George Springer, leading off again, has turned back the clock and carried the Blue Jays to AL's best record

CINCINNATI - The Toronto Blue Jays have had one of baseball's best offenses this season and are eyeing their first American League East title since 2015. In fact, they head to a day off Thursday with the best record in the American League at 81-59. 

Leading the charge for their success has been George Springer, who is having one of the best offensive seasons of his career.

In the midst of his resurgence and with his 36th birthday just weeks away, Springer has found his way back to a familiar home: the leadoff spot in the batting order. It's the spot where he spent the overwhelming majority of his career and came through with so many big hits as a member of the Houston Astros. After a down year in 2024, Springer opened the 2025 season as the fifth or sixth hitter. Then he hit cleanup for a while. Then second. Since returning from the concussion injured list on Aug. 16, Springer has been slotted in the leadoff spot every time he's been in the lineup. 

And he's been on an absolute tear. In those 18 games since his triumphant return to the top of the order, Springer is 26 for 66 (.394) with eight walks, nine homers, 15 RBI and 23 runs scored. 

This surge has pushed him up into elite territory. Look at the MLB OPS leaderboard, for one example. Springer is third behind two guys named Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. Yes, Springer leads everyone but the two very likely MVP winners. 

But it's not about the lineup spot, even even if it's comfortable. 

"I don't really care to be honest," Springer told CBS Sports when asked about his preferences. "I just kind of hit where [Blue Jays manager John Schneider] wants me to hit. I obviously have some familiarity there since that's where I hit for a long time, but it's nothing really major."

The approach, he said, doesn't change.

"I'm going to be the same guy whether I'm hitting first, sixth, fifth, it doesn't matter to me," he said.

Maybe it's just more comfortable for outsiders to see him at the top. I got used to seeing him as a leadoff man for so long, it was nice and refreshing to see him back at the top and thriving. 

He still has a penchant for drama, too, in the form of helping his team bounce back. 

After the Blue Jays' bullpen blew a ninth-inning lead on Monday, Springer led off the game with a home run on Tuesday. Toronto built an 8-1 lead in that one before the Reds chipped away at the deficit, surging back until it was 8-6. Then Springer happened again, a two-run shot to make it 10-6. The Blue Jays won, 12-9. 

On Wednesday, the Jays fell behind 5-0 after two innings. Springer homered in the third. 

When he came back up next time, it was 5-3 Reds. He singled to right -- on a checked swing, but it still did the job -- and then scored on a game-tying homer. He was later intentionally walked to load the bases, a nice illustration of how locked in he is right now. The Blue Jays would win again, this time 13-9. Springer was on base four times and scored three times.

In some ways, this is actually, remarkably, the best version we've seen of George Springer. He's a four-time All-Star who has won two Silver Sluggers and a World Series MVP. And, again, he's 35 years old going on 36. This isn't supposed to happen. 

And yet, Springer's career high in a season in batting average is .292. He's hitting .307 this year. His career high on-base percentage was .383; he's at .400. He probably can't get to his .592 slugging percentage from 2019 (it's .559 right now) but the OPS+ (159 compared to a previous career high of 150) shows he's overall performing better this season than ever before, compared to the league environment. 

Now circle back to 2024. It was a continuation of what looked like a steady, age-related decline. Springer's average from 2022-24 dropped from .267 to .258 to .220 while his OPS fell from .814 to .732 to .674. 

In 2024, he hit .220/.303/.371, which was only a 91 OPS+, or 9% below league average at getting on base and hitting for power when adjusted for ballpark settings. From 2014-22, Springer carried a 132 OPS+. 

To hear it from Springer, though, his confidence never waned.

"I understand who I am as a player and I understand there are going to be times where you go through ups and downs," he said. "Last year was last year."

Now, with less than a month left to play in 2025, he's putting up his best home run season, with 27 and counting, since 2019 when he hit 39. It won't be long before his RBI and run totals are his best marks since 2019 as well. 

"I just want to make sure I'm in a good spot to hit, that I'm in a good, mechanically sound position and I hit from there," Springer said. "I develop a plan with (Blue Jays hitting coach David Popkins and assistant coaches Lou Iannotti and Hunter Mense) and I go from there. If there needs to be an adjustment from Plan A to Plan B, I will." 

Popkins, a new hire for the Jays for the 2025 season, took it upon himself to work with Springer on a more aggressive approach. 

"There's a type of hitter who actually does better, like swing decision and accuracy-wise, when they're actually looking with intent," Popkins told The Athletic last month. "There's another type of hitter that, when they're doing that, the swing gets long and their decisions get worse. George is the opposite. He does better in a more aggressive mindset."

Swing data this season shows that Springer is swinging less, but when he does swing, it's with a much greater ferocity. His average bat speed in 2023 was 72.7 mph. Last season, it dipped to 71.9 and this season it's up to 73.6. The message to attack the ball when he desires to swing has produced this top-echelon version of Springer. 

As of Thursday, the Blue Jays hold a bye through the Wild Card Series and are lined up to face the winner of a New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox series in the ALDS. They haven't advanced past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2016, but as things stand, they have as good a chance as anyone. Springer, back home in the leadoff spot, could be the familiar face of their success.