When the trade deadline’s approaching, I always check my phone one last time before going to bed, you know, just in case.

Monday, July 27, had just turned into Tuesday, July 28, as I was powering down, trying to reset my internal clock, having returned to Toronto on a red-eye that morning after a week on the West Coast. There was a text saying something might be up with the Toronto Blue Jays. Moments later, Ken Rosenthal broke the news: The Colorado Rockies were sending Troy Tulowitzki north to the Blue Jays. A few texts and emails later, I confirmed that the all-star shortstop and reliever LaTroy Hawkins were indeed on their way, with Jose Reyes part of the package heading out in return. My plans for a restorative night of rest disappeared. The jet lag sure came in handy.

That mostly sleepless night marked the start of a largely sleepless week for media members like me who closely cover the team. Then-GM Alex Anthopoulos, who pulled a couple of all-nighters himself that week, acquired David Price two days later, and in the hours before the July 31 trade deadline also added Mark Lowe from the Seattle Mariners and Ben Revere from the Philadelphia Phillies.

Just like that, 20 per cent of the roster was turned over, and an end to the club’s post-season drought dating back to 1993 seemed imminent. It turned out to be one of the best trade-deadline flurries ever, rekindling Canada’s passion for both the Blue Jays and baseball by setting into motion a 41-18 sprint to the finish that led to an American League East title. For the team and its fans, it was a taste of how the game’s other half has lived for the past two decades.

Looking back, it’s funny how the acquisition of Tulowitzki was initially greeted. While most of the reaction I saw and heard was overwhelmingly positive—sure, Reyes was popular, but he was being replaced by a clearly superior player—even players wondered why Anthopoulos directed prospect capital at a shortstop when the team really needed a starting pitcher. Once the Price deal went down, everything seemed to make more sense, as Tulowitzki would help tighten the defence up the middle while Price would deliver the innings urgently required in the rotation. Adding Hawkins, Lowe and Revere provided the roster with pivotal connective tissue between all the vital organs.

What’s most impressive is how well it worked. Drenched in champagne after the AL East was won in Baltimore, Tulowitzki stressed precisely that, pointing out how often such flurries fail. An emotionally charged four-game series against the Kansas City Royals right around the deadline, in which the Blue Jays took three of four, helped galvanize the team, while also demonstrating to the players how good they could be. The way they took off and never looked back, coupled with the energy they created at Rogers Centre and among fans across the country, makes the trade deadline one Canadians will never forget.