bringing Bichette back, there was also a case to be made for letting him go, and the Jays elected to do the latter, signing Cody Ponce, Dylan Cease, Kazuma Okamoto and Tyler Rogers to multi-year deals.

Things haven't worked out for Toronto, either, as they entered play with a 39-45 record. They are in third place in the American League East.

Bichette will get more chances for ovations over the next few days, as a new Rogers Centre crowd will shower him with appreciation on Tuesday and Wednesday. It's an appropriate response for a player who helped usher in a winning era of Blue Jays baseball.

He and Guerrero teamed up to revitalize the franchise after the 2018 season, both making their debuts in 2019. That culminated in the 2025 playoff run.

The two teams will play again on Tuesday night at 7:07 p.m. ET. 

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